'Happily Ever After'

Stories and fables, Fantasies and myths all of these are very strong opinion makers in our lives. So intricately entwined with the reality, we often forget rather seem incapable of differentiating between 'real' and 'reel'. One such fantasy, I believe to be is 'Happily Ever After'. The phrase makes me go crazy, literally, as I keep thinking, what will make me so satisfied that I can add this to my life; Happily Ever After!

I was happy when I got a job. I will be happier if I could build a house for me. And I'll be the happiest if Ambani would sponsor me! Seriously, who doesn't want that? But does it mean, being 'Happily Ever After' is all related to the materialistic pleasures? Maybe. Maybe not.

I was happy when I first met my best friend. I was happier when I met my other best friend. I will be the happiest if I get to make more best friends. Does that mean, people in your life will get to decide about when will your life be 'Happily Ever After'? Maybe. Maybe not.

I was happy when I first clicked a picture. I was happier when I got it published. I was the happiest when I saw my movie. My work gives me a lot of satisfaction. But does that mean, it will give me my 'Happily Ever After' day? Maybe. Maybe not.

We are happy when we have our loved ones with us. We are happy when someone says, "you look beautiful". We are happy when a child smiles at us. We are happy when we travel to new places. We are happy when we get to bathe in rain. We are happy listening to our favorite music. We are happy having fun with our friends. We are happy when we kiss. We can be happy all the time. But does that mean, we can be happy, the 'Happily Ever After' way? Maybe. Maybe not.

When we have little, we want more. When we get something, we want everything. And when we have everything, we want more of that everything. So when is it that we stop? We stop and we say, "I'm happy, 'Happily Ever After'".

Shades of Love

One of those times when you need somebody, and you have them it does feel like a drug moving through your veins. And just as anybody would I ran towards him, not wanting to notice the consequences. That hug was just a modest way of saying I want more. He met me when I was in the sunny side and the grass was much greener there. There, where he stood amidst the crowd waiting for me to come and embrace life. I say this with a lump in my throat.

He pulled me out of something, something I may have readily succumbed to long back. He made me see the sky, the flowers, the walls and a bit of myself. We spoke to each other, but I was only listening to him. We walked together, but I was watching his steps. He touched me with a sense of belonging, the one I had never experienced before. I wanted to run away with him. Run away to a place where I could lie in his arms and have the serenity touch my soul. Just then, I heard him say to me, " Come let me take you on a journey." I didn't know where we were going, not that I cared to ask. But it indeed was a place where I found myself. He laughed and took me in his arms, so soft yet strong, making me feel warm. I love the smell of his sweat, telling that to myself I stopped thinking for a passing second seeming like forever, held him tightly and breathed him in.

While caressing his hands, still lying in his arms on the green grass, my mind was boggling to find out why is he here? He has his secrets. He was too afraid to love, yet lacking the courage to abandon it. His presence had always affected me, but I never could know what mine did for him. I could hear his heart beat loud and clear and lifted my head once to look at him while we were still entwined into an intimate embrace. Being held into his arms, it was perfect. Of course, I wanted more than perfect. What could that possibly be? I did not have a clue.

He ran his fingers gently down my cheeks and asked, is it gone? Your fret? I wanted to smile and say yes, but I didn't. I didn't want to give up the feeling of being in his arms. Well, a man and a woman together, we laughed allowing laughter to bring its magic. We both felt an urge, with our pulse going up too quickly. We understood it all along and let us go to get what we both longed for. Not opening my eyes, not knowing whether he did the same or not, our lips touched and sparked a passion that I never had experienced before. It was a feeling too naive to be explained.

He always kept his promise. He always makes me smile. He always takes away the unwanted and stir a ray faith in me. One of its kind. He always say, we will stay together. Eager for exactly that, I leaned towards him once again, knowing deep down that he may be destined to walk away.

Sufi Kathak

Dance is the lyrical expression of divinity and spirituality. It takes us beyond the body to the ethereal realms. Dance becomes the medium for merging your soul with the universal soul. One such, young dance form 'Sufi Kathak' brings the Indian concept of 'Nirvana' together with the Sufi contemplation of 'Fana'.

