Sakhi  Re...

As a classical dancer, I learnt in many an abhinaya about the sakhi. Playing this role in a dance, I would mediate between Radha and Krishna, understanding the heart of Radha always. On an earthly plane, sakhi-bhaav comes naturally to women, who bond so passionately even as little girls!
On a deeper note, It is only after a certain age of maturity I realised that the Sakhi is none other than one's inner dialogue. She is our inner voice taking us to our spiritual source, merging with the divine.
In one such moment, this sakhi- poem came about from the sakhi within:


'Sakhi'
The rainbow lane,
has many neighbours,
some well noticed,
some not so much.

I thought I knew,
their whereabouts,
names and addresses,
but not so much.

This lane in the heart,
brings many a surprise,
some feelings
like a beautiful woman.

This one,
she takes me by surprise,
I gaze wondering,
Who are you dear?

An intimate surprise,
can that be?
these lanes of the heart
sing many surprises these days.

My new sakhi,
pulls my arm
my eyes ask questions,
a universe of questions.

Don't ask me questions,
because answers drown,
these answers are poems,
hymns for the drowning.

The sun shines bright,
And the moon comes along,
Drowning the days and nights,
how is it that I never saw it before?

The waves of the moon,
bring life for the drowning ,
for sakhis know,
how we are all poems that sing in the night.

Back in the blog moments as I write and re-write from the poet's room. This festive season I find my own goddess self - with the realisation that everything is on the road to Shiva. The womb-birth-love-art-return-completeness-connecting with the universe. Life's journey is truly all Shiva and Shakti. Such a beautiful universal truth and it takes so long to get there. The heart wants more of these moments to BE there, and find my own journey.

Inspired by the festive season and its mornings:

'The Mango Tree'

The flooded heart sings,
the moon is in a trance,
blossoms deck the mango tree,
the koel seeks its chance.

Fleeting moments of passion,
this ritu brings along,
the untouched are silent,
mad ones burst into a song.

Fragrance and Birth,
Shringaar and Love,
Silent and Potent,
many pairs whisper their song.

Goddess-ness so full,
floods the uterus,
its time to give birth,
to the trees and the universe.

Time fades into the distance,
loses its tight grip,
as goddess-ness hugs,
and opens my long,long hair.

Silky swirls of me,
talk to the koel on the mango tree,
it sings to my fragrance,
and I wish it was me.

A world of Mango blossoms,
descend to intoxicate,
Kalidas knew this spell,
as the universe becomes poetry.

The Dance of Motherhood

For more than a decade I was only a classical dancer, and then two babies came along. Time for Dance and the world of ideas was minimum(literally stolen time!) and yet I was creatively pregnant like never before! I wondered why I was now having this flood of ideas and creativity? Why not before, when I had much more time for dance riyaaz and dance events!
Dance after two kids was more about the process of sharing and enjoying with others in the spirit of satsang. The Indianness and pride in cultural values was something I wanted for all kids, not just mine. Yet I knew in today's world children get very little exposure to Indian classical. How will they pursue it over many years, when they dont know what's beautiful about it? That is how I gave birth to my third baby, the workshop 'Mum,ME and Odissi'! Executed with the help of my sister Swaati Vivek and with technical support from my father in Nov 2011 the first workshop came through.
Since then many sessions have happened and also many other dance events under 'Dance Travels', yet I know the genesis of all this creativity was Mum,ME and Odissi and prior to that motherhood. According to my chanting Guru it was due to the stimulus of the planets of Venus and Moon. Both are connected to motherhood, creativity and classical dance.
It is still elusive to me, as to what creativity the reproductive process and motherhood bring to a creative artist, but I know there is a connection for sure. A connection where an artist learns from life - from children and motherhood - the joy of sharing, spontaniety, creativity and being in the moment all the time. The many emotions and all the rasas of life are revealed and life comes forth multicolour! As 'Mum, ME and Odissi' starts its new session this summer, I am utterly grateful to my children and to God for for leading my creative process in such an amazing way. Thank you.

