I remember going on a heritage walk through the old city of Ahmedabad.  Some of the non-Indians on the trip had stopped to point at and take pictures of a sign outside a derasar (Jain temple).   The sign asked females to refrain from entering during menstruation.   I was not at all fazed by the sign.  After all, I had grown up being told that I could not enter the temple area or participate in services during the first four days of my period.  It was only on the fifth day and that too after bathing and washing my hair that I would be consider “pure” and “clean” again.  It went much further in the home of my orthodox grandparents in India.  There the whole family knew when you had your period because you were served food separately, sat on a different sofa from anyone else and in general avoided physical contact with anyone.  For those reading of something like this for the first time, your reaction might be WHOA! How is that possible in the 1990’s or 21^st century.  Let me tell you that it exists in many homes beyond just that of my grandparents.

I used to get frustrated.   I mean girls can do anything while they have their period, including going swimming and how could an aspect of the biological cycle which allows for reproduction make a woman unpure?  But then I heard the stories.  A friend told me about her grandmother’s mother-in-law.  She would not let her daughter-in-laws sit idle for a moment.  There was always cooking or cleaning or children to attend to and if there really wasn’t anything to do, she had on occasions, mixed together dry lentils and rice and asked her daughter-in-laws to separate the two…. It was physically exhausting.  If this was a the case for women just two generations removed, it is not hard to imagine that this has been the case for centuries.   So what is the easiest way to the get the masses to do something?  Religion.  Women were sanctioned four days of rest per month and that too on the days she was likely to feel weak or in pain as she lost blood.  It’s not rocket science to see how blood can become associated with impurity / uncleanliness especially when pads and tampons were not around and you have the stigma that exists today.

Circumstances have changed, so the idea seems backwards, but the reality is that the tradition came into being to protect a woman’s well-being, not take away from it.

But others traditions continue to have relevance today.  From the outside we can assume that it has been imposed by society, but could in fact be an informed decision by the women themselves.  A great example of this is purdah (or drawing of the veil).  In the ideal world, a woman should be able to walk around wearing whatever she wants without fear of harassment or bhuri nazar (evil or bad eye).   A married woman should not have to be concerned that her brother-in-law will look at her with lust and potentially physically act upon that desire.   But the reality is not the same.   One of the reasons for the purdah is to avoid such circumstances.  Perhaps the choice of words is “anti-feminist,” but to avoid creating circumstances that can lead to harassment.   In Hindi, the veil is many times referred to as one’s laaj or dignity.  A mother-in-law would tell her daughter-in-law to keep her laaj or pull her veil to cover her face.

As unfair as the reasoning may seem, it is for the protection of the woman and there are countless cases when woman veil their faces or bodies not because society or men demand it, but out of their free will.    I personally recall the comments and whistles that men would pass when I used to walk the streets of Ahmedabad (easily identifiable as a foreigner).  At that point, I had two choices – to continue without doing anything or keeping a dupatta to cover my head and face when I went out.  While I felt frustration that I could not walk down the street without the chance of harassment, my going unveiled would not stop the eve-teasing nor was it going to educate the men (but I would call them boys) would partook in it.  The harassment did not disturb them, but it was affecting me.  I had to pick and choose my battles.  By covering myself, I could walk with more comfort and do what I needed to do with fewer disturbances.   Even as a Westerner, I chose a form of purdah out of my own free will.

Before writing practices off as backwards or orthodox, its origins and reasoning should be understood, then one can make an educated comment on its validity or lack there of.   The example of the days of rest during menstruation and purdah are great to illustrate how a tradition can lose relevancy or be just as needed as it was during its inception.

As much I would not like to acknowledge it, it is still to a great degree a man’s world out there.  Women are making strides in leaps and bounds, but certain attitudes towards women will take a long time to be removed (if they are).   It can be easy to get frustrated and also dog on practices that come across of stifling or anti-women, but they may in fact be in place for the benefit of women.   We have to pick and choose our battles, be optimistic, yet realistic.  There are bad things out there, not just for women, but for children and even for men.

Guruji wrote a beautiful piece on sadhna and if someone exemplified a sadhak, it would be Pt. Bhimsen Joshi.

One of the Bhimsenji’s most loved songs was the bhajan Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada and what an appropriate song it is.  Guruji explained the meaning of this poem in in one of his writings, which I have copied here.  A rendition by Bhimsenji is found at the end.  It is a recorded version which cannot be compared to the live recordings of the same by him, but nonetheless gives you an idea of his mastery.

