Musafir/wanderer/Yatri/traveller

Travel, wander, explore, move, journey, trip - how many ways I can refer to my move from point A to point B! During this long 100 days of lock down, didn't travel bug bite me, nag me? The occasional restlessness, perhaps is the distant call ?
There are armchair travels, daydreaming or like now, I can bring alive those moments by reading through my blog posts. So I did about my trips from Thiruvannamalai to Chennai and back!
Whatever be the name,  I like all the activities leading finally to the actual travel - plan the grocery, vegetables, milk and other supplies in such a way to finish them all just before travel, completing other tasks, packing and to be ready on time early in the morning!
I had been doing this road trip between these two places four to five times roughly every month for about a year and a little more - seems to be a long time ago but only till seven months back. Hm... now I definitely miss the travel!
Ah...! This is my mind moving all over -north, south, east or west touching upon one thought and jumping to the next.  Come and enjoy the ride with me!
The early morning air is always refreshing. Every creature wakes up slowly to the gentle and warm touch of the Sun, welcomes the new morning with pure joy. I look out of the window with the speeding wind against my face - all things initially were like a haze or one dark lump but slowly becoming distinct like the firm strokes of the artist's brush.
The small villages still manage to retain their quaint charm - heap of hay, smell of cattle, occasional smell of the wet farming lands and places - Pennathur, Melpappampadi, Chenji, Pakkam.... we go past these beautiful little places waking up to another new morning.
Looking at those remains of the ramparts of the great fort of Chenji is a great experience in itself. The silent spectators of kingdoms gone, how would they have been during some glorious past!
What utter lack of imagination and inability to appreciate the history - that would have driven the government to break these walls (with much difficulty, I heard) and build road connecting Chenji to to places further north and northeast like Chennai! (There are so many such half formed thoughts - some related and some others disconnected - filling my mind which would help me later in my classes)
In and through all these flashes of ideas, I feel I am part of everything around me, like the fort walls, the tall Palmyra trees, the chirpy birds, the milk man, the ladies cleaning their front yard and the distant azure mountains. I am in complete harmony there and a rare feeling of affinity shatters all barriers and in that moment of merging with all, I feel blessed and elated.
  

Magic of music.

Overcast sky, violin on the radio and morning cooking

Every morning, I thank the AIR for the one hour classical music programme for making it easy to stand in front of the stove - stirring, frying and mixing some dish or the other. Today, it was a foot tapping and hip swaying Kalyani filling the kitchen in waves after waves - from the strings of MS Gopalakrishnan and Narmada's violin. Cooking is infused with my joy (Doesn't food become tastier and healthier?) 
This is incidental, however AIR's great service in promoting our music and art forms has, for years, quenched my thirst for music and broadened my knowledge.
As a teenager, it was AIR's broadcasts of the concerts during the music season that had thrilled me. (I was not a Chennaivasi, then) I grew up feasting on Hindustani and Carnatic music of legends of yesteryear. I wanted to reproduce the Brigas, bhava or the permutation and combination of swaras that flowed and poured from their creative minds, fingers and voices.
It normally used to be the parents pushing their children to learn classical music in a typical upper class surrounding in Tamil Nadu but in my case, I begged, cajoled and convinced my patti (grand-mom) to allow me to learn. It is not that they did not appreciate classical music at home. In fact, my patti could explain the meaning of many kritis of Saint Thyagaraja or Ramadasa. Every one at home had good musical ear and my grand uncle could sing with brigas like Bhimsen Joshi. His voice sounded like that of P.B. Srinivas.

Some great musicians and patrons of my city then decided to provide easy access to ordinary people (other than the privileged upper echelon of the community) for learning classical music.
I considered it as an answer to my deep yearning and started my music learning. A very strict music teacher ensured that our base was strong and sound. The importance of Shruti and Laya (it can be understood as pitch and rhythm ) was dinned into us every moment with the saying -" Shruti matha Laya pitha".  Yes, singing in harmony with shruti keeping the beats (rhythm) is the basic requisite and they are like our mother and father. I realised then, being able to sing makes me happy. At home, my patti, thatha and uncle were all fond of listening to me singing and the daily 'Riyaz' (practice) was a time I really enjoyed. 

After a gap of five years, I scouted around and got a middle aged woman who was equally passionate about music and started my lessons from her. My music teacher had taught me how to listen to 3 hour concerts and appreciate the subtle nuances of each raga. That was a wonderful period, when after the class we would share our impressions about previous day's radio relays. I lapped up every note, every phrase that came through, in the majestic voice of Voleti Venkateshwarlu or the mellifluous voice of Nedanuri garu or the soft distinct notes of Kalyanaraman. What a magical time it was when I was completely under the spell of music!

But all good things come to an end, don't they? After about 2 years of this magic - family rules, social customs and my expected role dictated that I had to get married and become 'a responsible woman'!! I felt it was a gamble - how the two strangers would be compatible? Are we taught about mutual respect and open communication? With multitude of questions I entered into this new phase.  My marriage to an army officer took me far away from this music physically, yes. But it continued to  nurture me and enriched the new relationship as well. I realised I was blessed to have a partner who respected my space and took pride in my talents and achievements.  
My husband appreciated good music of any type; he recognised my passion for classical music, gifted me with audio cassettes of my favourite ones and he loved to listen to them with me! He wanted me to pursue music lessons and hone my writing skills.  With him, for the first time I listened to jazz and other western form of music and learnt to appreciate good music from any corner of the world. 

Now, I am back to the place - that is the 'happening place for Indian classical music. I attend concerts, through my stumbling and fumbling with technology, manage to listen to webcast programmes and have been part of a carnatic music group which share special music concerts through online radio. This group has members who are experts in theory and the practical aspects of music and when they share their views, I gain more insight into the intricacies and technicalities of carnatic music. Music has been a great point of bonding with some wonderful people. Like this morning, within a moment, the surrounding changes to endless blue sky with the azure mountains beyond bordered by tall coconut trees and other big trees and the scent of jasmine wafting in the gentle breeze.
It just let my imagination flow unrestrained and I soar up, up and up feeling that oneness with all things around me. 

And, the competition continues...

A little meditation, going inward and creating a design in front of the house - it has become a great stress buster and good way of starting the day, particularly now.

Added to that is the revival of one childhood habit of competing with my neighbour and a very close friend of six decades.

She had been there for me to guide my steps when I float in my day dreams (literally and figuratively too!). Marriage and the choices of profession had taken us to different places; but our hearts found ways to bond and stay close.

In the twilight years, we have both come to the same city, yet stay quite a few kilometres away from each other.

We are not given to using mobile and other social media often to communicate with each other; nor can we be demonstrative of our friendship and love. so what! Certain things from the childhood come back with renewed vigour - this was our competition during the month of Markazhi to fill the entrance with beautiful 'kolam' designs and to see who completed it first.

She is sharing her free hand designs with me because I enjoy looking at them and also want to incorporate those designs in my kolams (hope, no patent/copyright issue??!).

I occasionally add a dash of colours to bring a different perspective.

The kolam design that I created today is here.(The one above)

These flowers were in and out of my thoughts and vision since last two days. They wanted me to feel them, smell them and acknowledge them in my heart.

Morning the watch man stood and looked down at it for few minutes and showered me with such appreciation that it seemed like the flowers swayed gently in the breeze and smiled at me.

I wanted to share it with my friend and said " The competition continues."(Why did I say so?)

She has subtly pointed that out. Ha ha! Feel like those 12-14 year old girl with the whole world within her reach. the kolam down below is the one , my friend has sent!.