More about 'Mum.ME and Odissi' at the weblink: www.jayamehta.in/mum-me-odissi.php

Dancing Odissi for Lord Jagannath in his homeland

Just back from Orissa, having danced at the International Odissi Festival,2011. I came to know of my participation just ten days before the event, and it was a lot of quick planning to get dance practice, costume, air tickets, hotel bookings etc. all done in a jiffy. I danced 'Archana Puri', a special dance where a devadasi prays to Lord Jagannath in his temple in Puri. Having performed this dance I realised that this dance by Guru Surendra Nath Jena is not a dance but a prayer. It gives the dancer a special kind of satisfaction, elation and blessing and brings her so close to Jagannath ji. In fact this whole year of 2011, seemed like a series of planned events by Jagannath ji. I brought my family in January to Orissa to take blessings from him. And it gave me creative stimulus this year like I have never had before. I created new things and realised so many new things. He came to our house in the form of a beautiful Jagannath painting painted by an artist from Raghurajpur. In our Odissi classes we showered Jagannath ji with love,flowers, shashtang pranams and even learnt to make his face in a craft project. And then as the year drew to a close Jagannath ji invited me to Orissa again, to dance, experience him intensely in a very special dance Archana Puri. It was as if he wanted to let me know that we have found a very special love in each other and it will only multiply with time. I feel blessed.

Creating a Website leads to the way...

Some months back came some divine inspiration and I knew I wanted to share my Odissi thoughts, ideas and projects with lots of people. Many more than those I know. And thats how the idea to the dance website came about. And in a more structured way than in a blog. So the website is coming up and in the process of writing its content, I was surprised at my own thoughts on Odissi. Some of them just sprang out of nowhere, springing out with a force! How precious and loved Odissi is in my life! I never knew I intutivelely absorbed so much of it! I am now aware of a universe of understanding Odissi that lies within me, in a cosmic level I have never accessed. So now along with dancing, I seek to undertake this journey, and find out all that I have understood about Odissi from the bottom of my heart and the love of my soul.

Guru and Me

Recently as dance and spirituality have formed a wonderful connect in my mind, I also discovered the amazing understanding of a Guru from both these perspectives. All the ideas of a guru being like a teacher, mentor, guide seem limited in their dimensions. I think that the guru is the bridge from the mortal world to the divine, even the means to go in free flight into the cosmic world within. Suddenly one finds such love, joy and blessings and a feeling of ever expansiveness, I think this must be how people feel skydiving accompanied by the stillness of the world outside and within. A wonderful classical dance class or daily meditation leaves one with such heightened awareness. Suddenly one finds leaves greener, the traffic sounds like a symphony and joy welling up in the cup of one's heart. Is it joy, or gladness or contentment, a feeling difficult to define in english terms? I think it is 'anand' the hindi term for a kind of lasting forever feeling of bliss.

Amazing Gurus are those who take us skydiving when we are walking on the road, plunging into the ocean of our depths and opening up forever the room of our being to a gorgeous view. From this room with a view we start looking at things afresh and feel wonderfully drenched in the sunshine or raindrops that come our way. To even say Thank you for these experiences feels small, it is as if me and my Guru were designed for each other. For a journey much beyond soulmates.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar shows the way

Guruji gave me a whole new perspective to dance today. I read in his notes," all the talents you have are for others. If you are a good cook, it is for others.If you have a lovely voice, it is for others. If you write a good book, it is for others. What do you do? You dont sit and read your own book!"
It made me figure out, this is my seva! Art is the service we do for others, spreading the joy and beauty of art to so many more. To dance with that love and joy and 'seva bhaav' to me ties up with my inherently devotional understanding of Indian classical dance. Not to enjoy the dance only for myself or to perform for my CV, but to get the glimpse of the divine to reach others. Indian dance is anyway a 'satsang' in which one has amazing 'roop darshan' of our beloved gods. Someday I caught that glimpse in someone's dance and decided to find that experience in my own being. Now its time to perform that seva for others:)