I’M STUDYING KARNATIC VOCAL MUSIC WITH RAVI SIR! And tabla with some other Indian guy. But I’m pretty bad at tabla (granted, I’ve only had 2 lessons). But let’s talk about singing karnatically…
So yea, there ended up being space for me and only me at the Vijnanakalavedi Cultural Center,so while I’m hanging out with artsy hippy types from around the world and eating delicious vegetarian food off of banana leaves with my hands and studying non-western musical traditions and rocking out with my sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-da-ni-sa singing scale, Michelle and Becs are taking crowded hot trains up to the north of the country, where it’s very crowded and hot (In case I never mentioned it, Becs was our tour leader in Africa when we were on the huge overland camping truck, and now she’s traveling with us for our 2 months in India. Well, traveling with Michelle, anyway.) I’m feeling pretty good right about now. I signed up for a week at the center, and this morning extended my stay to a month so I could get more out of Ravi Sir and the other Indian tabla guy and the yoga classes 3 days a week and the Kalari martial arts classes every evening. Man, I love it here. Maybe a little too much. But hey, it’s my year to do whatever I want, and I want to take a break from staying in a different hotel every few nights and instead concentrate on concentrating my mind in the ancient ways of India. With a bunch of artsy hippy types from around the world. Hey, everyone should do it once in their life, right?
Rather than give a long explanation about the Vijnanakalavedi Cultural Center, I will simply put the link to their website and those who are so inclined can peruse at their own pace. www.vijnanakalavedi.org It’s a pretty grand place. Thanks to Elizabeth Burguieres for the tip. Okay, gotta go practice my DHA DHADHA THI TU rhythm, more later…
