Back in New Delhi
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2009
1
16
20
Trip End
Jul 29, 2009
New Delhi, India
Friday, March 27, 2009
After our exciting and refreshing journey into the Himalayas are happy to return to what is becoming our 2nd home in India, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in New Delhi. Upon arrival, a deep calmness and peace descends on our worn out bodies and nerves. We quickly feel the weight and relentless energy of the city again as we race toward the 1st night of a 3 day tour with Guruji.
Noida was an hour away on the outskirts but the city never stopped, much like a drive to Brampton or Burlington these days. Guruji took the stage, got tuned and warmed up before revealing the amazingly powerful Raga Shree over the course of the next hour. The concert was interrupted and the Raga was even cut short by an organizer demanding Guruji to start the light classical portion of the recital!?! (how Indians love their bhajans (bhajans are purely devotional love songs to the divine). Like always the performers and guests (us) were treated to a meal after the concert and we were soon on the road back to the Ashram.
On a whim of inspiration in his sleep, Guruji had composed and arranged a portion of his concert to include us! We rehearsed all morning and ironed our finest kurtas all afternoon. The concert was only around the corner at the very beautiful grounds of the Sri Aurobindo Society. The hall was much more fit for a good acoustic listening experience and the audience was almost ideal for attentive, focused listening. Guruji's full exposition of Raag Bhimpalashri captivated and awed the audience for over an hour. This raag seemed to me (Jonathan) to have a much more simple structure than a raag like Basant or Shree, but the sheer power and magnificence of his performance completely redefined my conception of how music can deeply move an individual. We were honored to take the stage with Guruji and played the last 2 selections of the night to the audience's surprise and delight! To be blessed by such a maestro is what every musician longs for throughout his life. Being on stage alongside them is a Guru's greatest blessing!
After a pleasant lunch with Deep and Maninder, Shantanuji's crowd packed into 2 cars and we were off to Vrindavan, one of the Holy Hindu Pilgrimage Cities. It is the birthplace a of Krishna, one of the most important incarnations of God. Upon entering the city from the chaotic highway, huge 30-40 foot statues of Krishna and Ganesh greeted us. We pass huge ashrams decorated colourfully with Hindu design and paintings and statues. The temple we stayed at was one of the biggest and most beautiful we've seen (on the surface anyway), and the mandir displayed 108 intricate statues of Krishna's consort as well as Krishna him self.
The concert was another masterful display of class and ultimate musicianship by Guruji and Malhar, his top class tabla accompanist. For our first time we were requested to join Guruji from the beginning of the almost 3 hour concert. We started with Basant, a joyful and very powerful Raag of the spring season. The sky opened for a downpour of intense rain and in tribute to Natures course Guruji chose Raag Milan Ki Milhar, a monsoon raag that expresses the torrential rains, lightning and thunder season in India. We sat and listened to the Bhajan section of the performance joyfully, although the sound was particularly bad and half the crowd seemed in deep sleep. Mind you the other half just loved every note Guruji sang so it made up for in!
The next day brought one of the architectural wonder of the world.....yes, you guessed it, THE TAJ MAHAL!!!!
Jonathan, Andrew, Justin, Shayna, & Natalie