Here is a wonderful poem by Brahmanand that summarizes what a classical musician must do if they truly want to realize God through their music. Note that this can be applied to any field or work, if one desires to reach that level of mastery in it. This poem has been sung beautifully by Bhimsenji, who is a great model of a true sadhak.

Jo bhaje hari so sada
Wohi param pad payega
Chhod duniya ke majhe sub
Bhaith kar ekant mein
Dhyandhar guru ke charanaka
To prabhu mil jayega

Literal translation:

The one who remembers/praises God always
Will attain the Ultimate goal
Leave the pleasures of the world
Sit alone (in meditation)
Meditate upon the feet of your guru
And you will realize God

The actual meaning of the poem is:

The one who always and fully engages in ones work (this can be any work)
Attains the highest aim
Leave behind worldly pleasures
Sits alone with full concentration
Aspire to follow the path your guru(‘s feet) have walked (upon)
And you will realize God

If you don’t know about TED, let me introduce you.  It’s a treasure vault of inspiration.  TED spreads ideas.  It started off as a single conference that has exploded globally to be many conferences.   Inspirational folks from all fields are given 6 to 18 minutes to share their work, story and/or idea with the world.   While I don’t have a bucket list per say, attending a TED conference is most definitely something I want to do one day.

Anyways, bringing it back to INK.  They live streamed one session each day, which was fantastic to watch and thanks to social media like twitter I could get the take-away messages from the other talks that happened over the three days.   Some of the best talks are going to be on the TED website, but here are some of the take-aways and stories from the three days (compiled from tweets).

Side: For Avatar fans, James Cameron is coming out with Avatar that will be going to a new biome – the ocean.

DAY  1:

A great write-up on Day 1 is on the TED Blog here – http://blog.ted.com/2010/12/10/the-ink-conference-day-1/

DAY 2:

Alexander Tsiaris: “When we’re born, we’re given a pristine cardiovascular system. Then, we screw it up.”  He shares stories about wellness to communicate its importance because “Data does not speak to you. Pie Charts never changed anyone’s life – story speaks”

Deepti Naval (after visiting and writing about mental institutions): I could never look at life in the same way again. She gave an intense reading of her poetry, capturing the tortured life of a mentally ill woman.

Simon Lewis: “I believe that we can all rise and shine.” (He gave a talk that started with his almost life-ending accident to the importance of consciousness to science and healing).  He explains the experimental sensor-based technology that allows him to walk today and raises awareness about head injuries and ways to recover from them.

Sophie Morgan: Her life changed when she ended up in a wheelchair. Changed, but didn’t end.  She designed The Mannequal to incorporate wheelchairs in shop windows because disabled girls like fashion too.

Deepak Chopra: proposes that consciousness creates reality. Ultimately, there is only one kind of healing — the holiness that we experience when we return to our ground state.

Nancy Duarte: You have the power to change the world. It only takes a single idea. I’m really passionate about presentations, brilliant ideas can be forgotten just because of how they’re presented. (Great talk on how to make effective presentations)

Anand Kumar begins with the story of Santosh Kumar, a rural Indian who did not have access to formal education but studied on his own. Anand accepted Santosh Kumar to his “Super 30″ program. Santosh is now a scientist in Belgium.

George Mathew: When people make music together, they have to listen to each other — that’s an important lesson for young people.

When being beaten in a mugging, his metronome fell out of his pocket. They began asking questions — mugging became a music lesson.

Luis Dias (bringing el sistema to India): Our children are talented. All they need is a chance. Let us give it to them.

Tom Wujec: 3 tech trends might change everything: Digitized reality, infinite computing and rapid fabrication.  Once the 3D printer can replicate itself we will definitively have the democratization of design.  When we’re able to build anything, what will we build?

Corey Bridges: I think the most important thing the Internet enables is collaboration

Sunitha Krishnan: Only when the most excluded, rejected, isolated are included will we have a world that will be a better place for all.

Her story post TEDIndia talk -  Google grant led to led to construction of a school, youth home, adult home, hospital. Her Sunitha shelter has been attacked multiple times by mobs, her life attacked. Today the challenge is how to build a team of people who will be committed under such conditions?

C Mallesham innovated an automatic loom to revive the dying tradition of Pochampally silk sari weaving (took him 5 years, he was told only educated engineers could design something like this).

Mussaret Zaidi: Hygiene hypothesis: lack of exposure to bacteria at a young age may hinder immune development (proven to be true). Food policy should take into account local conditions, consider human/animal/environmental health

Ugesh Sarcar: His father, also a magician, told him magic is all about psychology

Mark Koska: Contaminations from injections kill twice as many people as malaria worldwide. He invented a 5-cent syringe that breaks if you try to reuse it.

