Delhi
Travelled on Krishna Janmashtami. Got to Delhi, airport maginificent. Queue for taxi not so great. Full address got the response "Where is this place?" "Next to ...", "opposite ... temple", "in ... area" put me directly on the map.
Slept well. A/C room. Drew curtains in the morning and nearly had a lizard fall on me. Fat, brown type. I did the arm flail and two step jump back, with a yelp for effect. Breakfast was a toasted sandwich and cheese pasty from a street vendor. I know. Said pre-toasted sandwich came out of the portable fridge in a plastic wrapper, and went into the portable microwave oven intact. Yes.
I watched Arushi rehearse. I had a tour of the Gandharva Mahavidyala. I was introduced to some of the staff, who smiled at my inadequate Hindi. I visited the library and it's numerous books on Indian dance and music. I shook hands with ancient Mr. Vijay, the lone librarian, proud of his meticulous filing system. I seriously thought these things existed only in books, so apparently India is a book.
Lunch was a humble affair at the Gandhi Peace Foundation. I nagivated the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg and lived to tell the tale. And then I napped, a proper afternoon nap. Why don't we do this in the UK? Full from lunch, hot from the humidity, shirt off, A/C on, fan too for good measure, and a deep, grunty nap. :)
At four I had my first Odissi class. I must get used to being the tallest and oldest student in class. We went through the 'chauka' exercises and Batu Nritya. Then the students sat in a semi-circle facing their teacher, books in front of them, and sang Jayadeva's Dasavataram with accompanying abhinaya and hand gestures.
I think the plan for me is to re-learn Batu, polish Shankarabharanam pallavi, learn Khamaj pallavi and possibly, time-willing, an abhinaya item. What I really want to learn is the Madhuvanti-Durga piece.
Dinner was at GPF. Roti, bindi with potato, dal, chaval and curd. Mmm. I must get used to being the tallest and youngest patron at meal times. 'Uncle' in kurta-and-lungi navigating his smartphone. I guess no more weird than my khadi-top-and-Adidas-tracksuit-bottoms ensemble listening to my iPod.
It's only 10:45. I think I might, er, sleep.
Slept well. A/C room. Drew curtains in the morning and nearly had a lizard fall on me. Fat, brown type. I did the arm flail and two step jump back, with a yelp for effect. Breakfast was a toasted sandwich and cheese pasty from a street vendor. I know. Said pre-toasted sandwich came out of the portable fridge in a plastic wrapper, and went into the portable microwave oven intact. Yes.
I watched Arushi rehearse. I had a tour of the Gandharva Mahavidyala. I was introduced to some of the staff, who smiled at my inadequate Hindi. I visited the library and it's numerous books on Indian dance and music. I shook hands with ancient Mr. Vijay, the lone librarian, proud of his meticulous filing system. I seriously thought these things existed only in books, so apparently India is a book.
Lunch was a humble affair at the Gandhi Peace Foundation. I nagivated the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg and lived to tell the tale. And then I napped, a proper afternoon nap. Why don't we do this in the UK? Full from lunch, hot from the humidity, shirt off, A/C on, fan too for good measure, and a deep, grunty nap. :)
At four I had my first Odissi class. I must get used to being the tallest and oldest student in class. We went through the 'chauka' exercises and Batu Nritya. Then the students sat in a semi-circle facing their teacher, books in front of them, and sang Jayadeva's Dasavataram with accompanying abhinaya and hand gestures.
I think the plan for me is to re-learn Batu, polish Shankarabharanam pallavi, learn Khamaj pallavi and possibly, time-willing, an abhinaya item. What I really want to learn is the Madhuvanti-Durga piece.
Dinner was at GPF. Roti, bindi with potato, dal, chaval and curd. Mmm. I must get used to being the tallest and youngest patron at meal times. 'Uncle' in kurta-and-lungi navigating his smartphone. I guess no more weird than my khadi-top-and-Adidas-tracksuit-bottoms ensemble listening to my iPod.
It's only 10:45. I think I might, er, sleep.