Awaiting The Moment
To celebrate..
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Pictures taken at Fort Cochin’s New Year Carnival
Veena Studies
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Picture taken in RLV College of Music and Fine Arts, Tripunithura
Form versus Function
I am not quite sure where I stand when balancing form with function in my home.
A couple of months back, when I bought a veena, it seemed I had decidedly plumped for ornamentation over practicality:
I cannot play the instrument and have left it a little late to learn.
The appeal was purely visual.
But my friend Robin kept fingering the veena’s strings,
and yesterday embarked on a course of classes.
Now I find my enjoyment of the veena is considerably enhanced by hearing someone play it.
A modest perfection of both form and function:
harmony achieved.
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Marching Out
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At seven in the morning,
It can be difficult to distinguish constitutionals from commutes.
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Listening For Silent Melodies
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To and fro,
He struggled with burdens.
All the while listening
To a silent melody
Which sang in his heart.
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An Die Musik
O fairest art how oft in troubled hours blighted,
When I am trapped and lost on life’s wild race,
Hast thou with love on this poor heart alighted
And flown it gently to a better place.
From thy sweet heart a sigh so often drifted,
A chord of blessed harmony and bliss.
Thou show’dst me heaven’s holy light uplifted.
O fairest art I thank thee so for this.
Franz von Schober (1796 – 1882)
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Pictures taken in Cochin
Come Blow Your Horn!
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I chance upon another festival.
This time the celebration is Hindu, with a full contingent of brass players.
Their lungs are strong,
Their embouchure, impressive!
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Or possibly…
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The Grand Finale
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With the procession having reached its destination and the musicians refreshed,
it is time for a magnificently choreographed finale.
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“It’s the finale. It’s the last impression. A bad dessert can ruin the meal!” Anne McManus
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Strike Up The Band!
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The sound of fire-crackers and drums was unmistakable.
Another festival had started.
This time it was celebrating the patron saint of the small chapel at the end of my lane:
St Anthony of Padua.
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We emerged from the house in time to follow the sound of music –
A fusion of Tijuana brass and Dravidian percussion.
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Fr. Martin, our local Catholic priest, walks in the heart of the procession.
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Men wait their turn for the honour of carrying the statue of Saint Anthony bearing the Christ Child.
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The drum beats intensify.
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The perfectly synchronised, varying and complex rhythms are intensely powerful.
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The procession stops at intervals, allowing the drummers to perform special sequences in well-rehearsed formations.
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Once again, I find myself blinking back tears of sheer joy and excitement.
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Serenade
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What better way to mark the last evening of my son and future daughter-in-law’s stay than a beautiful meal in a graceful garden restaurant,
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While being serenaded by Carnatic musicians?
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The “children” are now thousands of miles away, en route to Europe.
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Without them,
The house seems quieter
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And just a little sadder…
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Serendipity
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Among the many joys of life in India
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Are frequent unsought moments of intense happiness.
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Such as when I briefly pop out to my local shops
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But surprisingly find myself
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In the midst of sheer spectacle:
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One of the myriad Hindu festivals.
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I stumble into the grace and beauty of music, drama, dance and devotion
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When all I had been seeking was hand towels…
Welcome to my Incredible India!
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“Whether we name divine presence synchronicity, serendipity, or graced moment matters little. What matters is the reality that our hearts have been understood. Nothing is as real as a healthy dose of magic which restores our spirits.”
Nancy Long
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We are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of January 28, 1754, Walpole says that “this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word.”
Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of “a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of….”
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The Rhythm Of Kalam
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The sun has set.
With the dying of the light, Kalampattu begins.
The drums start pulsing their hypnotic rhythms.
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Song, dance and frenzy conjure up dark powers.
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Suddenly, my sensibilities are repulsed by what is enacted.
I feel as shocked as any Victorian puritan.
I put away my camera.
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Chicken may be gone from my menu for some time…
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Come the Revolution
Kerala has its own style of politics.
The Communist Party and Congress Party tend to alternate in power.
Trades Unions are vocal. Daily life is punctuated by strikes, hartals and bandhs.
Some political parties enjoy strong support
Others have had their day
Or long since lost their appeal
But as a child, my revolutionary inspiration was this:
Heard In The Opera House
Following on from yesterday’s story of ill-fated love,
I am put in mind of a visit to the opera.
The production was staged in The London Coliseum:
A performance of Bizet’s Carmen.
The lights dimmed,
As the plaintive chords of the prelude resonated throughout the opera house.
Then, over the sound of her rustling sweet wrappers, the voice of the woman sitting behind me could clearly be heard.
“Eh” she announced, in a strong rural accent.
“Listen to that music.”
“You can tell it’ll end in tears.”
Spiritual Masala
Here spirituality is a religious ratatouille:
The recipe includes Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Jainism, Buddhism, Judaism and Zoroastrianism.
Each providing
Colour
St Sebastian's Day Festival
Cochin Synagogue
Jain Temple
Culture
Preparing for Kathakali dance
Christian Festival
Curiosity
Commerce
Temple souvenirs
Temple traders
Conversation
Comfort
And
Crossed Lines
On a trip to collect tickets there are lines to be crossed.
Railway Lines
Lines of Ambassadors
And Lines of Autos.
Untidy Lines
Gas Lines
And Lines of Music
Neither Use Nor Ornament 