Manjari Chaturvedi, the creator and sole performer of Sufi Kathak is an acclaimed classical Kathak danseur and a performing artist for over a decade. An unquenchable thirst and admiration for Sufi Kathak has encouraged her to seamlessly blend diverse cross cultural music to create exciting collaborations. A danseur representing Lucknow gharana of Kathak, Manjari embodies the Awadhi ethos, bridging the gap between tradition and modernity. Her performances preserve the doctrine of classical temple and darbari forms, yet they are accessible to audiences across the world. It has been 15 years now, into her journey of creating history, innovating a divine establishment with the Almighty.

Exploring the journey and the inception of Sufi Kathak

"She dances in surrender to Him, to His Glory, to His Love and to His world
there is an underlying lilting melody and strong rhythm in her dance,
which depicts separation and union, the fire of the eternal dance of moth...”

"For Sufi Kathak it was not merely Sufism in India but the philosophy of Sufism in the subcontinent, that became the reference points. The language of expression changes according to the place where a particular Sufi saint resided. Hence there are many common trends in terms of music and Dance styles also. I have realized that the dance has not been a part of extensive research by people who have studied the Sufi thought, hence on my own I had to recreate some movements by hearing the stories at the Sufi Shrines."

Sufi Kathak brings out the subtle differences of Sufi music and poetry through the parlance of dance, which conveys the enchanted heights of spiritual ebullience. Being the prime focus and object of one's ecstasy, the abstract presence of the Almighty is given concreteness. The dance thus become a connexion of Self to the Almighty, of the union that is desired between creation and the creator, or soul with spirit.

Sufi saints used the language and music of the region they were in to convey their emotions, making the poetry differ in accordance with the language they spoke. Hence, like the Sufi thought, Sufi Kathak instead of using one dominant language, uses various dialects in which the Sufi saints had written the poetry. The poetry used in Sufi Kathak, has a history of always being sung, but never being danced to. With dancing to this poetry in Sufi Kathak, comes a responsibility of the dancer to portray the poetry in its truest sense. The purpose of the poetry used was never literary. Therefore the dancer first understands the message of the poetry in order to be able to do justice to its presentation through dance. There are implicit messages in the poetry, based on one’s interpretation, which the dancer incorporates in the performance.

The features of dance in Sufi Kathak include movements which seek to address the formless Almighty. The various uses of 'mudra' (hand gestures), and 'abhinaya' (facial expressions) are all used to convey 'formlessness'. It follows that the form of human body, is used as the means to explain and communicate with the formlessness of the Almighty. What results then is a dance that unifies movement, expression, emotion, poetry and music which is for the Almighty, with the Almighty itself as the Beloved. The grammar of Sufi Kathak is akin to that of Classical Indian dance forms. In terms of importance, it can be compared to the necessity of first learning the alphabets in order to compose an essay. Knowledge of the beats (taal), rhythm, melody, mudras and movements is necessary. Sufi Kathak represents the syncretic traditions of the erstwhile 'Ganga-Jamuni' tehzeeb of Awadh, where Qawwals sang in praise of Hazrat Ali as well as Lord Krishna.

Art has always drawn influences from the times in which the artists and performers have lived. Manjari's growing up in the Awadhi milieu in Lucknow does have a strong influence in all her work. For her, Sufi Kathak has been a gradual journey and has not happened overnight. She launched Sufi Kathak in 1998 in Lucknow initially and then eventually in the year 2000 in Delhi, since then a lot of work has gone in this art form and there have been additions of many movements.

"The complete abandon and the surrender in the Sufi poetry written by the great Sufi poets drew me immensely towards Sufi music. The simplicity of writing in the spoken language and the layering of love for the Almighty giving instances from our day to day life, this is something that I found incredible".

"Now I am acclaimed for the efforts to create a new classical dance form considered to be a historical step in the field of performing arts. I am appreciated for making history giving a whole new genre of dance to Indian classical dance that future generations will follow. However, it has not been an easy journey as I was treading a path not travelled earlier in Indian classical art forms and created this completely new art form with a thought about 'Formless Almighty', that was till then not extensively used in dance. And then comes this dance form – Sufi Kathak, that works only on this thought. It is not easy to show formlessness when your medium of expression is dance as body itself is a form and we create formlessness through this medium of the body."

