Collaborations

This evening I would like to post some collaborations that Angelee Deodhar has sent me.  "Guru Purnima 2016" is a poem that she and Neena Singh wrote over the internet in two hours!  I never would have guessed....

By the way, click on the images to enlarge them and make them readable!

Guru Purnima 2016

A Collaborative Poem between Neena Singh and Angelee Deodhar

Tonight the full moon
scatters petals of light
golden strains of music float
remembered from the past...

I remember the Guru
who showed me where to look
not what to see, held a brush
as he ground ink for me…

he walked beside me unseen
a lamp held high till
the scent of jasmine
resonated in my soul

stumbling over rocks
through muddy streams I went
tasting the wild waters
and fruit I didn’t know

the ineffable wonder of life
the sacred mystery unveiled
I bow to the Guru,who reflects
the moon in me tonight.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Purnima

 Note: Guru Purnima is an Indian and Nepalese festival dedicated to spiritual and academic teachers. This festival is traditionally celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists, to pay their respects to their teachers and express their gratitude. The festival is celebrated on the full moon day (Purnima) in the Hindu month July. This year it was on 19th of July.

I am going to do something a little different with the music as Angelee has sent me a number of pieces to accompany the writing.

Let's start with Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."  The pianist is Arthur Rubinstein.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNVBaKQgfyU

UK soul singer Diane Shaw performs "Blue Moon": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPYpu1uM3zU

Neena Singh, a former banker now runs a non-profit for education and health of underprivileged children. The creator of ‘soul2soul’, a well-loved group on Facebook, committed to spreading peace, goodwill and light through theme-based discussions among members. She has received awards for her contribution in banking, management and social work. Her book "Whispers of the Soul - The Journey Within" is available on Amazon.

Neena lives with her husband, Prithpal and her golden lab, Rumi, in Chandigarh, India.

"Half the Sea, Half the Sky" is a collaboration with Paresh Tiwari.

Half the Sea, Half the Sky

(A Collaborative poem between Paresh Tiwari and Angelee Deodhar)

In that mirror of Erised

I see this world and that

un-granted wishes, vanished loves

Diablo slithering sinuously

and when the night sky

closes its fist around my breath,

squeezing the ebb of life …gently

you turn your face towards me

to look into the depths of my soul

owl bright eyes search through

the subterranean shadows

of your honey sweet lies, while

the wind whips up a Great Wave

off Kanagawa …

From time to time, we have lost

one another in this ocean’s roar

but then our boat changes tack

and we patch the shreds

of its sail with moonlight.

Bio: Paresh Tiwari, is a poet, writer and illustrator currently residing in Mumbai, India. His haiku, haibun, tanka, haiga, poems, and fiction appear frequently in noteworthy journals and anthologies across the world. An Inch of Sky, his collected haiku and haibun, has been published by 20 Notebooks Press and is available online.

Bio: Angelee Deodhar, an eye surgeon by profession as well as a haiku poet, translator, and artist, lives and works in Chandigarh, India.  She has edited both Journeys and Journeys 2015, two anthologies of International Haibun, and is now working on Journeys 2016, the third anthology of haibun from around the world.

Here is Mendelssohn's "Fingal's Cave: The Hebrides Overture":  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iek4OcrT6m0

You may also enjoy Grace Mary Williams' "Sea Sketches":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRU7zHQMW8A

Angelee has also collaborated with Mary Jo Balistreri, another poet whose works have appeared here frequently.

A Collaborative poem between  Mary Jo Balistreri (USA)

                                                and Angelee Deodhar (India)

Morning Raga

Early this morning

the sun kindled frost

transforms vast fields

into silver-tipped etchings

knee deep in ground fog

 the widow makers’ silhouettes

 change and  shape shift

 in last night’s rain

a jay dips sapphire wings

a fox stands small and silent

fog lifts like breath from the land

in the distance temple bells

egrets follow the bent backs

as rice planter’s songs ripple

in fractals of green and gold

in the distance a koel calls

  the  fox listens . so does she

 to these resonant melodies

a window opens to the breeze

 as she enjoys jasmine tea

jungle babblers awaken now

squirrels scold, chase the crows

and in the escalating din

somewhere a morning raga begins.

Note :A raga is a word derived from Sanskrit word is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music and means an act of coloring or dyeing  and therefore metaphorically means 'any feeling or passion especially love, affection, sympathy, desire, interest, motivation, joy, or delight.'
Image credit https://in.pinterest.com/pin/187743878193201887/ Indian Bird Miniature Art Handmade Old Stamp Paper Nature Ornithology Painting

Mughal painting is a particular style of South Asian painting, generally confined to miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums, which emerged from Persian miniature painting, with Indian Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist influences, and developed largely in the court of the Mughal Empire  

Here is Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt's raga "Megh Malhar": 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14rwpy_raag-megh-malhar-guitar-pt-vishwa-mohan-bhatt-indian-classical-instrumental-lure-of-desert_music

Vladmir Horowitz plays Chopin's "Raindrop" Prelude in D major: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_6APTb3RNQ

Next is Sanjay Deodhar and Angelee Deodhar's collaboration.  Sanjay is her nephew.

Chomolungma

A Collaborative Haibun by Sanjay Deodhar and Angelee Deodhar

“Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.” Chaim Potok

We met our porters at the airport and after picking up baggage, our group immediately set off on our trek to the first destination. After lunch at one of the tea houses and a four hour trek we reached Phakding, while enjoying the superb views of Kusum Kangru peak.

The ‘tea houses’ on trekking routes in Nepal,are essentially lodges or hotels along the trek route with rooms for board and lodging. Run by Sherpas and their families, who have shifted from being porters and guides, to running hotels which have Wifi, mobile charging points, hot showers, all available at a reasonable rate . All these ‘tea houses’ have large French windows in their dining rooms for clear views and a fine variety of eating options ,where one can write one’s journal ,check out maps, exchange experiences with other trekkers, while feeling the warmth of the thoughtfully placed wood fired alcoves.

Everest Base Camp-

below snapping prayer flags

graffiti on rocks

Note: Tibetan natives called it Chomolungma, meaning "Goddess Mother of Mountains," but the British named it after Sir George Everest, the crack surveyor who charted much of India.
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Quote from Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/tea_3.html

Image McKay Savage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengboche_Monastery#/media/File:Nepal_-_Sagamartha_Trek_-_240_-_Tengboche_Monastery.jpg

Prose Excerpt from Sanjay Deodhar’s travelogue Trek to Everest Base Camp

Title,Quote and Haiku Angelee Deodhar

Bio :Sanjay Deodhar is a Mechanical Engineer who likes to read, write and take photographs. He  loves to explore new places and is passionate about trekking, nature walks, wild life, water and adventure sports. His wife and children support him wholeheartedly and often join him on his travels.

I'll finish with some Tibetan harp music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unU8SdLtd3E

This is the original temple mantra version of Om Mani Padme Hum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFIQguh2yYI

This haiku sequence is a solo performance by Angelee Deodhar.

This pastiche is called "Rainy Day."  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFF_B9os5-E

The next video combines the sound of rain and Native American flutes:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SynzKC4fWp0

Raag Megh
Megh  is a Hindustani classical raga. The name derives from the Sanskrit word Megh, meaning cloud. Legends say that this raga has the power to bring out rains in the area where it is sung.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90xd79TJ55s

Enjoy!  This is a good evening to stay in and read.  I'm off to start Janine Pommy Vega's Tracking the Serpent, a book that my friend Catfish McDaris recommended highly.