Flamingos to Flamenco.. and Amigos. Van Gogh to Picasso.. and Columbus. [ Yet Another Solo-Trip!]

Just managed to do a 11-day solo trip..Dec 20-30.. South of France and Spain
(Nimes, Marseille, Arles, Camargue-RhoneRiverDelta, Toulouse,.. and then crossing the border and onto Barcelona, then Seville and around )

Was a great experience.. Fun (yes, you can have it, travelling alone too!) and adventure.. including riding a scooter thru Nimes city and French country side,and Tresspassing a protected area for early morning shots of Pink Flamingos. Then a medley of the usual history-art-architecture circuit (Roman stuff almost everywhere.. o'course.. , museum of VanGogh-@-Arles, and the very comprehensive and insightful Picasso museum @Barcelona, +some transfixing architecture in Barca..), plus some quality hi-tech(SpaceCity in Toulouse, though couldn't go for Airbus FactoryVisit as it was booked till Jan1st week) , and nature-watch..


[Drove thru 2 NationalParks.. Hired a scooter from Nimes city and went around the French country side and thru the grassy-marshy wilderness of the Camargue area Rhone-River Delta.. could see PinkFlamingos in 100s there..

Barcelona had this surprise for me.. a Chocolate Museum!!.. Barcelona was the first port through which chocolate entered europe, thanks to the conquistadors who brought it from the Red Indians ( though the Mayans consumed it unsweetened and drank it hot- with chilli pepper). There are so many specialist chocolatiers and bakers who make so many different chocolate based confections so much different from the variety I have seen elsewhere (including Swiss), that the choco-lovers wud go bersek in Barça !

[FLAMENCO performance at Seville]

Did car-rental from Seville to go thru Doñana NationalPark and other historical places near Huelva, including some Columbus-sites.. the beachfront from where he set sail inorder to find the route to the India; The village church where he offered his prayers before he left; The palace and monastery where he made his plans for the trip..etc ]

It was from the coastal town of Palos, 13km from Huelva in Andalucia, that on Aug 3, 1492, Columbus's ships sailed to find a route to India and happened to discover the Americas. Here is the [Church at Palos] where Columbus offered his prayers before he set sail.. In the Huelva area, Columbus exchanged ideas, explored competing theories, and, after a time, put together the political and economic support that had been previously denied to him by other European monarchies. Local rich sailors at Huelva lended their support (ships, captains and crew) under the patronage of Ferdinand and Isabella of Seville.




While travelling in Spain, after hearing the word 'manana' being used extensively, (actually written as "mañana" pronounced something like 'manyaana' , touching the tongue flat on top for the ñ) I asked a lady what ALL it meant!..
She was using it so many times in a short phone conversation, while I was waiting to ask her something.. and I heard her use it in many different tones which amused me.. she then patiently explained it to me.

Later seeing this article "Bidding adios to 'manana'.." on BBC brought these memories back.
( Right on time
Who are the world's most punctual and who are the latecomers?
)

Austria: From Salt-Mine to Crystal-Maze, Mozart and The Sound of Music

The Seduction/Abduction of Europa, painting on Royal Crockery.
[ From the Royal collection of Queen Maria Theresa at Hofburg Palace, Vienna. ]
[From Wikipedia:]In Greek mythology, Europa (Greek Ευρώπη) was a Phoenician woman of an aristrocratic family, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. (Apparently there is a statue "Abduction of Europa" in front of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France.) ( In fact, I first came to know this story from Greek mythology during the earlier Greece trip, while browsing a souvenir shop in Corinth, when I asked the shop-owner the significance of the Lady with the Bull, which I noticed on 2 Euro coins there, and then seeing it as a sort of leitmotif in some artworks around.)
According to legend, Zeus fell for the beauty of Europa and to seduce or ravish her, He transformed himself into a tame white bull and mixed in with her father's herds. While Europa and her female attendants were gathering flowers, she saw the bull, caressed his flanks, and eventually got onto his back. Zeus took that opportunity and ran to the sea and swam, with her on his back, to the island of Crete. He then revealed his true identity, and Europa became the first queen of Crete and Zeus fathered her children.
As the legend goes, the people of Crete and much of Greeks were considered to be their descendants. Later Europa stood for mainland Greece, and by 500 BC its meaning had been extended to lands to the north.
---x---

For The Body and The Soul!..

