Last words

I'm home. Arrived this morning. So much I didn't get to write about - eg last weekend's trip to Periyar National Park. The last days, the goodbyes, the leave taking etc.
I'm at that point that many travelers experience when they come home - not wanting to let go of the experience, tightly clinging to the journey with a fear of losing it if I loosen my grip, not knowing how to integrate it with being home, not wanting to be home (but also looking forward to some things, especially reconnecting with loved ones) I loved the whole event so much. I loved the learning and the living and the connecting and the loving that I did. I liked who I was while I was away, and I'm nervous about whether I'll get to access that person now that I'm home. We'll see. I know I will be back to Aranmula and VKV (God willing) in December, for yet another different experience (not the same)
As I expected, my beautiful new mridangam was taken from me at customs and will be sent to Melbourne to be gamma-rayed, so I don't know what condition it will be in when I get it back. I tried to argue - Subhashji told me that his student from Melbourne had no problem when he brought his mridangam home. But like last time with the tablas that I brought home, my mridangam and I were parted. I won't see it for 4 - 6 weeks. In the meantime, the one I have at home is in a very bad state and sounds like the kind of drum kindergarten children make when they attach a balloon to an icecream container. My tablas are not in good shape either, but I hope some work on them will fix them.
Anyway, all will be well.
I had been offered to be met at the airport but chose to arrive in my own space and get a taxi home. The cab driver was a Punjabi sikh and he had Bangara music playing in the car, so that was a fun arrival.
For the first time in all my traveling, I come home to my own house. That's definitely a good thing (though should I sell it and quit my job and go back to India? Just joking)

And so, the last words of this blog are not profound - I don't have the energy to make a profound synthesis of what it's all meant. Talk to me about it when you see/communicate with me.

Tabla Tony

Ayyappa pilgrims dance at Eremely

Ayyappa pilgrims to Sabarimala, if they do the full pilgrimage, have their last stop before Sabarimala itself at a town called Eremely. In the main street of the town are 3 important places for the pilgrims - at one end of the street is a temple at which the pilgrims bathe and pay respects. Then they adorn themselves with coloured powders all over the head, face, arms etc and dance up the street to drumming, sometimes also wearing masks and carrying assorted props. It's wild and manic - Paula from Rio said it reminded her of Carnival. At the other end of the street is another temple and also (interestingly) a mosque which is also a holy place for the Ayyappa pilgrims. As January draws on, the amount of pilgrims increases and the amount of dancing in the streets of Eremely also intensifies, causing traffic jams. Here is something of what it all looks like:

Some photos

My 2 closest friends at VKV - Leonore from France and Yossi from Israel. We made a great team - all 3 of us emotional refugees searching and hoping for wholeness and healing and direction. Leonore was here when I arrived and just left yesterday. She studied yoga and Carnatic singing. Yossi came 2 weeks after me and will leave 1 week after I leave. He is learning tabla and Hindi. We shared a house and our lives. I will miss them both very much, and hope that there's a way to connect with them in the future.



































Since these photos are from Yossi's collection, he is in most of them. Here he is with darling Paula from Rio, Brazil - she is a professional dancer with a gentle spirit and big heart. She was
learning kathakali.









And here Yossi is with Lucy from England. She is studying mridangam and Carnatic singing. She is an amazing flautist and has been teaching flute to Yossi, Leonore and me.









On the steps of Aranmula Krishna Temple - the 3 of us again, and Evelyn from Scotland. Evelyn and her partner Laurence were doing the 2 month intensive yoga course (along with Leonore) and then stayed afterwards, while Evelyn did Carnatic singing and cooking and Laurence continued with yoga and also woodcarving. Evelyn and Laurence joined with me in French lessons with Leonore. Also Evelyn joined with me and others in learning beautiful gypsy songs from Leonore. Evelyn sang and played guitar often and it was a delight to discover she loves Joni Mitchell. She and I sang "A Case of You" and she played the guitar so much like Joni it was amazing.











