Bulls and Saxophones

Two mornings ago Dr. Jayashree raised an eyebrow and said, "Ah, some good music for you this morning!" The sound was intensely piercing, similar to that of a loud Medieval shawm, but much more abrasive...imagine that! I'm not sure what this instrument is called but playing it is the way this man announces that he has brought by his beautifully decorated bull for all to see. For a few Rs you can take a photo. Here he is just outside of the back entrance to our home.

Speaking of instruments, yesterday I was also privileged to view the instrument collection at the Jaganmohana Palace, located just across the street. Dr. Jayashree's husband manages the art gallery there. He took me over to have a look and we were given the "royal" treatment. We were able to view and hold several old instruments that had belonged to various Kings in the lineage of the Palace. There are instruments there from all over the world, including quite an interesting collection of flutes.

The flutes were in a glass case so I wasn't able to get any good photos, however I did get some interesting pictures of several percussion instruments and a whole quartet of Saxophones. You can see them in this photo in the back left corner. In the front right corner is a brass jala tarang. It's a percussion instrument in which each bar is tuned by filling the brass "bowl" underneath with water. It's tuned according to the level of the water in each bowl.

Ok…another power outage just occurred. This also happened yesterday for several hours. I can see how this could easily create frustration in our technology-centered world that relies so heavily on electricity. The battery power on my computer will only last for about an hour. But surprisingly, yesterday the outage forced a welcomed break from the screen.

Power is back on. That was quick!

Yesterday evening we attended two concerts at the Palace. We had front row seats...a great place to be. I could really see and feel the interaction between the perfomers on the stage. The “opener” for the evening was group that consisted of violin, saxophone and percussion. I had no idea that saxophone had made it's was into Karnatic music, but apparently it's quite popular.

The highlight was hearing the second concert which featured violinist Dr. M. Narmadha from Chennai. She is what they call here a “fusion” artist because she blends Karnatic and Hindustani elements. She was incredibly fun to watch...she played with so much joy! When she would frequently connect with the eyes of people in the audience, a huge smile would spread over her face. I had the pleasure of meeting her afterwards. As she was talking to the crowd that had gathered, she enthusiastically commented on how inspiring it is for her to see audience members involved and engaged in the music that is offered from the stage. It’s definitely worth a YouTube search to check out her playing.

The asana classes at KPJYAI are going well. I've had three classes so far and at each one Saraswati has allowed me to go a little further in the series. Yesterday I made it through the variations of janu sirsasana (more of my favorite forward bends!). I was allowed to watch the others practice while I waited for the closing series. There was one lovely woman, probably 30-something, who didn't seem to break a sweat! I honestly don't know how that was possible. Everyone else in the room was drenched. She made it all look so easy...elegant and graceful. Today, my body is appropriately aching. There are no classes on Sunday and I am grateful for a day of physical recovery. I plan to use today to prepare for more Sutra and Sanskit class on Monday.

Oh...a nice little side note...I'm getting plenty of relaxed practice time with my instrument here...something that hasn't happened in quite a while. I brought a lot of Bach with me. It's nice to remember how much I love to play the flute!