I woke up raring to discover what gifts such an eclectic mix of people offered, expecting all kinds of ‘serious’ stuff from educated experts. Surprise surprise!
In the brief clamour to populate the blank ‘canvas of LSuC’ with invites for said ‘serious stuff’. I heard someone offer the gift of massage nearby. Although what it soon became was more hilarity (see video) than useful, it shifted a paradigm within me. The first of many ofcourse.
Being friends with a massage therapist, I know it demands a lot physically and is infact exhausting. Yet here was someone offering for free what we in the cities, pay huge bucks for! As a freelancing artist, I myself have frequently struggled with the dilemma of working for free vs. ‘valuing’ my craft. But here was an example of Gift culture, a term I came across only recently and remains an enigmatic utopian way to go through life. As I understand, it involves sharing and caring from the goodness of one’s heart without expecting anything in return. I relate to it immensely, even though there’s a lot of blocks I still harbour. The closest experience of this for me is Sewa (selfless service) - an important part of the Sikh way of life. How to make it a lifestyle practice is something I’m still figuring out.
LSuC was an embodiment of this culture. Even the ‘fee’ was a suggested amount. If one cannot afford it, no problem. But if possible, I can pay extra in a pay-it-forward way. The philosophy believing that money should be the last thing that holds you back from learning. Pretty logical too, no? How many of us lose out on opportunities to learn just because we cannot afford the fee? Be it a college, a course, a workshop, a trip, a sabbatical, even me-time..!
From what I felt, the optimism, openness, generosity and abundance this kind of thinking operates from, creates an equally buoyant, compassionate safe-space for everyone. God knows we all now need more of that in our world more than ever. It sure left a deep impression on me.
When it came to choose, I wished I could horcrux myself into each one of the sessions offered - such was the variety and knowledge and experience on offer. Some snapshots below:
But I zeroed-in on one about Community living & spaces. I knew faintly of communities in Auroville, Pondicherry but living harmoniously in a simple sustainable lifestyle with other like-minded people has been on my mind for a while. It was no coincidence to finally meet people who’ve experienced it. They tried to answer a lot of my questions, but a clear takeaway was to experience community-living first hand at Sapna Ranch, a place 180 km south of Mumbai. It houses various communities, including EBHLE (Experience-Based Holistic Learning Environment) where the hosts of this session hailed from.
Towards evening, we were divided into groups/Sanghas of 8-10 people where we could tell each other our life journeys that preceded/led to being here.
Towards evening, we were divided into groups/Sanghas of 8-10 people where we could tell each other our life journeys that preceded/led to being here.
More than anything else, I loved the stories that came out during this session. They were a revelation. Some started from childhood and traced their journey chronologically, while others told it backwards. One had been led here by bravely following his more curious spouse into this ‘hippie fest’ of all places, another’s journey began when he became an alcoholic following a divorce. Someone was in their 60s, while others barely into their 20s.
I guess it never fails to fascinate me when I find myself in the same boat, however briefly, as others traversing widely different journeys. I scarcely interacted with many from my Sangha afterwards, but the exercise had fed my soul stories to take back.
A little while later I snuck out with some others to the Sardarshahar market to hog on street food, a welcome break from the hygienic abundant spreads we got at GVM every mealtime. Sneaking out under the self quarantine of LSuC sounds scandalous in the current countrywide lockdown, but the Corona virus still sounded like a hyped-up scare, which our robust immune systems would definitely resist anyway!
I guess it never fails to fascinate me when I find myself in the same boat, however briefly, as others traversing widely different journeys. I scarcely interacted with many from my Sangha afterwards, but the exercise had fed my soul stories to take back.
A little while later I snuck out with some others to the Sardarshahar market to hog on street food, a welcome break from the hygienic abundant spreads we got at GVM every mealtime. Sneaking out under the self quarantine of LSuC sounds scandalous in the current countrywide lockdown, but the Corona virus still sounded like a hyped-up scare, which our robust immune systems would definitely resist anyway!
Post dinner, an Untalent Show rocked the socialising scenes, hosted by the funny couple Sukhmani and Wishall. Their clowning reminded me of a Cirque du Soleil show I caught in Vegas some years ago. It had brought me great joy then, and this time around I wished I could learn the art too - more for personal expression than performance. I made a mental note to catch them later and learn more as I sat cheering for the various artistes:
A 4-yr-old rockstar with humongous confidence to compensate for his tiny size,
A mother-daughter duo dance performance, made even more special because her toddler insisted on being included at the last minute. The mother performed with him in the baby-carrier!
Someone had the bright idea to sing with his headphones on for guidance (we all know what that sounds like). It took me a good minute to understand the hilarity was unintentional as he sang on undisturbed amidst peals of laughter! Hats off to his guts though.
