I was trying to figure out the color of the lake. Was it blue or green? Was it silver or gold or a patchwork in between. Sunlight bounced off the shimmering sheet that was both silent and restless.
A wave lapped at my feet. A throaty chuckle approached and I looked down to see. It was a brown cygnet, a baby swan. "Who are you?" I asked. "Why of course, I'm the Ugly Duckling," was its prompt reply.
"I don't think you're ugly," I said. "Ugly is a relative ideology. Your feathers are just in disarray. You need to work on your motor planning."
It chuckled and before my very eyes, it started to molt and turned into an creamy and elegant swan. It spread its wings out - 3 feet across - then folded it wings and waddled to the edge of the water. "Follow me," it commanded, as it started to swim.
I wondered how I was to follow. I looked around and saw a Jet Ski. I leapt on the Sea Doo, and followed the swan. My Jet Ski zoomed as it sliced the water and the spray turned to clouds all around me. The rush of the wind in my face sent music to my ears.
It was Raga Hamsanandi and the swan was singing. Hamsa is breath, and its very breath was the song. Hamsa is also swan - the Hamsa was singing Hamsa-nandi.!It flitted and danced on the water with the swaras (notes) of the song. My Jet Ski skipped and danced along. So immersed were we both in this Raaga Rasa (nectar of raagas), that we did not even miss the 'Pa' note.
We passed a bridge where the lake rushed into the eager arms of the ocean. The swan stopped. "I belong in a lake," it said. You've reached the Ocean - its the Raaga Sagara (Ocean of Music) with lots of variety and salt. It spread out its wings- all 3 feet - and flew back to the shore.
A turtle approached my Sea Doo and asked, "Would you like to follow me? Or am I too slow for you?"
"Au contraire," I replied, "Fast and slow is a relative ideology. And didn't the slow tortoise beat the super fast hare?"
The turtle sped off and I zoomed on behind on my Jet Ski. He really was much faster than me. There was just ocean all around us - waves and endless stream of raagas from Raag Bhimpalsi to Raag Maulkauns.
Soon we reached the shores of a little sandy island. Coconut trees made a green crown in its middle. A couple of chimps approached me. "Are you hungry?" they asked me.
"Yes," I replied, and indeed pangs of hunger gnawed in me. They gave me a bowl made out of a coconut shell and told me, "Make a wish for a dish!."
I made my wish, and the bowl filled to the brim with Avial and Kovaka curry. I ate this with relish and washed it down with coconut water that flowed like a stream from the coconut trees.
Under a large tree on that island sat a nandutadka (sand crab) - it was standing on its side with its eyes closed. When it opened its eyes, I asked it what it was doing. "I'm a Hermit Crab," it replied. "I live an ascetic's life. I was meditating while doing a Yoga Asana."
I asked the it how I could go home. The Hermit Crab closed its eyes, clicked its pincers thoughtfully for a few minutes, and finally advised, "Look within to find solutions!"
I looked within me. I dived right in and journeyed through my bloodstream. I passed neurotransmitters busy at work, firing at synapses. I was making my way to the cerebellum but a neuron redirected me to the heart. The heart pumped its welcome. There I found the solution.
I found a pile of magnetic hollow rocks and threw them in the sea. Each became a swara and formed Raag Maalika. They floated and stuck together and formed a bridge right on top of the sea. The music soared and the bridge kept growing. The flip of a switch turned my Jet Ski into an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle), and I sped off on this sur-filled Raaga bridge.
The Raaga bridge took me all the way home.
- Hari Srinivasan
8/1/11
Translations
Raaga - Melodic Scales in Indian Classical Music. Some examples are Raga Hamsanandi, Raag Maulkauns, Raag Bhimpalsi etc..
Sagara - Ocean
Rasa - Nectar/Flavor
Raaga Sagara - Ocean of Music
Raaga Rasa - Nectar of Raagas
Sur - Melody
Swara - Musical Note
Hamsa - Swam
Hamsa / Sohum - Breath
Avial & Kovaka Curry - South Indian Dishes
Nandutadka - crab
Asana - Yoga Pose/Exercise
A wave lapped at my feet. A throaty chuckle approached and I looked down to see. It was a brown cygnet, a baby swan. "Who are you?" I asked. "Why of course, I'm the Ugly Duckling," was its prompt reply.
