Thank you...

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Thank you...

....for the restful night

When darkness appears
Moving away from light
It's a glorious time indeed
When all activities quieten down
The senses withdraw
And sleep blooms
In the silence of night
Preparing the soul
For yet another blossom
Welcoming the cheerful
Face of the morning sun
Yet one more time.

11 comments:

sathesh said...: nice poem..as i read it, a gentle breeze brushes me giving much needed cheer and warmth to my heart..; January 22, 2006
Swahilya Shambhavi said...: Thank you Paazh. I'm wondering if you are able to see the leaves in the foreground of this picture. It appears clearly on my laptop screen but not on the desktop. It is a photo of the moon in between leaves at night.; January 22, 2006
sathesh said...: yes im able to.. but i always work with bright screen ...it will surely be darker in other monitors; January 22, 2006
brotherbill said...: The photo is wonderful, with the moon peeking between the delicate leaves. Really, I didn't see the leaves at first look, then they revealed themselves to me just like my god appears in the silence of the night. Such wonder and beauty in the natural universe. My god speaks to my heart in the stillness. Is it the same for you? Always smiles and blessings for you.; January 22, 2006
Swahilya Shambhavi said...: @Paazh: Glad you were able to see the leaves.
@Brotherbill: Glad to hear from you. It was a view of the moon, prior to full moon day, from between the leaves at my office.
Yes the god that speaks to you in silence, is the same that speaks to me too - not just at night, but anytime when I'm silent and available to listen to the words. Thank you for the blessings.; January 22, 2006
brotherbill said...: I posted the photo of the stairway graced with leaves this morning. I called it the Stairway to Heaven and provided a link to the Led Zeppelin lyrics of the song. Please keep writing your poetry, it is a favorite of ours. Bill.; January 22, 2006
Poet Guy said...: "Yet one more time" That is exactly the the way I feel every day. I know that every day is a blessing of conciousness, at leat my particular conciousness. I feel blessed to wake up in my bed and see the dawn slowly lifting it's head, and I get to witness it, "Yet one more time"
Thank you.; January 23, 2006
Matthew May said...: Beautiful Swaha, :); January 23, 2006
kitchenette soul said...: pretty picture
lovely poem
a new form
for the year
Thank you dear!; January 23, 2006
Swahilya Shambhavi said...: Thank you all Bill, Poet Guy, Matt and Kichennette.; January 23, 2006
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; April 26, 2007

Post a Comment

...said

Aham: Food for the Soul

I think its time I write about one blogsite I love to visit more than any other in recent times. It is Swahilya's blog. Let me try my best to describe her blog site. She writes about anything and everything but with a spiritual bent of mind. I know that I have raised a few eyebrows here by calling a spiritual blog my favorite despite my strong inclination towards science. Every time I visit her blogsite I come out having learned something or the other. Many a times I have personally requested her to write on different topics and she obliged every single time. I will run out of superlatives if I try to describe her writing style...
*****

The Acquaintance

Hello! Is this Miss.Divine?,
Yes it is she said,
I heard the smoothest voice I ever had,
It did not command nor was it submissive,
I was totally mesmerized by the brilliance,
Awestruck by its mysterious charm,
The signals from her brain
perfectly interpreted by her vocal cords,
Poured out the intelligence that lay within,
I listened with the keenest of ears,
Is she human? I thought,
No, she is Miss. Divine,
She is my latest acquaintance,
The teacher that sits under the banyan tree,
Is she Buddha incarnate?
or is she the perfect answer?
The balance between creation and destruction?
Is this the birth of the cosmic intelligence?
She denies perfection,
Humility is her second name,
She worships the indestructible,
She is SWAHILYA.
*****
Thirumandiram CD - (Akshara Foundations)
- A review by R. Suryaprakash, Vocalist
Great epics, works of saints etc., are generally branded as “Immortal” and conveniently allowed to die a slow death as the Western concepts rapidly gain ground in our society. On such almost forgotten treatise is “Tirumandiram” of Tirumoolar. It is to be said that some of the other constituents of “Panniru Thirumurai” of Shaivism are still popular, such as “Thevaram” and “Thiruvachagam”, thanks to the grit of Oduvars who still sing the verses in temples.Tirumandiram has a spiritual charm, bordering on the occult and its beauty has been fully brought to the fore by a young and enterprising team by setting to tune, ten of its verses and rendering them in a CD album which is eminently listenable. This CD has been recently released by these devotees of Akshara Foundations, with the profound blessings of H H Swami Akshara.
The plan of rendition has been excellent, with meditative chanting of a verse by a single member by rotation, followed by group rendering of the same. This is followed by a short raga sketch/interlude in Veena. After that, the verse is rendered by the entire group as a song, set in the same raga as the interlude, along with mridangam accompaniment. This pattern is followed assiduously while rendering all the ten verses. The introductory chants are set in the raga Revathi for all the verses and have been rendered soulfully by each one of the participants. He choice of Revathi raga is apt, because, in the phrases “ ni. sa. ri sa. ri ni. sa. ri…pa. ni. sa ri. sa ni.ri. sa…” the Raga is Veda Mantra itself. The interludes and the rhythmic rendition of the verses are set in ragas which take you through a journey in blissful realms of traditional music. The opening verse “Aiyindu Karaththanai” , technically not a part of the original treatise but conventionally sung as “Vinayagar Thuthi” of Thirumandiram has been rendered in raga Nattai, which is most acceptable as the opening raga in our music tradition. “Aaadi Natta Anta Surati” goes the saying. The tala is Adi.The second one “Thiruvadiye Sivamaavathu…” follows in the raga Suddha Saveri, in Kanda Chapu tala. It is a welcome change in talam.“Anbum Sivamum…” is in Anandabhairavi, “Thunaiyaduvaai Varum…” in Hindolam, “Ullam perunkoyil …” in Shivaranjani (which is literally an archana to the Lord), “Thelivu Guruvin…” in Bageshri, “Yaan petra Inbam…” in Kalyani, “Marathai Mariththathu…” in Sama, “Man Onru Kandeer…” in Hamsanandhi, rounding off with “Naadaththin Andamum…” in Madhyamavathi, the last one very apt raga-wise and set in brisk Khanda Nadai. Others follow the regular eight-beat cycle (Adi talam) which has aesthetic simplicity. The verses are rendered in an order different from the above in keeping with mood/raga contrast. The interludes have been rendered with a sense of proportion and purpose by the Great Veena Vidushi Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan, an octogenarian and a veteran who has been recently conferred with the birudhu Acharya Choodamani by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai. Her rendering of thanam in Kalyani raga as an interlude for the verse “Yaan Petra Inbam….” is one of unbridled “Inbam” (joy) and one wishes that her greatness “Peruguga Iv Vaiyaham” (spreads all over the world)!The individual renderings have simplistic charm as they have been rendered with utmost dedication by participants who, barring a few, are not basically professional practitioners. The open throated rendering by Swahilya, who has a stentorian voice, sruti suddham and bhavam which immediately takes one to the sanctum sanctorum deserves special mention. The charming rendition of the opening verse by little Kavya is also very sweet and gives one the firm impression that she has got a great future. The involvement and competence of the others too, cannot be understated.
In all, this album stands out for its meditative effect, involvement of the participants, and most importantly the rendition in traditional method so as to give the listener, the satisfaction of having undergone a pilgrimage. “Thirumandiram” by Swahilya and her team merits universal listening and appreciation. - Purnima

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Thank you...

11 comments:

Aham

Blog Yoga

Blog Archive

Seekers

Vishwaroopa

Labels

...said