I had scarcely reached my bed to sleep, when Gagan messaged me to say there was an interesting session underway downstairs. Nobody seemed to know what it was about except that it had something to do with experiencing the 5 elements. There were people walking around the hall in blindfolds and it looked interesting. I was exhausted, but curiosity won and I signed up.
Caves of Maghyaj
With my blindfold on, I was gently pushed forward by someone to walk around for a while. I kept colliding with others obviously equally blind. It was absurd and I had a hard time controlling my laughter. At some point we formed a chain with hands on each others’ shoulders and were led one by one inside a room nearby.
A steady rhythm on drums, dholaks and other percussions instruments played inside. My mind was racing trying to make sense out of this (blindfolds for the experience of seeing through other senses perhaps, music for deep listening...). Someone gently made me sit. The next 1-2 hours (I lost track of time) were a tiring exercise in sitting through beating drums, punctuated by some weird stuff.
Within the first 10 minutes of being in the room, I heard loud snoring nearby. Someone had fallen asleep! To be fair it had been a tiring day and the rhythmic beating wasn’t helping. I managed to keep a straight face. Next, someone tied a thread around my wrist, then took it off. A couple minutes later someone tied another string lightly around my neck and made as if to strangle. But a workshop at LSuC was the last place I’d fear for mortality, so I was amused at best.
Similar nonsensical seeming stuff followed - pressing a bindi to my forehead, giving me gulkand and then a betel leaf to taste, whispering an abstract string of words in my ear most of which was inaudible against the frenzied beating sound... A very long time later, someone thankfully helped me lie down. I was tired from sitting for so long. The beating drums also stopped gradually and there was silence at long last. By now multiple people around me were snoring in various decibel levels, tones and rhythms. It was funny, but more than that also extremely strange because I was still wide awake with a mind in overdrive. I heard people get up and leave one by one. Sure that whatever this had been was over, I removed my blindfold too and quietly left the room full of sleeping figures, hobbling into the glaring lights outside.
The ‘Caves of Magyajh’ experience remains a mystery, albeit a funny one!
A 4-yr-old rockstar with humongous confidence to compensate for his tiny size,
A mother-daughter duo dance performance, made even more special because her toddler insisted on being included at the last minute. The mother performed with him in the baby-carrier!
Someone had the bright idea to sing with his headphones on for guidance (we all know what that sounds like). It took me a good minute to understand the hilarity was unintentional as he sang on undisturbed amidst peals of laughter! Hats off to his guts though.
I had scarcely reached my bed to sleep, when Gagan messaged me to say there was an interesting session underway downstairs. Nobody seemed to know what it was about except that it had something to do with experiencing the 5 elements. There were people walking around the hall in blindfolds and it looked interesting. I was exhausted, but curiosity won and I signed up.
Caves of Maghyaj
With my blindfold on, I was gently pushed forward by someone to walk around for a while. I kept colliding with others obviously equally blind. It was absurd and I had a hard time controlling my laughter. At some point we formed a chain with hands on each others’ shoulders and were led one by one inside a room nearby.
A steady rhythm on drums, dholaks and other percussions instruments played inside. My mind was racing trying to make sense out of this (blindfolds for the experience of seeing through other senses perhaps, music for deep listening...). Someone gently made me sit. The next 1-2 hours (I lost track of time) were a tiring exercise in sitting through beating drums, punctuated by some weird stuff.
Within the first 10 minutes of being in the room, I heard loud snoring nearby. Someone had fallen asleep! To be fair it had been a tiring day and the rhythmic beating wasn’t helping. I managed to keep a straight face. Next, someone tied a thread around my wrist, then took it off. A couple minutes later someone tied another string lightly around my neck and made as if to strangle. But a workshop at LSuC was the last place I’d fear for mortality, so I was amused at best.
Similar nonsensical seeming stuff followed - pressing a bindi to my forehead, giving me gulkand and then a betel leaf to taste, whispering an abstract string of words in my ear most of which was inaudible against the frenzied beating sound... A very long time later, someone thankfully helped me lie down. I was tired from sitting for so long. The beating drums also stopped gradually and there was silence at long last. By now multiple people around me were snoring in various decibel levels, tones and rhythms. It was funny, but more than that also extremely strange because I was still wide awake with a mind in overdrive. I heard people get up and leave one by one. Sure that whatever this had been was over, I removed my blindfold too and quietly left the room full of sleeping figures, hobbling into the glaring lights outside.
The ‘Caves of Magyajh’ experience remains a mystery, albeit a funny one!
Here's us waiting to be inducted into the Magyajh cult 😅
