As my journey was coming to an end in Toronto last week, I felt as if I didn't know what to write. I wasn't sure how to wind things down...in fact, I am not sure this blog can be concluded with any justice to the amount I have gained in the last month. So, I thought I would let my mind simmer and settle for a few days after my return to Edmonton with the hopes that something solid would come to me. The only solid thing that came to me was that, this was very much probably, the best month of my life.
This sounds odd, even to me. I have lived in India twice for several months and experienced its wonder. I have spent 3 weeks flitting about Europe. I had an amazing time in Acting School. I spent 1 month in a yoga ashram in Mumbai connecting with myself. I had a month long of wedding celebrations, and so many other experiences in my life...but this past experience gave me more than I ever could have imagined in a consecutive 30 day period, and so, I have a strong feeling that it will take at least a few months for the lessons I've learned to seep into my bones and become conscious realisations. Thus, my conclusion may be segmented further past today's entry.
Let's start with the MDO School of Kathak and Toronto Tabla Ensemble's first annual retreat. People, including JoannaDi have asked me what I had expected when I was coming to Toronto. I said I had absolutely no expectations, truly. The same goes for the retreat. But the retreat was a real treat (bad pun). The first night, thanks to Shezheen, I got to truly learn the long lineage of the Kathak and Tabla from which our gurus JoannaDi and Ritesh Dada have been groomed. It was awe inspiring to know that I was in the same room with these exceptional teachers whose backgrounds are so rich. It was so humbling to know where what I was learning was coming from.
It also occurred to me that night how everything is the way it's meant to be! I was explaining this to Dada. Two years ago, a student from my dance company had asked about Kathak examinations. And so I looked it up online. The only places I found were in India (obviously) and in California. The ones in California were being conducted in connection with the Channdam School of Kathak. As I explored the website of this formidable institution based in California, I was first shocked, and then I was happy this place existed in North America. Then I was momentarily envious that we did not have this calibre of a school in Canada. I wiped that envy out of my mind, and simply accepted the truth. I signed up for their monthly email newsletter / announcements that day. And for the past 2 years I have been getting the company's emails showcasing spectacular looking programs and classes being conducted in the USA...I would get these emails, and admire them...and then, accept the truth, and delete them. I had no idea that God was working in his mysterious ways to connect me with this amazing company and spectacular Guru Dada (Pandit Chitresh Das). Last year, when I Googled 'Kathak dance teachers in Toronto', I found a few. I had emailed them and gotten 2 responses. One was from JoannaDi. I looked her up further and found that she was trained by Pandit Chitresh Das. I didn't think much of it then, except that, "how cool!" The school looked great, so the teacher must be pretty good too. I was intrigued by the fact that she did not look like she was of South Asian descent in her pictures...that also made me more confident (ask me why another time...). As I sat there that first night of the retreat, I realised that I was meant to be here! This all started 2 years ago, with a simple Google search (God bless Google). All the little choices I made brought me to where I was at that moment, sitting amongst these amazing artists. I had so much to be thankful for!
....To be continued....
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