Ashwini Akkunji started out by running after cattle in her village in Karnataka. Ashwini Akkunji was supported by her father in becoming an athlete, but faced many hurdles of health, isolation, community disapproval.  She went on to become an Commonwealth champion.

DAY 3

Alexander Tsiaras’ advice for the young (but really all): You are only limited by your imagination. The possibilities are endless.

Raghava KK: We need to pop our bubbles and continue to reinvent ourselves.  My learning is all about unlearning.  Everything we do is art. The way I live my life is art.

His favorite new art project – an iPad app that lets you play with and personalize his illustrations.

John Henry Harris: Play hard, work better.  When we play, we’re open to creativity. At Lego, we have co-creation sessions with kids. It’s really about what the children can teach us. True beauty often lies with the simplest things.

He gave each participant a bag of lego and asked them to build a duck in 30s.  30s led to many possibilities à simple way to share that creativity is inherent in us.

Sharada Srinivasan: The striving for perfection in dance is the same as the craftsman striving to create their perfect project.

Arvind Gupta:  Often one doesn’t know what one wants to do. Sometimes, it’s good enough to know what one doesn’t want to do.  Children want to make things, they want to do things. Science must reach the most oppressed, most marginalized children.

Help spread science and toys to all.  Arvind wants others to use his design.  See all the toys he makes from nothing and get instructions on how you can do the same:  http://ow.ly/3nMeP)

Philippe Starck (Very humourous and wearing crazy pants): Everything is organic, even me.  When you produce, you have the responsibility to keep your product clean. Anything extra will boomerang and kill you.

Shivam Sai Gupta (India’s youngest animator) –  I believe creativity is born from pain and suffering. And, creativity can solve any problem.

Lynda Barry (Hilarious talk) – Starts with how her grandmother is Filipino, which she, unlike Americans, is not crazy.  What is an image? It’s spontaneous and feels somehow alive. The image world is so much more than art, it’s all around you.  The thing that scares me about technology is that reduces eye contact between children and parents.

Matt Groening (another hilarious talk): He began with wisdom from the Simpsons and gave insight into what each character was based off of.   His dad told him “Matt, you can’t draw, so don’t try to make your living as a cartoonist.”  Ultimate payback: naming a character (Homer) after him.

Rives did a funny wrap-up of the conference, poking fun at attendees.

KUDOS to the INK team.  How can I attend next year?

Jyot Se Jyot Jalate Chalo
Prem Ki Ganga Bahate Chalo
Raah Mein Aaye Jo Deen Dukhi
Sab Ko Gale Se Lagate Chalo

My own loose translation

As you go along light another’s lamp with your own
Let the river of love flow as you go
If you meet anyone with sorrow along your way
Embrace him as you go

—–

I am reminded of a story I read long ago, yet cannot find.  Here is it paraphrased (which I know is not as beautiful as the original).

A man made the long journey to the sacred fire.  He crossed rivers and went over mountains.  With his candle lit, he began the journey home.  Along the way, he came across a women with an unlit lamp, who asked him to light her lamp with his own.   Not thinking of the pains he took to light his lamp, he put his candle to hers.   As he continued, the rains came down, extinguishing his light.  But he had shared his light with another.  So instead of having to take the long journey to the fire, he made his way back to the woman and lit his lamp from hers.

—

As you light your lamp, embrace the nature of its fire that does not diminish when shared with others.

Jyot se jyot jalate chalo.

How was ice cream invented? There are many stories. Wiki would probably give you more insight, but the story that was shared was how after much struggle, someone got the idea to add salt to the ice to enable the creation of ice cream.

It got me thinking. Everything in the world around us, was at some point someone’s invention. A random thought or idea that took time and patience to develop. Edison didn’t invent the lightbulb in a day. So many people died in the process of creating airplanes. And what about our computers and phones? The things we consume on daily basis where the result of someone’s idea, someone’s perseverance and dedication (in many cases, that of many people). As our conversation moved from ice cream to airplanes, I was filled with gratitude for all those that came before us, for giving us the many luxuries and little things that we take for granted, yet have a place in our lives. In that gratitude, I was reminded yet again of how we are connected to not only the world we live in at present, but that which came before us and that which is to come.