My tabla guru, Ashok, with his favourite students - Yossi and me.












Ashok and me with my dear friend Santosh, the Carnatic singing teacher.

My mridangam guru, Subhash

Subhash's wife, Manju, who is a singing teacher. She was a student of Santosh, so the connections are all very web-like

Meals at teachers houses and New Year

Ashok, my tabla teacher, with his wife and 2 daughters. Yossi (another tabla student) and I went to his house for dinner. They live in a rented house in Chennganur (12 kms from Aranmula) and he comes to Aranmula ervy day by bus. Their house is very simple. It's interesting that Ashok, a Keralan, chose to be a scholar of tabla, which is a North Indian instrument and part of the Hindustani music tradition. Keral, being in the south, is a part of the Carnatic music tradition and so the tabla is not used in classical music - the mridangam is. We have see "fusion" music here where tabla players are includeed with Carnatic music, but to play real Hindustani classical music Ashok would need to live in the north. He likes Carnatic music but his love is Hindustani. He started playing when he was 10 and at something like 14 he left home to go to the north and live with a tabla guru to learn.

I also went to my mridangam teacher's house for a meal the other day. Subhash also lives in Chengannur but he comes to Aranmula on his scooter. Subhash's wife is a singing teacher at VKV. They both also teach local Chengannur students in their home, so when we arrived at their place Manju was teaching singing to a group of little kids in one room and Subhash was teaching mridangam to little kids in another room. We met a 10 year old boy who has been learning mridangam from Subhash since he was 6, and he will have his arangetram (debut concert) next month.

New Years Eve was an enjoyable time with VKV students and staff. Some of us went to Khozencherry (the closest town) to have a drink first (no alcohol allowed on VKV premises) and then we had a party in one of the centre's houses. I led African singing and taught an African dance, and (as I did last time I was here) played plastic bucket drumming which was fun. This turned into a drumming circle with staff and students playing plastic buckets in a mix of African and Indian rhythms as well as the universal sound of people banging on plastic buckets. We also had various dances and songs and some bopping. Just before midnight we all sat in a circle (Indian, French, English, American, Dutch, Brazilian, Israeli, Australian) and took turns saying words which conveyed some kind of hope for the coming year. At midnight Swami (the yoga teacher) suggested that we do some "Om" chants, and he led us in that. It was a good wholsome event. Some of the students said it was their first New Years Eve without alcohol and NY day was their first time of starting a new year without a hangover. Indians don't celebrate new year (except young groovy people in Mumbai or Delhi who want to be like westerners) so there were no other parties going on in the village. Walking home at 2am through the village with my two closest friends and housemates here: Leonore (from France) and Yossi (from Israel) was a warm and heartfelt moment in a silent village under a beautiful starlit and moonlit sky. Beginnings of new beginnings at the beginning of a new year.

Rituals

41 days of Ayyappa Sabrimala fasting has finished. The Sabrimala temple is closed for 3 days while the authorities work out how to get rid of thousands of tons of rubbish, and then the temple opens again until late January. I think poor Lord Ayyappa also needs a rest!!
So here in Aranmula the end of season was celebrated with 2 days of non stop loud loud loud music being broadcast from the temple all around the village. All night. No sleep. Silence at last after 2 days, but in late January when it is the temple festival, the same thing will happen for 10 days non-stop. I won't be here (this is the one and only reason I can say "Thank God I won't be here"). Last time I left just before this happened, but some of my friends who are reading this blog (Nancy, Jaxan) were here 3 years ago for that 10 day hell and only just survived to tell the tale.
Another end of season celebration was much more beautiful. Not far from the temple some Aranmula citizens set up a beautiful puja. After 6pm there were literally thousands of small oil lamps lining a laneway - lamps in the middle of the pathway and on either side of the path. Also there were many jars of incense so that a walk down the laneway was a magical journey through beautiful lights and mist / aroma of incense. I can't describe how beautiful it looked, and even a photo would not do it justice. Down the lane, towards the river, this trail of light went, to a place near the riverside which is used for special events as a small temple. Here the local people gathered for puja. At the climax of the puja, the door to the holy of holies is opened and the faithful can see the idol inside. At the moment that this happened, there was a gigantic round of explosions from fireworks, and at the same time, hundreds of piles of parafin pellets were lit to create small fires dotted amongst all of the oil lamps. It was breathtaking and such an amazing visual and aural announcement that the god is here amongst the believers. Maybe people get blaze about this when they've grown up with it, in the same way that Catholics can get bored by their rituals. But I found it exciting and moving to watch it and see the effect on the believers. I love the opportunty to witness and be welcomed into rituals like this. It reminds me how important communal ritual is.