Initially when Manjari launched Sufi Kathak in 1998 the critics were sceptical, though they wrote excellent reviews about the dance form and the completely new work that they were witnessing. Many still thought Sufi Kathak to be a concert which would not sustain. We are witnessing that they were all proven wrong. In 2008 Manjari Chaturvedi celebrated a decade of Sufi Kathak with increasing appreciation and recognition received every passing year. Sufi Kathak conceptualised and created by her, has taken 15 years of intense work in Sufi music and Classical Indian dance. She has travelled extensively in countries like Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and worked with artists from Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and Morocco and also artists and scholars in India (Punjab, Lucknow, Kashmir, Rajasthan) and studied the dance and music forms in those regions related with Sufi thought.

Sufi Kathak now after a decade has its own visual entity separate from other Indian classical dance forms. The dominant thought of the formless Almighty, the 'Nirgun Brahma' and poetry is separate, the use of language, the use of movements, the music genre to be used, the costume and the aesthetics are all specific for a Sufi Kathak dancer.

"As I mentioned earlier it has not been an easy journey but my belief in Sufi Kathak is complete and will take it forward".

The Sufi tradition has historically never been a dominant or an important part of the history of Kathak which has developed over centuries. Kathak was structured as stories about Krishna – a God with a definite form, and then darbari kathak that became a medium for entertainment, which is why it is erroneous to suggest that Sufi Kathak is akin to Kathak. Just as the art form Kathakali cannot be called a form of Kathak, although it uses the word Kathak in its title, so is the case for Sufi Kathak. The commonality however between Kathak itself, Kathakali and Sufi Kathak is the word 'kathak' in all three cases is used for its literary implication which means 'storytelling'. Manjari's dance form tells stories about the Sufi saints their lives and their messages.

Sufi Kathak exhibit the great Sufi traditions of our sub continent. Poetry, music and dance has been an important aspect of most Sufi traditions. Hence it accepts all mystical traditions and takes them into the fold of its perspective.

In Sufi traditions, it is considered that the whole universe revolves and dances so it can also be said to be the dance of existence. Manjari has a strong belief that people perceive the energy that the artist wants them to feel. Seeing dance as a prayer, will make the audience feel the same. The recurring theme in these performances is the complete devotion and the ecstatic love for the Almighty. The whole process of Sufi Kathak is remembering God and hence it itself becomes a 'mystical dance of surrender'.

Sufi Kathak has attracted a lot of youngsters as audience. If an art form has to live in future this young generation has to be groomed to appreciate the dance form and be a part of the audiences. They are the people who will carry the cultural traditions in future. The youth find the simplicity and the sheer energy of the dance along with use of spoken language easy to relate to and understand. Hence there is a wide range of audience from the youth who wish to lose themselves in love for the Almighty. Sufi Kathak transcends all religions to become a link bridging God and the devotees. It is synonymous with serenity, tranquillity, calmness and devotion, which is a symbol of truth. It is attracting the new generation at the international level, breaking barriers as an example of unity in diversity. Today we need to connect the heart, the minds have developed so much that they are causing more destruction. Hence the present generation will need to find out ways of connecting hearts. Sufi Kathak amalgamates poetry, music and dance in a quest to lead this process forward.

"In my own way of relating to audiences through dance, I spread the message of the great Sufi saints and poets, of His love and surrender in His love. This is relevant in today's world where we are being broken into fragments, borders, boundaries, castes, religion and classes."

Manjari is the only performer of Sufi Kathak in the world and for last 15 years she has been constantly struggling to improve the dance form and promote it across the globe. As a performer it is a daunting task to do everything singlehandedly and now when Sufi Kathak is an established dance form there is a need for the younger generation to take the form forward in its true sense.

"Anything new and path breaking is always seen with scepticism and there were so many people to deter me from the path that I intended to follow, always telling me that don’t tread on new things just stick to the tried and tested format! But again my stubbornness to do only that my heart wanted me to do, led me to continue working extensively on this new thought. Someone, some force that made me dance."

Thumri: Love, rain and devotion

With the rain drops pouring and lush green leaves emerging from beneath the dust being washed away, the season of monsoon, 'saawan', resonates with the language of love, Thumri.

