Mysore Madness: The Early Days of Dasara

Wow! I can’t believe that more than half of my trip is over!! So much has happened, and I have had a hard time keeping the blog up-to-date. I figured, better to have experiences while I can and write about them later. But, I’ll fill you in on a few of the highlights that have transpired over the past few days.

We have officially entered into the Dasara festival! Dr. Jayashree and her family spent about two days preparing the “doll” display. The Dasara festival, which celebrates the victory of Truth over Evil, is also a celebration of dolls…ALL dolls, basically any kind of doll or trinket. The family began by creating the “shelves” made from various heights of tables, followed by covering the shelves with various fabrics and ribbons, and then the fun part…the pulling out the “dolls” from storage and putting them into place.

This was so much like decorating the Christmas tree. You know, how we pull out all of the old ornaments, perhaps from childhood or from places we’ve been, and recall the lovely memories of years with family and friends, reflect on different times in our lives, and of course, make or find some new ornaments to reflect the current time. Even the colors are like Christmas…red and white with offerings from nature – flowers and green leaves. I can’t help but consider a deep historical link here.

The addition to the usual morning rituals, in celebration of Dasara, at least in this household, has been a daily recitation of the Ramayana. The Ramayana is a Sanskrit epic in 7 books of 500 cantos with 24,000 verses. Dr. Jayashree and M. A. Narasimhan are doing the recitation and breaking it up over the course of Dasara. An hour or so each morning is spent on this. It’s been moving for me to be able to sit in and just experience the energy of it all – the smell of incense, the flicker of the lamp flames, the sent of Mysore jasmine, the sounds of Sanskrit flowing around, over and through me, and the distinct and pure taste of the blessed water flavored with cardamom and tulasi (similar to basil). What a beautiful way to begin each day.

Yesterday, I aslo had the pleasure of going shopping with Dr. Jayashree! I’m so glad she was willing and interested in venturing out with me. She knows all of the “best” places. We looked at jewelry first. Let me just say, that India has some of the most impressive jewelry I’ve ever seen…certainly not to be acquired on a teacher’s salary, but definitely fun to look at! This photo is from a jewelry exhibit we went to a few days ago. Let’s see, I could buy this necklace…or buy a giant house or TWO! For the moment I’ve passed on the jewelry but I am considering a very elegant and small pair of earrings. J

We then went to look at saris. You may remember some of the beautiful saris in the photos from Akshata’s engagement party…if not, check them out by clicking on the title link to that post. I’m looking for a single sari made of Mysore silk (since I’m in Mysore!). I won’t have many opportunities to wear a sari back in Lubbock, but it would seem strange to have access to this beautiful tradition of dress and not bring back a part of it with me to share. Plus, it will be quite an experience just learning how to drape the 6 yards of fabric onto my body! We visited a couple of stores to look at the variety of fabrics and designs available. Most likely I will settle on a solid color or two tone sari with a bit of gold thread. We’ll see…more looking today!

Last night was incredibly fun. As previously mentioned, Dr. Jayashree’s husband, M.G. Narasimhan, works at the Mysore palace. Each evening during Dasara he works with the Mysore Prince to help him get ready for the evening ritual. The Prince processes through an elaborate hall of the Palace and makes his way onto a huge golden throne, intricately decorated with artwork and yes, jewels….a lot of them…diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and pearls. There aren’t many opportunities for members of the public to get to see the Prince, so when there is one, apparently they really want to take advantage of it.

When we (Dr. Jayashree, her brother M. A. Narasimhan, and myself) arrived at the Mysore Palace, there was a crowd of people gathered near the “back” entrance pressing to get in. This entrance is for those who, I believe, have some connection to the Prince. I have to say, it was a little crazy. It reminded my of my younger days (much younger) trying to get into clubs…where if you knew the bouncer or owner you’d get in, otherwise you’d wait outside for seemingly hours. Dr. Jayashree made a call to her husband who was inside the palace. A few moments later a guard cleared a pathway and called the three of us in. We walked right in building and up a set of stairs leading to the hall.

At that point, I wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen. I’d been warned that Westerners are generally not allowed in. If I didn’t get in, I’d just wait for the others…no biggie. But thankfully, there were no questions. I just followed my teachers straight into the hall and was guided to sit down next to them in a row (the only row!) of VIP chairs. The floors were packed body to body with families who’d come to catch a glimpse of the event. I felt very, very lucky to have such a great view.

Once the Prince entered the hall everyone was on their feet and pressing forward. Arms of young girls with cell phone cameras were reaching around both sides of me. My chair was tipping forward! It was like being in the front row of a rock concert (yes, also when I was much younger)! Madness!

The Prince was immaculately dressed, as you might imagine. In addition to a heavy gold threaded jacket, he sported seven, I think, large broaches filled with diamonds. He wore gold necklaces with a variety of jewels, a turban with gemstones hanging from the front, a gold belt, and who knows what else. He was given swords and other paraphernalia to carry as well. Honestly, he didn’t look very comfortable. I can only imagine what it must be like to wear all of that heavy fabric, weighted down with all of those jewels, in a space with no air-conditioning and packed with people. This ritual only lasted about 30 minutes, but I must say, it was quite something to see. No photos were allowed, although it seemed everyone around me was breaking the rules. I only snapped this one, which isn’t great (the lighting was dim and I didn’t want to call attention to myself, being the only Westerner in the hall and all, by shooting a lot of flash photography) but perhaps it can give you an idea of the color and ornate quality of the space. Yes, it's real gold.

Afterwards, we waited for Dr. Jayashree’s husband, who then led us to the front of the palace (lit up with thousands of lights – again like Christmas! - and a little like the TTU Key during the holidays) to see, from front-row seats non-the-less, the evening’s music program. The name of the group was Rhythm Sphere, a fusion of Indian classical and Western jazz, funk, and beatboxing. The group consisted of four percussionists (one on Western drum set), a vocalist, and a keyboardist. The tabla player, Sri. Pandith Bikram Gosh from Mumbai, was the most impressive. In addition to traditional tabla, he incorporated an electric tabla, a wide variety of shakers and other “color” instruments, some “tabla talk” (including some creative story-telling!), and a bit of beat-boxing (not quite like Greg Patillo, but close). It was really, really fun. I was amazed that there weren’t people up dancing. Maybe in the back they were dancing and I just couldn’t see?

The Sanskrit study is going well, though I’m a bit overwhelmed with vocabulary. The asana classes are going nicely. I think I may have maxed out in the series, at least for a while, at navasana…you all know how much I love “boat”! :-\ My whole torso goes into convulsions when I hold that pose and Saraswati insists that I do it with straight legs, even if that means a required assist. We’ll see how it goes next week. I’m really loving the philosophy discussions and have so many ideas to solidify in writing - that will just have to wait until I get home. I’ve also invited daily meditation into my experience…15-20 minutes twice a day. Life is full.