East Meets West in these Roadside adverts targeting the Mind and the Body, in Salzburg.

Amazingly camouflaged into the Alpine landscape, the entrance to the stunning
Swarovski Crystal World, Innsbruck.The Crystal World is subterranean, hidden in that landscape. The face of the hill has been carved into the water-spouting head of an Alpine giant. His eyes are made of two enormous crystals that reflect the colour of the sun.
This is next to the huge main processing factory of Swarovski.

World's largest crystal, weighing 62kg, having 100 facets (It's larger than a football.)
@ Swarovski Crystal World, Innsbruck.

Art in Crystal. Melting Time, by Salvador Dalí, the Spanish surrealist artist. @ Swarovski Crystal World, Innsbruck.

Crystal Art. Giant Jellyfish model @ Swarovski Crystal World, Innsbruck.

For Mozart-aficionados. A Mozart-special Chocolatier in Salzburg, his hometown.
RockSalt looking red, because of its iron content.Inside the Salt Mine, at Hallein,Bad Dürrnberg near Salzburg; one of the world's oldest mines.. The Celts were digging salt from here around 2000years ago!
Salt may seem very insignificant to us today, but it was considered as 'While Gold' some centuries ago and holds the key to the immense wealth of Salzburg's past, and of course we realise it's deeply "ingrained" in the identity and existance of Salzburg, when we look at how it got its name!.. Salz means Salt in German.
Austria-Germany international border under the Alps, inside the Salt Mine.

Navarasa- Expressions in BharataNatyam

Depicting Roudra[Anger].Lord Shiva's dance of fury when his penance is disturbed by Manmatha, the God of Love. Finally Shiva burns Manmatha to ashes

[ Web Album ]

The dancers presented NavaRasa-The Nine Emotions in BharataNatyam, the South Indian Classical dance, by selecting several scenes from mythology and literature. Concept and choreography by Usha Raghavan, founder-director of Kalasagara UK, in aid of a charity, Veerayatan, for their ongoing Sponsor-a-child programme to benefit the earth-quake hit areas of Gujarat.


{ Nava means "Nine" and Rasa is often translated as "mood", "emotion", "expression" or "sentiment". The Navarasa, in the dance scriptures refer to the nine expressions that humans often show. These are love ( shringaara ), laughter ( haasya ), kind-heartedness or compassion ( karuna ), anger ( roudra ), courage ( veera ), fear ( bhayaanaka ), disgust ( beebhatsa ), wonder or surprise ( adbhutha ) and peace or tranquility ( shaantha ). }

[Image above: Depicting Roudra [Anger].Lord Shiva's dance of fury when his penance is disturbed by Manmatha, the God of Love. Finally Shiva burns Manmatha to ashes ]

According to Nātya Shastra, the ancient indian treatise on dance, music and dramatic arts, Rasa is an emotion inspired in an audience by a performer.Rasas are created by bhavas: the gestures and facial expressions of the actors.

The concept of the event sounded quite interesting.. In fact, I have this sort of strange 'dormant fixation at the back of the mind which will easily rise to the surface', a 'deep but subconscious appeal', if you will, with this NavaRasa theme, ever since closely watching the gripping facial expressions of artistes with heavy colourful make-ups perform during the local temple festivals, back home during my childhood..

Now, for years, been waiting for a chance to watch professional artists performing with such a theme. For this event, dancers are not professionals, but the performance was quite impressive..
Though I enjoyed capturing it bacause I've been wanting to do it for long, didn't quite like the results ;-l

I so much wanted to capture each emotion portrayed, but that being the case, I had only very limited success with the camera [ though that's very much expected.. Well, you can always find excuses for doing a sloppy job and find fault with everything else other than your Holy Self! ;) So here goes my crib-list-- struggling to get the right angle and enough light, even after pushing to ISO 800 or 1000, and without wanting to use flash at all; also fighting the shake while hand-holding at >1/50 sec on 150~200mm range, and tracking the fast movements with spot-metering can be tricky.. ] Well, to be fare it's a great stage to learn!