"Jiska piya sang beete saawan,
Us dulhan ki ren suhagan,
Jis saawan mei piya ghar nahi,
Aag lage us saawan ko,
Ab ke saawan,
Ghar aaja"

Weaved with the essence of sensual love of Radha and Krishna, Thumri borrows from the anecdotes surrounding the 'leelas' of Kanha. Based on Shringar rasa, the emotion of romantic love, Thumri also follows the path of love, art beauty and spiritual devotion.

"Deewana kiye shyam,
Kya jaado dala"

Thumri gained prominence in the 19th century Lucknow, amidst the court of Mughal ruler Wajid Shah Ali. He ascended the throne in 1847 and was enormously skilled in several performing arts. Lucknow, known to have a 'Ganga-Jamuna Tehzeeb', was profusely filled with many of the finest musicians, dancers and other performing artists. Wajid Ali Shah's proficiency in art and it's magnitude was huge enough to bring people from far off lands to become his disciples. He was a learned dancer and a gifted composer. Both Kathak and Thumri attained new heights of popularity and glory during his regime. His composition; babul mora naihar chooto jae has been sung by various singers and is considered a classic even today.

Krishna is celebrated as the lord of love. His stories fascinate us and tells us that he contains the essence of sensuality and passion. Having as many as 1600 lovers his indulgence in love play with other girls often made Radha criticize him.

"Saachi kaho mose batiyan,
Kahan gavaai saari ratiya"

Intimate and profound, divine engagement of the senses, Thumri focuses on love songs dealing with the songs of separation or 'viraha'. Lyrics follow in ornamented enunciation as the singer imagines the' nayika', or the Brij girl calling out for her 'nayak', Krishna.

"Kya maza baar baar milta hai,
Aji tumko humse rooth jane mei,
Roothne mei lagengi do ghadiyan,
Umr kat jayegi manane mei,
Humri atariya pe aaja re saawariya
Dekha dekhi tanik hui jaye re"

Other renowned figures who contributed in the evolution of Thumri were Sadiq Ali Khan, the tutor of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and the Kathak maestro Bindadin Maharaj. He is credited for associating Thumri with 'Abhinaya' or the art of expression. It was the art, 'kala', of 'Bhaav batana' or expressing the sentiments of the song through dance. Etymologized from the word 'thumakna', Thumri thus has a deep connection with the kala of Kathak. Thumri was also performed at par excellence by the courtesans. The 'tawaifs' contributed significantly towards universalizing Thumri.

As the art expanded its wings to other parts of the country so did the diverse influences. The different approaches gave rise to 'bol-banao thumri' which incorporated the folk forms of music 'dadra', 'kajri' and 'jhoola'. The bol-banao thumri moved to Banaras, whereas the 'bol-baant thumri' which marked the influences of Kathak, gazhals and 'tappa' remained intact to Lucknow.

Thumri as a form of music was always confronted by prejudices. Other than being associated with courtesans, it was termed as the semi classical genre, and never got the importance or prestige worth Hindustani classical music. Falling under the social structures of Hindustani Music, such has been the destiny for Thumri. However, it is the only Hindustani musical form with such a multidisciplinary identity of being associated with folk repertoires and dance.

From the courts of Nawabs of Lucknow to the huge musical concerts, Thumri with its affinity for shades of feeling, emotion and mood has transcended over time and space continuously intriguing the feelings of amorousness and sensuality.

Story telling has been an inevitable part of our lives. We have believed in the stories, living and learning through them. Thumri revolves around the stories of love and passion between a man and a woman. It is celebrated and lived through the lyrical enchantment of these stories.

"Sajanwa
Saawan beeta jae
Preet Kari aur Karahun na Jani,
Murakh Leek Lagaye,
Sawan Beeta Jaye"


Copyrights: The Creative Project

Talk Much!

How does it feel to you when you are told to shut up?

No, I'm not questioning the fact whether you are stated right or wrong before that. Just how do your sentiments flow listening to this one sentence; Shut up! That, is a sentence according to me.