"I don't think you're ugly," I said. "Ugly is a relative ideology. Your feathers are just in disarray. You need to work on your motor planning."
It chuckled and before my very eyes, it started to molt and turned into an creamy and elegant swan. It spread its wings out - 3 feet across - then folded it wings and waddled to the edge of the water. "Follow me," it commanded, as it started to swim.
I wondered how I was to follow. I looked around and saw a Jet Ski. I leapt on the Sea Doo, and followed the swan. My Jet Ski zoomed as it sliced the water and the spray turned to clouds all around me. The rush of the wind in my face sent music to my ears.
It was Raga Hamsanandi and the swan was singing. Hamsa is breath, and its very breath was the song. Hamsa is also swan - the Hamsa was singing Hamsa-nandi.!It flitted and danced on the water with the swaras (notes) of the song. My Jet Ski skipped and danced along. So immersed were we both in this Raaga Rasa (nectar of raagas), that we did not even miss the 'Pa' note.
We passed a bridge where the lake rushed into the eager arms of the ocean. The swan stopped. "I belong in a lake," it said. You've reached the Ocean - its the Raaga Sagara (Ocean of Music) with lots of variety and salt. It spread out its wings- all 3 feet - and flew back to the shore.
A turtle approached my Sea Doo and asked, "Would you like to follow me? Or am I too slow for you?"
"Au contraire," I replied, "Fast and slow is a relative ideology. And didn't the slow tortoise beat the super fast hare?"
The turtle sped off and I zoomed on behind on my Jet Ski. He really was much faster than me. There was just ocean all around us - waves and endless stream of raagas from Raag Bhimpalsi to Raag Maulkauns.
Soon we reached the shores of a little sandy island. Coconut trees made a green crown in its middle. A couple of chimps approached me. "Are you hungry?" they asked me.
"Yes," I replied, and indeed pangs of hunger gnawed in me. They gave me a bowl made out of a coconut shell and told me, "Make a wish for a dish!."
I made my wish, and the bowl filled to the brim with Avial and Kovaka curry. I ate this with relish and washed it down with coconut water that flowed like a stream from the coconut trees.
Under a large tree on that island sat a nandutadka (sand crab) - it was standing on its side with its eyes closed. When it opened its eyes, I asked it what it was doing. "I'm a Hermit Crab," it replied. "I live an ascetic's life. I was meditating while doing a Yoga Asana."
I asked the it how I could go home. The Hermit Crab closed its eyes, clicked its pincers thoughtfully for a few minutes, and finally advised, "Look within to find solutions!"
I looked within me. I dived right in and journeyed through my bloodstream. I passed neurotransmitters busy at work, firing at synapses. I was making my way to the cerebellum but a neuron redirected me to the heart. The heart pumped its welcome. There I found the solution.
I found a pile of magnetic hollow rocks and threw them in the sea. Each became a swara and formed Raag Maalika. They floated and stuck together and formed a bridge right on top of the sea. The music soared and the bridge kept growing. The flip of a switch turned my Jet Ski into an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle), and I sped off on this sur-filled Raaga bridge.
The Raaga bridge took me all the way home.
- Hari Srinivasan
8/1/11
Translations
Raaga - Melodic Scales in Indian Classical Music. Some examples are Raga Hamsanandi, Raag Maulkauns, Raag Bhimpalsi etc..
Sagara - Ocean
Rasa - Nectar/Flavor
Raaga Sagara - Ocean of Music
Raaga Rasa - Nectar of Raagas
Sur - Melody
Swara - Musical Note
Hamsa - Swam
Hamsa / Sohum - Breath
Avial & Kovaka Curry - South Indian Dishes
Nandutadka - crab
Asana - Yoga Pose/Exercise
2 comments:
Hari, Did the swan's song sound like 'Kuhu kuhu bole koyalia' ?
Sita Aunty,
I listened to the song you mentioned on you tube. It was good.
However, the Hasma in the story was just way better - it was both its song and its breath (hamsa /sohum). Fundamentally, it was not limited by the range of human voice and by physical instruments. When you cross these limits, the result is bliss.
Hari
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