I chanced to visit the website of renowned singer Bombay Jayashri. The intro had me captivated.

does not music
light a spark
fan a flame
set a soul on fire?
Listening...
to the silences within
and the sounds
of silences...

Click away for the entire piece.

Here's a line from her profile that had me nodding my head in agreement - "When music seeps into the hearts of rasikas without themselves perceiving it, then it can be said to have served its ethereal purpose". How true! The very purpose of music is the resonance of souls.

Bombay Jayashri is one of the most popular singers of today with several albums to her credit. Her movie numbers are commercial successes. I was listening to her voice in Suttum Vizhi from Ghajini and it had me wondering about how we have loved her voice in Vaseegara, Ondra Renda Aasaigal and Narumugaiye. And her very latest Partha Mudhal from Kamal's latest flick Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu is also amazingly convincing.

But when someone mentions Bombay Jayashri, the song that pops into my head is the melodious Pahi Pahi Jagan Mohanakrishna set in the enchanting Nadanamakriya. It brings back fond memories of childhood times.

It is almost impossible for any photographic lens to capture the towering magnificence. It is altogether impossible to take in the monumental water-carved beauty with two mortal organs - the eyes. It is getting increasingly difficult to word the thoughts about the grandeur of this place - the mind was constantly going blank and thoughtless at the timeless magnificence that we were spectators to. All we could do was gape in awe.



They stretched much beyond the field of view and flaunted intracacies in architecture that daunted us. They seemed to beckon, wanting to pass on some timeless message in silence and at the same time, they seemed to be untouched and unabashed by people and events around them. They seemed to share a gushing relationship with air, water and the space above. They are the beautiful Glen canyons. We were at Lake Powell and visited the Glen, Antelope and Marble Canyons over the weekend. This trip, if anything, was only more momentous than the previous ones - The Grand Canyon and Sedona.

What makes one feel the divinity in another person ? Everyone is divine, just that in some it is more conscious, so conscious that people who come in contact with them are able to feel the divine presence.

I think you feel the divinity of a person when you feel so at home and comfortable with them. You have never known them before, you have never mingled or socialized with them before, but yet you feel so much at ease and peace with them. You feel they are at the same 'level' as you and they seem to understand you instantly and connect with you very deeply, yet very very effortlessly. And not just you, but everyone around seems to feel exactly the way you feel about this person. Even children.

Then again, you feel comfortable with people with whom you have been around with for a reasonably long period of time. So that means you already recognize the divinity in the other person! Isn't that so ?

It takes divinity to recognize divinity. We feel the presence because we have the presence within us - just like how it takes a magnetic pole to attract another.

This moment of pristine joy sponsored by...

...

God!!


Who else!!

Me        : Don't think about that.
My mind: You mean 'that' ?
Me        : Yes, 'that'!
My mind: Oh! But do you mean 'this' or 'that'.
Me        : I meant 'that'. Now, shut up, will you ?
My mind: Hmm. You dont want me to think about 'that'. Okay...
Me        : How many times are you going to repeat that and remind me of 'that'.
My mind: No, I am just not thinking of 'that'.
Me        : Please. Please. Please.
My mind: Oh yeah, not at all. I am not thinking about 'that'.
Me        : Get Lost!
My mind: Oh no, what would I be without you. I swear, I wont think about 'that'. Not 'that'.
               Anything else but 'that'. But definitely not 'that'.
Me        : Well, you know what? You can do what you please. I dont mind thinking about 'that'.

Mind falls asleep.

Serenelight Inc has been kind to publish two more of my poems in the March-April Edition of their newsletter. Click here to view the poems at Serenelight.

The newsletter is now published every two months and as always, hosts several interesting articles and writers. And most of all, the entire effort has a generous and meaningful purpose to it. To all at Serenelight - Great job!