I feel obnoxious when I am not being listened to. I mean, how difficult is it to pay attention to someone sitting next to you and not react properly? All you need to do is to look up, and listen! Oh and by reactions I never mean to see those faces; it seems like, "Did I just ask for a diamond ring?" Having a conversation has become so tough, only a simple plain conversation. I guess, every girl reading this post, would be full of empathy, but what I'm more sure about is the coming of, 'Ah, another usual complaint'.

That's not a complaint, what we get to hear is. With 'Chup kar yaar' and 'how can you talk all the time' being common, we are bestowed sometimes with explanations(thank god!), from, "your timing is always too bad" to "This is not right. You aren't even making any sense." Really, can you even repeat what I said? Wait, give me just four lines of it and I'll be convinced!

I know I talk all the time. In fact, I'm talking right now. But, I am a girl. It is essential, yes 'fundamental' for me to talk. It is like oxygen! We may be overwhelmed all the time and react a lot. Perhaps you don't need us talking all the time but it's not about getting attention if you think what this is. For us girls, talking is a way to show attachment. The more I talk to you, the more closer we are. I maybe commenting on every single thing around but that is because I have a convention in my mind that you understand, and you should know what I feel about things, be it everything. Now, who finds that Strange?

It actually feels horrible. You know that your words are reaching other person's ears but they aren't choosing to listen to you. As a kid, I always pondered how it felt to not be able to hear. Now, I realize to be heard is more important. I believe it is important for us to respect people around us and be courteous enough to listen to the person speaking. Always! That's the least of course. But initially, that would be enough.


P.S This is about talking sense. I understand there are different degrees of lameness for everyone, but that is not what I am talking about. This post is not to offend any person. It is a personal thought and not intended to relate to someone.

Kunzum; The Cool Travel Cafe!

“Travelling excites me!”  This is that one feeling that brings a lot of people together, together at Kunzum.  Kunzum is a world created especially for travel enthusiasts. It is a place where travelers from around every corner can meet and exchange their experiences. They can tell people how they explored a beautiful city and talk about its charm and magnificence. It has that soothing environment which helps people make new friends and even future travel partners, over a cup of coffee which is nearly free! Yes, another exciting feature about Kunzum is that you get to have coffee and cookies for the money of your choice.  There is this vintage box in which you just drop in whatever money you wish to give them for the yummy chocolate cookies they serve you. Amused, aren't you? Well, there is a lot more.

Kunzum is one of its kind cafe currently running only in Hauz Khas Village, only in Delhi, the only cafe in India! Visitors get to record their experiences in the scrapbooks available at the cafe or writing interesting lines on the spoons and pinning them up on the pin boards. Kunzum provides its visitors with a well maintained library containing travel books which can be relied upon for guides and travelogues. All of this in a place with ‘moodhas’ to sit and read is surely a delight to us crazy, book freaks! You can bring in your own piece of writing and spend hours at the place wandering in your thoughts and creating a new ‘Sherlock Holmes’. Visitors at the café are lured by the amazing photographs displayed at the walls. These pictures are a master piece of the owner and creator of Kunzum, Mr Ajay Jain.

It is often said that random thoughts and ideas create a master piece. Indeed, it is to be believed once you have been to Kunzum. Kunzum Travel café was inaugurated in 2007, as I mentioned earlier, with no idea of its survival among others and since then has gained a lot of popularity among youth. Usually students visit Kunzum and have a time of their own discussing issues or at times just relaxing. It has in recent times become a platform for conducting discussions and conferences. People from different spaces of life come here and add to the diversity in the place. To add on to the excitement, Kunzum also organizes film screenings twice a week, once in collaboration with Magic Lantern Films Society.  What a delight to all the movie buffs! It further provides with opportunities to attend interactive talks and workshops by travellers, photographers, writers and other relevant personalities or the luxury time to simply sit back and enjoy musicians jam around.

Kunzum has become the ‘It’ place for the youth and is usually always blooming with people sitting with coffee mugs and reading books, or maybe the ones like me, just talking!

P.S. Yes! I've been going to Kunzum for a year now..the reason for this post is a friend who hadn't even heard of it! 

Mumbai: paradise within

"I fell a little out of place as the couples sitting next to me in the compartment got a little cozy." Did I not mention earlier; Mumbai is a famous honeymoon destination too. However, any feelings of apprehension that I had about visiting the place alone went right out of the window as the train arrived at the Mumbai Central Station and I forgot about everything.

