Bhakti drumming ceremony
Trip Start
Sep 20, 2006
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Trip End
Dec 20, 2006
Pune, India
Friday, September 29, 2006
she couldn't take a lot of people because it was a (comparatively) small room, but she took me and the boy who is filming the stuff for NBC (who actually turns out to be ridiculously adorable and sweet and UofCish, i have been kind of helping him out with the project). it was an amazing experience. there were (at the height of the evening) almost 80 men crammed into this tiny garage-type room, sitting cross-legged playing drums, singing, clapping and bells. they played song after song, for 3 hours. it was so loud, i will be deaf for a week. people just kept coming in off the street too, to join in or just sit and watch. there was a hindi festival going on and there was this loud parade going by outside - but they just kept playing over it, louder and faster to compete. it was so intense and the energy in the room was so overwhelming.
the guru and his disciples had amazing relationships obvious through the playing. there was a crazy old man who was missing most of his teeth that was fabulous - leading songs with his scratchy voice and standing up to dance around. the guru sat with his tiny grandson on his lap and tried to teach him bells. the guru is such an actor. we came at 5pm so joel could do an interview for his show. the guru said some things about why he chose this form (which is not recognized by indian classical musicians) and why he is a teacher. he then taught a 'mock lesson' to jaime. the bhakti started at 6pm. at 9pm it ended.
we stayed and ate dinner with the drummers and the guru out of respect. they served a tapioca/rice dish with seasonings and watermelon, of course all of it was eaten with your hands while sitting on the floor. during most of the ceremony i was the only girl present other than jaime. that was weird. sometimes the guru's (first) wife would run in and out of the room (his second wife is not allowed in the first wifes house, although his second wife is a drummer as well). towards the end a family came with older women. during the meal we sat in two circles - separated by gender.
***pictures coming soon****
