In Myself, I Rediscovered It...

"Do you see these balls hanging on the edakya? There are 64 balls, and each one represents and art form, and not just music, or dance, or architecture, or sculpture, but also painting, poetry, even reading and writing, because anything created by the mind is an art, and it is the combination of all of these arts, that is culture. And once the 64 balls are tied to the edakya it becomes sacred, and cannot thence be placed anywhere on the ground; it must always be carried upon the shoulder, or rested upon a hook. Because anything that has been created by the power of the mind, is sacred."

Dearest Appa,

I love you, and I miss you. And now I want once more to thank you, for another beautiful gift you left me as part of my inheritance from you, though whether foreseen or not I know not, and I care not.
 

As a child I never particularly noticed or perhaps even appreciated too deeply why you insisted on actually recording all the classical dance performances and music concerts that came on TV. I believe you were probably disappointed that I neither shared nor showed interest in something that is so rich and ancient and precious, and moreover, so beautiful and captivating.

You'd have loved to have known I attended a performance of MohiniAttam yesterday by Dr Deepti Bhalla, a renowned Mohini Attam exponent from Kerala. And I loved it. The lady herself was really accomplished, and a lot of what she spoke reminded me very forcefully and heart-rendingly of you, and the things you believed in, which again, somewhere, you've passed on to me.
 

And now I fully appreciate the worth of the trasure you left behind for me, in the form of cassettes and video recordings, preserved so that I might one day understand and enjoy our classical art forms. Maybe you didn't really intend it for that purpose; but the fact remains: you left for me something priceless, and I'll forever be grateful for that.
 

I love you, dad, and I miss you.

"The classical arts and art forms bring you closer to God, and when I say God, I don't mean any particular God; I mean the essence of godliness and humanity that is within you. When you are in a temple and are praying to God, you aren't actually calling to God, rather you are calling to yourself to be a better human being. And it is this desire, this prayer to the self, that is reflected in our ancient cultural art forms."