The last stop on Tabla Ecstasy‘s North America tour was Toronto.  My family and family friends did a fantastic job organizing the show.  For most, it was the first time they were going to hear me (or Tabla Ecstasy) perform.  Though still an amateur, I had the honour of opening for my gurubhais.  But before that, I had to get on stage and introduce my world, beginning with Guruji.  As I looked out at the 500+ audience and started speaking, I choked.  Normally, I am very comfortable on stage, emceeing is something I’ve been doing since childhood. This wasn’t supposed to be difficult.  Without notice, my eyes had filled up with tears and I was at a loss of words.   I was overwhelmed with gratitude.   Many of the those who sat in front of me had seen me grow up in front of them and today they were all there to show their support for what I was doing and be apart of my world, even if it was only for a few hours.  Even as I sit here recounting the moment, I am overcome with emotion, reminded yet again of the countless hidden threads of love that give me strength in my journey.  I say it time and time again and even though it doesn’t seem sufficient.  Thank you.

The whole evening is one that I will never be able to forget.   We all felt the outpouring of sincere blessings and good wishes.  The energy that was cultivated that night was something beyond words.

My performance that night was not my best, as I had been battling the flu all week, but nonetheless here is a clip.

There have been many highs. One of them being the incredible response we are getting show after show. To see the years of practice that the Tabla Ecstasy artists have done being appreciated and to see the impact they are having on their listeners has been wonderful. The number of well-wishers that this group is just growing and growing. One of the responsibilities I have on the road is to get feedback from the audience after the show and many many times I have been so overwhelmed by the true heartfelt wishes and prayers for the success that people are giving for the group. I am reminded time and time again how fortunate I am to be apart of this wonderful family and to have Guruji in my life.

This week is our last week in the US. We have shows in Albany (tonight), Manhattan (April 17th) and Princeton (Sunday). Then we head North to Canada, where I have the privilege of opening for the group during our Toronto show.

Things improved as I got older, California weather definitely helped.  India did not.  The dust and pollution severely aggravated my allergies and I was continually sick or had nasal congestion.  When I started tabla, this was very problematic because I would practice for a few minutes and would have to stop to blow my nose, which disrupted any sort of continuity I would try to build.  After recovering from one particularly severe bout of sickness, where I went on antibiotics and the ENT doctor gave me local steroids for my nose, it was time to find a permanent solution.   The ENT doctor was of no help when I asked him for a long term preventative solution, offering only reactive solutions like the local steroids after the next infection sets in.  There had to be a better solution.  So off I went.  I ended up going to 3 homeopathy doctors and one ayurvedic doctor.  Each doctor was HIGHLY recommended by people who swore by them.  The following advice is based on my personal experiences and that of close friends.

Natural medicines boost your body’s long term immunity, when possible avoid allopathic medicines I grew up on allopathic medication.  It was a childhood full of Tylenol, antibiotics, Benadryl and more.  One of gurubhais didn’t.  He grew up on natural medicines, even if it meant that he was sick for a day or two longer than those who took allopathic medication.  (I am speaking in reference to the common cold and flu, not life-threatening or serious diseases).  Today, he is one of the healthiest people I know.  No allergies and hardle ever gets even a minor cold.  Allopathic medicines, especially at a young age, make your body dependent on chemicals to fight off infection instead of allowing your body to develop natural defenses.  I can see how it would be more difficult for a mother to see her child suffer for longer as natural treatment may result in a longer recovery, but in the long terms its better for your child. Even a highly recommended doctor might not be able to solve your problem, but that doesn’t mean they are not good doctors. While most ayurvedic and homeopathy doctors will tell you that they can solve all of your health problems, whether it is poor circulation, allergies or weight loss, they can’t.  Even if two doctors practice the same form of medicine (ayurveda, homeopathy, bach flower essences, etc), each doctor has their own method of diagnosis (from the ones I went to, some read your pulse, another used a magnet to read vibrations, another asked A LOT of questions) and treatment.  Each usually has certain things that they are very good at treating and other things for which they are not effective.  You may have to go to more than one doctor before you find one that works.  Going to a recommended doctor is a good place to start, but don’t get discouraged if you don’t see results from them.

So how do you tell if their medicine is working? Simple rule of thumb – If you don’t see a marked improvement (at least 10 –20%) improvement in a week to 10 days, try something different. Natural treatment takes time as they work on the root causes of health problems, not the symptoms, BUT if the doctor has correctly diagnosed and prescribed medicines (the two are different – correct diagnosis doesn’t not necessarily mean their medicine will be effective), you WILL see some improvement within a week.  I tried some doctors for over a month or two before getting frustrated with the lack of improvement and trying someone new.  When I finally found the right doctor for me, I saw a marked improvement within a few days.  This has been the case for others as well.  No improvement means the doctor might need to try a different approach.   I’ve had to be a little aggressive in pushing to see some results or changing the approach if there is no success, but it saved the weeks or months that could have gone by.