'Hasta Mudras'(hand gestures) are the expressive as a way of communication,a distinctive feature of BharataNatyam."Mudra" literally refers to the gestures and postures.
There are two types of Hasta Mudras: 'Asamyuta' and 'Samyuta' 'Hasta Mudras'(with single-hand and combined, respectively). There are 28 Asamyuta Mudras and 24 Samyuta Hastas.
Many of these hand gestures are well known. For example, Anjali is often used as a salutation when a person greets another person [Namaste].

There were nine sessions/acts :
1. Sringara [Love]. Scene : Radha &Krishna

Radha waits for her beloved Krishna in anticipation. When Krishna arrives late Radha's delight turns into anger as she finds marks of other women on him. When Radha confronts him, Krishna tries to cajole her. Unyielding Radha shows him his way out. Realizing the depth of her sorrow, Krishna professes his true love for her and seeks Radha's forgiveness.

2. Hasya [Laughter]. Scene : Shoorpanakha, Rama & Lakshmana

Shoorpanakha, a demoness, comes to the forest for her daily meals. When she spots Lord Rama, asks him to marry her.Already married to Sita, he sends her to his brother Lakshmana. Shoorpanakha rushes to the short-tempered Lakshmana and proposes to him. He is bemused by all this.

3. Karuna [Compassion].
Scene : story of Nandanar (from a song in Tamil literature)

The dancer depicts the story of Nandanar, and "untouchable" in the song Varugalamo. Because of his class, Nandanar is barred by the society to enter the temple, pleads with the Lord to bless him despite his social status and allow him to stand near the altar to offer prayers.

4. Roudra [Anger]. Scene : Shiva &Manmatha

Lord Shiva is meditating in the forest. His penance is disturbed by Manmatha,the God of Love. At first Shiva is pleasantly startled, but upon seeing the cause of the disturbance, engages in a dance of fury. Finally he burns Manmatha to ashes.

5. Veera [Courage]. Scene : Rama at Sita's Swayamvara

King Janaka declares a contest, stating that the one who lifts and strings the divine bow of Lord Shiva would win his daughter, Sita, as his wife. One by one the invited kings and warriors try to lift the bow, and fail. Eventually it is Rama's turn. To everyone's delight and surprise, he lifts the bow effortlessly, and he strings it, and the bow breaks under his immense strength. He wins Sita's hand in marriage.

6,7. Bhayanaka [Fear] & Beebhatsa [Disgust]. Scene : Vyasa, Ambika, Ambalika.

After the King died childless, his mother Satyavati requested her first son Sage Veda Vyasa to visit the queens to sire sons- bestowing queens Ambika and Ambalika with heirs to the throne..Ambika's and Ambalika's reactions to Sage Vyasa's ugly and fearful appearance causes their children, Dhritarashtra and Pandu, to be born blind and pale/weak respectively

8. Adbhuta [Wonder]. Scene- Vamana &Mahabali.

The Demon King Mahabali is completing the Ashwamedha Sacrifice to become the king of the Three Worlds. In order to complete the sacrifice, Mahabali must give away any and all possessions he is asked for in alms and donations. Lord Vishnu comes in the form of Vamana, the Brahmin dwarf, to prevent Mahabali from achieving his goal

9. Shanta [Tranquility/Peace]. Scene : Enacting the song Shanti Nilavu Vendum, which calls for peace and harmony,as preached by Mahatma Gandhi, in this world of sorrow and turmoil.

Bharathanatyam has two important components - 'Nritta' (pure dance movements/footwork) and 'Abhinaya' or 'Natya' (dramatic art of story-telling with expressions to show emotion). A traditional Bharathanatyam recital starts with pure Nritta pieces and will involve more Abhinaya as the show progresses.

Apparently, according to the teacher who organised this show, Shanta was the most difficult rasa to do choreography for!. Incidentally, a bit of wikiing revealed that Nātya Shastra identifies the first eight rasas with eight corresponding bhava - Rati (Love), Hasya (Mirth), Soka (Sorrow), Krodha(Anger),Utsaha (Energy), Bhaya (Terror), Jugupsa (Disgust), Vismaya (Astonishment).

Ironically, that makes you think, that may be to evoke Shanta, we wouldn't need any effort, any bhava- special expressions or gesture.. and we can just BE. Is it because Shanta, being very peaceful, is our True Nature ?? ;)