Stumped by blue boy's charm !

I stumbled upon a blue faced flutist, who graced many romantic memorabilia in a book store, and naturally driven with curiosity to know who this cobalt complexioned Adonis really was….

During many visits to craft stores, I often saw images of the slim, lanky, youth with a frisky demeanor, surrounded by many dancing damsels, swaying to the melody flowing, from this adorable looking flutist.

Oozing with magnetism, the peacock feather peeping behind his ears and the flowing sunflower coloured gown only enhanced the charm of this enchanting being. In some images a white cow stood nearby, fondly swaying towards her master….in others it was a lissome lass who leaned closer to him.

Probing further, I found that, eating butter was his childhood obsession, so much so, stealing it, was a passion, fun and frolic with the village damsels was his favourite past time.. His childhood upbringing in the dairy farming villagers, tending to the cattle, the charm he carried in his youth, the impish pranks in his adolescence and gallantry in manhood…all these blended him to be the much loved idol of the hindu pantheon,

identified by so many names….but all of them radiating so much appeal ...so much fondness and attraction….

I do not know how to greet the very magical essence that makes me flip every time I see it …be it on the walls of a temple, greeting card, agarbatti pack, wall hanging and the other numerous things…

Do I chant ……………….. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, ……

Beyond the deep breathing and stretching ………..

I looked forward to visiting the quaint little place filled with different shades of green. A large elephant god sat at the entrance with the fragrance of incense burning sending out feel good vibes for all who came by. The ambience was perfect to spread out a mat, listen to the chanting, breathe deeply and stretch.

I had to admit it. I was hooked to yoga. With each ‘breathe in and breathe out’ accompanying a single movement of an asana, a great degree of tranquility was creeping into me, giving me a better grip over life’s little hum drums. Something was clipping my restlessness. My addiction also came with a prize I had to pay with unending cramps, muscle twists and stiffness. I was determined to learn the technique of this ancient art where today, it’s originality has been distorted with the likes of pilates and aerobics.

I loved the silent buzz of the Himalayan chants seeping through my ear drums while I gathered myself to pose like a tree, a plough, tortoise, flipped over countless times in trying to achieve the frog pose. The winding off session was the best and the most amusing with everybody lying on the floor, supposed to be totally relaxed in the pretext of being a corpse. During the process of relaxing each and every part of the body starting from the toes and moving onto the head, some dozed off to a mild slumber which brought out smiles in the faces of the rest.

I was restless, this wasn’t adequate, I had to know more. Over the days and months that followed, I read extensively about its history, origins, famous yogis, the art of training the mind to be a more productive being. What I gathered was an interesting collection, how the great maestro B.K.Iyengar started and went on to open the finest training school. Somehow everything that connected to yoga became my passion (including the strange shaped wooden beaded jewellery).

Did I stop at merely reading ? no, that wasn’t enough, the urge was severe….I had to see things for myself. A couple of visits to land of the origin really nailed me flat. The first thing that caught my attention was the serenity of every single human face that crossed eyes with me. Many questions crossed my mind, “is this pretence?’ “are they real?” It wasn’t only the looks, this sombre manner was evident even in the manner they spoke, responded. No they were not like zombies. They were perfectly normal human beings but with a better grip of things should I say ?

My spells of temptations were getting bad, I had to now spend a day or two and check this out. I convinced the unhurried souls to let me stay a night. I relished the dhal that washed over the plate of rice, fresh spring water. Chanting before bedtime, wake up at the crack of dawn, cold shower, yoga to start off the day. Hey this was good. Felt lighter, easier and more relaxed.

My mind was churning…what would it be to hang on here for good ? Unanswered question…and many of them too…..I am still looking for the ideal solution one that really fits in with my desires. The search continues, until then I keep stretching to the chants o

Take 2

Unahapooruwa a remote village in Hambantota was my next stop for a live interview with a woman who had truly wanted to learn the art of sewing all her life but had no means to learn the craft. I cross questioned my project colleagues about the woman, her background, village, livelihoods of communities, and all the snippets that would nicely cushion and pad the story I was supposed to spin based on pure truth of course.

I stepped into a compact house and was greeted by a wide grinned round woman who made us sit and enjoy fresh tea with biscuits. A spanking new sewing machine sat somewhere in the living room, with fabric falling over, spools of thread placed on some unfinished garments and some snipped up thread bits and fabric.

I began my usual tonic of ‘comfort talk’ before I proceeded to getting the facts from her for my story. The flow of conversation flowed without boundaries until I spotted the mark to cease casual talk and divert her attention to my mission.

My colleague was gearing up with the video and I was briefing her how she should begin her tale. She nodded to signify understanding and sat in preparation to churn the wheels of the sewing machine just for us. Video lights came on, I clicked the voice recorder and stood back with a notebook and pen to jot down any interesting things that may shoot in between her recital.

“Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeow” a loud cat’s screech was heard and a noise of some live thing jumping from behind the seamstress. The interview turned towards a different dimension, with a shoot for a funny video in full force. Our seamstress was standing on the chair with a measuring stick. I lost control and burst into a fit of giggles. I am chuckling as I write this for Asia Digest, recalling the hilarious episode. My colleague was serious for a while and seeing me in hysterics burst out laughing too. We created a racket and a big one too apart from the cat who decided to chase a rat and waited for the moment where the interview and filming was about to begin.

‘Take 2’ didn’t happen for a long time. I had to really come back to my usual sombre ‘work’ mood and I can tell you it wasn’t easy, because I was scotting on the floor and laughing my head off. Our seamstress had got off the chair and she too joined us in our fits which didn’t seem to go away for a long time

The rat kissed goodbye to dear life and a jubilant cat pounded to it’s mistress showing it’s might, holding a limp rat through snarling jaws. Our seamstress patted its head as if to congratulate him and continued giggling.

We took a break not getting enough of the sudden amusing episode. I managed to bring myself down and walked over to the seamstress with voice recorder as the video lights came on. ‘Take 2’ did happen this time, for real.