Find a doctor whose treatment works with your lifestyle. Lots of ayurvedic and homeopathy doctors will tell you that you can’t eat this, have to X medicine after X time, etc.  If you can make that work for you, great! If you can’t, seek alternatives.  One doctor gave me a very large list of things I could not eat over the course of the treatment.   Reasonable restrictions are okay, but I knew that I would not be able to follow the degree of restrictions he had given, especially since I didn’t cook my own food.  If you are not able to follow through on a treatment and its conditions, it’s better to be honest with the doctor. Decide upon something that is within your reach or you might end up not seeing results and will be unable to pinpoint why it’s not working.   I don’t believe a doctor expects 100% adherence to restrictions, but only 50% can be detrimental.

Follow your treatment through. Like I said above, natural treatment take time, but give long-term benefits as they address problems from their root rather than symptoms.  It can be easy to “forget” about taking your medicines once you have experienced a 70- 80% improvement.  Follow through and erase the problem completely from its root, otherwise it can re-emerge.  If you don’t follow treatment through, at least go back for further treatment when you see some of the symptoms (even in a milder form) coming back.

Like I said at the start, I have experienced a huge improvement in health since finding my naturopathy doctor.   When I went to her, my allergy index was over 1200 more than 3 times a healthy person’s allergy index.  I can’t do much about the allergens – dust, pollution, smoke – but I improved my immunity.  Instead of going from being functional to taking antibiotics within 1 day, the symptoms of an infection develop gradually over a period of 10 days.  At the onset of symptoms, I can take booster medicines to fight off an infection and have successfully avoided antibiotics for over a year.  Also seemingly unrelated problems have disappeared without direct treatment as they were all effects of the root cause.

So if you like me, had come to live with your allergies or other health conditions because there just didn’t seem to be a solution.  There is hope.  Give natural treatment a shot, there really isn’t much to lose.

PS. Anyone who have an allergy problem and is going to spend any time in Ahmedabad, email me and I’ll give you the info on my doctor who has successfully treated my allergies and those of many friends.

One of my personal highlights of this week has been watching as the members re-connect with family and friends here in the US (many of them are meeting after years). It’s heartwarming to watch the interactions and see the smiles grow wider and wider after each meeting.

Now its time for my homecoming =). We head out to California tomorrow where I get to meet two of my closest friends after many years.

Here are some snaps from the programs so far:

Sahil is all Smiles

Tabla Ecstasy in Charlotte

Loren performs in his hometown of Charlottesville

Loren in his hometown of Charlottesville.

We applaud greatness, celebrate another achievement, are entertained by another accomplishment, but how often do we become apart of the support system to create another legend?

Last year, when Inspire had come to Rhythm Riders, I was asked what an individual can do to support the future of Indian classical music.  My answer was broader than the question – support someone who wants to achieve depth in the field.  The field doesn’t need to be Indian classical music.  It could be sports, it could traditional arts, it could be any non-conventional field.  I particularly say non-conventional, though it can be any field, because that is where it can be often more difficult to find support, especially if you are not apart of a community where that field is the norm (ie. someone coming from a family of wrestlers wanting to be a musician).

There are two parts of the journey to realizing your dreams.  The first is having the courage to step towards to (and usually simultaneously rejecting the status quo on what you should do), the second is to stay on the path in the face of adversity (which includes lack of support and acceptance from society).

Taking the road that diverges societal expectations is a longer path.  It takes vision, a firm belief and a lot of hard work to walk on.  Many Olympians or artists many come from families with a background in their field, but for those, I have no doubt that the path must have been harder.   I know I’ll never forget those months that passed before my loved ones really began to full-heartedly support me.  With their limited understanding of what I was doing and wanted to do, their concern and doubts were justified, but that did not make it easy for me, knowing that I was causing them pain.   Today, I can walk more confidently on my path, knowing that I have so much love and support and it makes a huge difference.

Next time you see or experience excellence, take a moment to appreciate what the person has done to achieve those heights and more importantly, reach out and support someone you know in their own pursuit of excellence.  That support, be it moral, emotional or  financial can change the world for them.  Don’t believe me – the story of snowboarder Alexa Loo shows just how important these pillars of support are.