Aranmula Christmas

It's mid afternoon on Christmas day and here in Aranmula there are some concessions to Christmas, but thankfully nothing like what it would be in Australia.
Some students have gone away for Christmas - the Belgian family have gone to Varkala for a beach Christmas (3 years ago Varkala was one of the beaches hit by the Boxing Day tsunami) A couple of students have gone to the ashram of Amma - she is a Keralan spiritual guru who is all the rage for westerners. She hugs everyone as her spiritual gift to her followers and people line up for hours to receive a hug from her. Some devotees talk about feeling an electric current flow through their body when she hugged them. Mumbo jumbo bah humbug as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I'm missing out on a god experience, but I get a bit annoyed with westerners (usually hippies) who think that all things Indian are deeply spiritual, and it's usually centred on one person. Amma (which means "mother") has travelled all around the world, including to Australia, giving hugs.
Anyway, those of us still at VKV had a special dinner last night (vegetarian of course) and all the teachers and VKV staff gathered with us. The eating area was decorated with streamers and balloons, and we had a few songs. Later most of the students gathered to sing together (some carols but mostly non-Christmas songs) and lit candles. We also played some silly games. It was a beautiful night with a stunning full moon.
There are many Christians in Kerala, especially Roman Catholic and Syrian Catholic. A tradition for the Christian youth for the week leading up to Christmas is to go "caroling" at all the neighbouring houses - but not caroling in any sense of what we know. It means playing very loud drums and chanting in Malayalam at people's doors until someone opens the door and gives them money. Apparently they raise money for a local sports club by doing this. I remember this from when I was here 3 years ago, but this year the young guys were much more aggressive - banging on our doors and yelling "Open the door!", looking in windows and being quite invasive. This goes on until about 1.30am and they may come to the same house several times in one night. Last night was the final night of this, and there were also firecrackers going off all night, people shouting and loud music playing over speakers all night. I don't think they were all necesarily Christians doing this - I think Hindus too were joining in the festivities.
All the VKV students were all individually asked if we would like our lessons on Christmas day and those of us still here all said yes. So today life goes on as normal, as I had hoped. I called my brother and sister not long after breakfast - my first communication other than email / blog with the outside world. My tabla teacher has invited me and another tabla student to his house this afternoon. This is not a Christmas thing - Ashok is a Hindu, but I think he always invites his longer term students to his house. Ashok lives in Chengannur - 12 kms (and a half hour bus trip) away, so we will catch the bus with him.
But here's my absolute Christmas highlight - a special and unexpected Christmas lunch:
I have been getting to know Aranmula's rickshaw drivers by smiling at them, gesturing and miming, and waving. Today as I was walking back to my room from my tabla lesson, I saw one of the rickshaw drivers walking along the lane towards me. It turns out he lives in the lane that I walk along every day to and from my tabla lessons. He took my hand to shake it, with a huge smile, and then led me to his house and took me inside. It is a very simple concrete house with not much furniture. He sat me down on a plastic chair and introduced me to his wife, sister and mother, and another guy who I think was his brother. They all spoke very very little English so most communication was via miming and a few English words. He got his mother to bring out food. I told him that VKV is vegetarian so he piled my plate with beef and keep adding to it as I ate. He sat and smiled at me saying "Happy Christmas" The family are Catholic (I surmised this from the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Pope pictures on the walls) so Christmas would have some cultural meaning for them I guess. The women of the house stood in the hallway looking in at me eat, and some small kids peeped in at the front door, giggled and said hello. My new friend kept smiling at me, trying to communicate with me in Malayalam. Shaking my hand, he said "friendship" and beamed. After eating I sat for a while until I had to go to my mridangam lesson. This was a special Christmas gift for me, and I am very grateful.