Mumbai is like a really gratifying meal. It has all the right flavors, topped with perfect ingredients, perfectly blend together. Due to its colonial history and immense multicultural diversity, there seems to be something for everybody. It is an enigma of sorts, but a beautiful one at that. It's as modern as you can get and traditional at the same time. When one walks its streets, she is sure to get awe struck by the ultra modern architecture and cars juxtaposed with small tea stalls and vendors. It is a city so metaphoric that it gives life a new meaning; a phoenix in itself.

I took a cab from the station to my hotel in Juhu, welcomed by the traffic jam. Mumbai is a city missing curves; don't apply your brains it simply implies that there are few alternative routes to reach a place. So traffic is inevitable. Switching over to my feelings, every passing moment brought within a sense of anticipation. For, I was here in Mumbai!

The next morning I set forth to the famous place of worship, 'Haji Ali'. The most intriguing thing for me was that it was a mosque built in the middle of the sea connected through a walk able path way! You often get wet on the path way by the huge sea waves. Perhaps 'Allah' washes your sins away before you enter his home. A place so pure, so tranquil that it soothes every inch of your heart and overloads you with positive energy. Your soul will bless you for going there. I decided to stay there to witness dusk overtaking dawn and the 'dargah' being lit up by small yellow lights making it look like a shining star amidst the dark sea. There was a lot about the place that put me into a state of blissful inertia.

Elephanta caves were the next target destination that I decided to conquer on my second day in the city. It is an island so beautiful where dense green forests run down steep slopes and eventually flatten into meadows where the caves are situated just before balding near the thrashing shore. Covering a two hour distance from the Gateway of India didn’t bother me much; instead it gave me the pleasure of riding on a ferry and watching the giant navy ships. A mini train runs from the ferry dock up till the long set of 200 stairs taking you up the island to the caves. The caves exhibit sculptures of Lord Shiva and other deities of the Hindu mythology. The sculptures portray Lord Shiva dancing and standing with his family along with Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma. The place mesmerizes you with its centuries old heritage and interesting stories about them and has been given the title of the world heritage site. The place is also a habitat for a lot of monkeys, either hanging around the trees or sitting near the staircase. Besides the caves they are second most important attraction for the eyes of the tourists. The hills have also been a hot spot for various movie shoots.

You must be wondering how I could possibly ignore the legendary 'Gateway of India' and move forward to the Elephanta caves. It’s just that I wanted to visit the three glorious buildings together. The three buildings which give us an example of courage and perseverance; the three buildings which have faced the greatest of terror attacks, the three phoenix of Mumbai; the Gateway of India, the TajMahal hotel and the Trident hotel. They teach us how we can rise from the ashes and start afresh. Besides, the Gateway of India is a historic building signifying the "monumental memento" of colonialisation by the British. The gateway stands as a symbol of the "power and majesty" of the British Empire; it still is. So, I considered giving it more importance.

On my way back to the hotel, I decided to shop and the best place to do so when you’re on a budget trip is the Colaba market. Colaba market is a display of colors and lights. It offers a shopaholic the heaven of markets. It has something for everyone.I managed to bag a dress and some earrings, my favorite! What made me happier was that it rained. Think rains. Think vadapao. Think Mumbai. It goes like that. After some walking around and getting wet, I found a little shop offering me tea and vadapao that warmed me up instantly. Oops! Did I forget to mention that I was walking through the marine drive?

I dedicated my last day to the beaches, challi’s and movies. How could you possibly not watch movies in the city of dreams? The Juhu chawpati has been the best chawpati ever. Not that I visited any other though! It had challi stalls, paobhaji stalls, paanipoori and things enough for my taste buds.

Like they say you don’t know what you are missing until you know what you are missing! Mumbai has a way of connecting and before you know it under the sea and its starlit sky you end up taking a little bit of Mumbai back with you. May be this is why even those who aren’t from the city fit in just as well if not better. I’d love to visit it again and be a part of this quaint town I was almost starting to fit in.

P.S. On your way back home, visiting Goa is just another amazing brilliant idea!