Living for dance

There’s a magical place just outside Bangalore dedicated to Indian classical dance.

“I wanted to set up a place where anyone with a passion for dance could come and stay and train, not having to worry about finances or anything else, and devote themselves one hundred per cent to dance. The students would live on the campus learning all the major classical dance styles from the best gurus.”

This was Protima Bedi’s dream, which she realized by setting up Nrityagram – the dance village – in 1991. Her vision was to run the school as a gurukul, a place where students and teachers would live together in a community setting. Instead of paying fees, students would take care of the school’s daily household chores. Today the founder is no more, and there are only a handful of students studying only one classical dance style – Odissi. But Protima’s spirit lives on.

I’d been meaning to visit Nrityagram for a long time but whenever I planned a visit, the school was always invariably closed because the dancers were away on tour. The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble is known for it’s excellence and the group performs all over the world. Fortunately I had the chance to see them perform at the Chennai December Season.

I finally caught up with them on their return from their recent US tour. The dancers were busy rehearsing for an upcoming tour of Malaysia and a performance in Bangalore. Watching them rehearse in the specially-built dance hall filled with morning sunshine and a cool breeze coming in through the windows, I was struck by the dancers’ inner silence and concentration. One of the dancers would suddenly stop, think about her last movement, adjust it, and then ask the others what they thought of the adjustment. The perfection of their dance comes from their meticulous attention to detail.

The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble’s excellence is also a result of the dancers’ passion and absolute commitment to dance. You have to be passionate and committed to live in a small community in a rural setting where all you do is eat, sleep and dance.

This is a place where dancers live to dance!

Time for a puja

A puja is an important Hindu ritual which can be a personal prayer and offering to a god, or a more elaborate ceremony with chanting, prayers and other rituals to pay respect and invoke the blessings of the gods.

I’ve already written about Ayudha puja, Saraswati puja and, more recently, Vahana puja here. I don’t know the name of the puja I attended this weekend, but this one was to mark the start of a new business enterprise. In this case, the elephant-god Ganesh is invoked and asked to remove any obstacles that may be faced. Respects are then paid to the goddess Lakshmi so that she can shower prosperity and wealth on the new business.

The new business in question is being set up by a French couple who are keen to introduce French cheese to Bangalore. Their Indian manager insisted that a puja was absolutely necessary to ensure success and good fortune. Though sceptical at first about the influence a few Hindu gods could have on the success of their business, they readily agreed after having encountered some minor delays and setbacks. If Ganesh and Lakshmi could make things run more smoothly, why not?

Ganesh will remove any obstacles and potential difficulties that may be faced by the new business.

Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity will ensure success and good fortune.

French Television was on hand filming a documentary about people who leave everything and start a new life elsewhere. This retired couple sold everything they owned in France and moved to Bangalore to start a French cheese business!

After the puja, the priest distributes prasad, food that has been offered to and blessed by the gods, to the guests.

Lunch was then served to guests in the garden.

Best of luck to Monique and Daniel!

Flower power

Flowers are an important part of everyday life in India. Almost every street corner has a vendor selling flowers. They are used to decorate idols and given as offerings in temples. Women wear garlands of jasmine flowers in their hair. I came across this flower market in Gandhi Bazaar and I couldn't resist taking some pictures. Flower markets are a riot of colours and the smell of fresh jasmine flowers is heavenly!

Vahana puja

Photo © The Hindu

From my window I can see my neighbours’ new car parked in their driveway. It’s a new model that I haven’t seen before. It has flower garlands decorating the front and an OM symbol painted on the windshield. This means they had a vahana (vehicle in Sanskrit) puja done, a special blessing done by a priest after a new car is purchased. This wards off the evil eye of envious neighbours and brings good luck on the roads.

Photo © The Hindu

Many car dealerships have their own in-house priests specially for this purpose. I see them lounging around in car showrooms dressed in saffron-coloured robes waiting for a new purchase to be made. The priest will bless the car and the driver by breaking a coconut, lighting camphor or incense, and chanting some prayers in Sanskrit. A small lime is placed in front of each tire and the driver then drives over them. I often see this happening in front of temples too.

Notice the limes in front of the tires! (Photo © The Hindu)

Lord Ganesh, the remover of obstacles, is always the most important passenger in every car. He takes a prominent place on the dashboard, removing any obstacles on the road ahead and ensuring a safe journey!

Election fever

Photo © The Times of India

In the run-up to this weekend's state elections, campaigners are making last-minute appeals to voters through loudspeakers perched on vans or auto-rickshaws circling the city's neighbourhoods. The sale of alcohol is banned for 48 hours, in an effort to keep voters level-headed on election day. This photo in today's Times of India reveals some of the more ingenious methods used to attract votes!

Auroville: the macro view

The pink roads of Auroville...

The Matramandir: the spiritual centre of Auroville.

A view of Auroville beach.

Cooling off...!

For more glimpses of Auroville, I found this video on YouTube:

A micro view of Auroville

Classes have been interrupted by the summer holidays so I thought I would go somewhere and do something. My silence lately has been due to the fact that I'm in Auroville keeping busy with some volunteer work.

I took a train to Chennai Central. I know this 5-hour trip well by now. I was still on the train when I got a call from someone speaking hurried Tamil. 'English?' I asked. 'Taxi Pondicherry!' was the response. The taxi I had booked was waiting for me. 'White shirt. Entrance!', he told me before hanging up. When I stepped into the heat and humidity outside Chennai Central I was faced with many white shirts who all wanted my business. 'Taxi Madam?' 'Where do you want to go?' 'Mamallapuram?' 'Pondicherry?' 'Guesthouse, Madam?' 'Auto-rickshaw?' 'Where do you want to go?'

Soon I was in a white Ambassador hurtling past Marina Beach and then we were heading down the East Coast Road towards Pondicherry, with the breeze from the Bay of Bengal coming through the open windows. 3 hours later, after a stop for some coconut water, we took a right turn onto a road that headed towards Auroville. We passed a foreigner on a motorcycle wearing a blue turban and I thought this must be the right place. We passed many other foreigners on motorcycles with their children propped in front on the gas tank, Indian style, or clutching their parents' shoulders from behind.

Auroville is an interesting experiment in international living. It recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, commemorating the day when people from 124 nations mixed soil from each of their countries in a large urn by the banyan tree, giving birth to Auroville. Today 2000 people from 44 nations live here. The idea was to create a self-sustained eco-village. What's amazing is that this land was completely arid 40 years ago with no green cover. It was the pioneers of Auroville who had planted the many trees and shrubs which cover the township today.

It's nice to get away from the city for a while. On my bicycle I pass Tamil villages with women busy drawing water from wells, children playing ball, cows and goats wandering down the road, bullocks pulling a cart loaded down with hay. I'm in India. Then I pass a gate crowned with bougainvillea, with a sign that says 'Boulangerie'. Inside, I find croissants and pains au chocolat. I'm in Europe. Around me people are speaking French, Italian, German, Russian, Tamil... Where am I? Tea stalls rub shoulders with organic food shops. The residential communities are called 'Aspiration', Repos', Verité', 'Recueillement'. Everything closes at 5pm sharp. I'm in another world.

I'm posting a few pictures I've taken here but I realize they don't really reveal what Auroville looks like. That's why I'll call this a 'micro' view of Auroville. Hopefully I can post a more 'macro' view soon.