Another concert

Last Thursday night there was a concert in the temple here at Aranmula, for free of course. It was a performance by Santosh, the singing teacher at VKV, who has become a good friend of mine. He has an amzing voice. It was traditonal Carnatic music, which includes a lot of what we in the West might think of as singing in the cracks - notes between the notes that we use in western music. The singer sings a note (eg , the note of C) and bends it, kind of like my keyboard does when you turn the knob to change the pitch of a note. It also invoves the voice doing a lot of gymnastics which in the west would be seen as very strange and unbeautiful. Carnatic music is an acquired taste for the western ear, but I have learnt to love it. Santosh sings with passion and conviction.
He was accompanied by Subhash, my mridangam teacher. They have a long history of performing together and are long time friends, and it is through Subhash that Santosh got the teaching job at VKV. Also accompanying Santosh was Sharji. He is the wood carving teacher at VKV and also a good friend of mine. Some years ago Sharji decided that he wanted to learn Carnatic music, because as wood carving teacher at VKV he was surrounded by Carnatic music lessons. So he learnt mawsing (Indian Jew's harp) with Subhash as his teacher. There was also a violinist playing at the concert.
Many of the VKV students were in the audience, as well as some of the VKV staff. Not only was it wonderful to hear such beautiful and moving music, it was such a delight to see our teachers / friends on stage. Always in a Carnatic music concert, towards the end of the performance there is a piece which includes a percussion solo. Whatever percussion instruments are being used will each have 2 times of improvised soloing, within the confines of the talam timing pattern, and the singer keeps the talam clapping pattern going throughout it. So Subhash on mridangam and Shaji on mawsing both had 2 long, magical solo pieces. Then the fun starts because the mridangam plays an 8 bar pattern, and the mawsing immediately picks it up for 8 bars, reflecting but not necessarily exactly copying what the mridangam played. This interaction of 8 bars continues: 8 bars maridangam / 8 bars mawsing. Both instrumentalists are improvising at this stage, but there has to be an interaction between the 2. And it's a kind of a challenging game - the mridangam 8 bar pattern is saying to the mawsing "Can you match this?" After some rounds of this 8 bar game, then the mridangam plays 4 bars, followed by 4 bars of mwasing, etc. Then it becomes 2 bars, then 1 bar, then half a bar, and then the mridangam, and mawsing play together, developing a huge dramatic crescendo, until the singer and violin come back in to finish the song on a huge high. It is a very exciting part of a Carnatic concert. I was excited to watch Subhash, my teacher, soloing in full flight, his hands seemingly hardly touching the mridangam, they were moving so fast.
At my mridangam lesson on Friday I told Subhash how much I enjoyed the concert, and told him it reminded me how lucky I am to be his student. As I was saying this, I was embarrassed to find myself quite emotional, with tears in my eyes (which I hope he didn't see). He looked at me with a big grin, and then said "If you every day practicing hard, you can make concert on stage" Santosh told me some time ago that Subhash has great plans for me, and I know he believes that I can make my arangetram. So I am determined to come back next year, with mridangam my main subject (2 hours lessons a day) and hopefully I'll be good enough to perform.

Images

Typical laneways of Aranmula











Green green green







Aranmula temple elephants

Big Lord Jesus, small Lord Ayyappa

Mr Thomas (VKV staff) & his daughter