Until Next Time

We said goodbye to two of the pigs last evening for they flew out early this morning for Delhi and their homeward flights. The now four pigs started our day in Fort Cochin by heading to the Kathakali Culture Center to participate in a one hour meditation to music.

In a dark room lit by candles, sitting on cushions, we sat crossed legged, spines and heads straight with eyes closed. We formed a semicircle around two accomplished musicians on the sitar and drums. They played a beautiful raga meant to illicit meditation and happiness.

I love to meditate in the mornings and I try to do so each morning for 30 minutes. It centers me and gives me focus for the day. It is very rare that I can take an hour to devote to my morning meditation. Today I had time to go beyond concentrating on NOT concentrating. The music with a 16 bar beat on the sitar was enough of a constant rhythm that it was easy to fall into mindless thoughts. I think the Beatles used this same beat in their recording of "Within You Without You". It's amazing how powerful music can be in setting one's mood. The hour had dissapeared in what seemed but an instant. I emerged onto the sunlit and bustling street happy, energized and carefree.

When pigs fly there comes a time when they must return to each of their homes, families, jobs and committments.They are not the same pigs they were when they took flight 21 days ago. They have seen new places, made new friends, and created memories to last a lifetime. They have enriched their lives, nutured their souls, and brought a little sunshine and light into those whose paths they have crossed. "When the energy is good...the roads cross". Everyday we acquired new knowledge of man and nature and we were content and happy; what more could anyone want?

There is no such thing as Goodbye to a flying pig; only an "Until Next Time".

M

Textiles, Texture, Tactile

Southern India is temples and churches, mansions and palaces, and masterpieces in sculpture arts and culture. It also has an inexhaustable variety of textiles,textures and tactile.

We shopped for Sari's in Chennai, spices in Periyar, cottons in Chettinad, Bamboo Linen in Kerala, gems at Gem Palace in Fort Cochin, bronze scultures in Tanjore; pashminas,cashmere and silks everywhere.

CLICK HERE to see a video of the piglets shopping for spices in Periyar

CLICK HERE to see a video of a classical dance guide in Chennai

We felt the warmth of the wax when watching the sculpter cast his image; the touch of cold marble on our bare feet in the Palace of Madurai; the velvety feel of the oil rolling down our skin as the two masseuses did our Ayurveda treatments; the coolness on my neck that only a rare gemstone can create.

Nowhere else could such variety exist and just like everything else in India....the possibilities are endless.

CLICK HERE to see a video of the Meenaskshi Temple

M

Daily Photo - Ginger Meets 5 Little Piggies

Daily Photo - Rex Has Moves

Daily Photos - Shopping in Kerala

Shopping can be a spiritual experience as well!  Especially with the beautiful textiles, jewelry and antiquities this diverse country has to offer.

Just Dance - Lady Gaga Has NOTHING on These Performers!

Southern India is rich in its rituals and traditions, sculptures and paintings, dance, music, theater, handicrafts and festivals. With millions of people who follow numerous religions, speak many languages and dialects and practice different customs - it is a wonder that they have commonly shared attitudes and beliefs that transcend all barriers. These commonly shared beliefs appear in the form of legend and myths which have endured for hundreds of years.


One of the art forms that visually and musically express these fairy tales is the Indian Classical Dance. We attended performances of two Southern India dance styles: Bharatnatyam and the Kathakali. We went to a special recital at the Kalakshetra School for Traditional Music and Dance while we were in Chennai. The director of the school performed 6 dances in the Bharatanayam style. We knew very little about the school and even less about the dance but we were very excited to be attending this special performance.The "air cooled" theater was filled for the two hour performance. The musicans, singers and dancers were all stunning. We knew we had seen something wonderful although as the trip progressed we came to realize just how truly exceptional the performance had been. Each pose, hand gesture, smile, tilt of the head, angle of the foot had a meaning. When I tried later to mimick some of the movements, I realized just how difficult they were to perform. Many of the movements were depicted in scultures and paintings we saw throughout the temples we visited because this dance form originated with the temple dancers.

CLICK HERE to see a video of the preparation for the Kathakali dance

Picture this as sung to the tune of the "Hokey Pokey": Put your left foot out, put your right leg up, put you left arm up and you shake it all about, you do the tripatake gesture and you put your right arm out; that's what its all about!


Although one of the smallest states in India, Kerala has perhaps the richest and most complex web of art forms. One of the best examples of these is the Kathakali Dance form. It is here in Fort Cochin that we see the local interpretation of the Mahabarata.

In reading about this dance form we learned about the meaning placed on the eye exaggerations, facial movements and hand gestures. With their elaborate costumes and mask-like makeup, it is like watching KISS perform classical dance. Once again every movement has meaning. The application of the make up is an art form itself. We were able to watch the make up applied before the performance.


CLICK HERE to see a video of the Kathakali Dance in Cochin

To savour the multi_layerwd subtleties of the Kathakali, or any of the classical dance forms of India, the audience is expected to be equally receptive and knowledgeable. The term often used for such an informed viewer is rasika who is "the lover of the beautiful," or anyone who has a healthy sense of humor and wit, anyone who enjoys the pleasures of life, anyone who can create an atmosphere of cheer and happiness around him. All the pigs are Rasikas but none more so than Julie whose eye movements and made up face outshone even the most seasoned of the performers.

CLICK HERE to see more Kathakali dancing



CLICK HERE for more facial expressions and elaborate makeup




M

Daily Photos - Celebrations

Happy, Happy Birthday to Yeardley

Rex on the Road to Fort Cochin

Wishing Julie luck before her Kathakali dance performance.