"Indian Music Extravaganza:" When A Door Closes Another One Opens

- May 28, 2013, Tuesday.

- I was in the middle of cooking pasta for dinner, when my friend Sandino told me about the on-going "Indian Music Extravaganza" earlier today. It was held in Lucky Chinatown Mall, and unfortunately, not well-publicized. The event was held from 6-8pm, and I was only informed around quarter to 7pm. I had some doubts of going, since I thought that I would have missed the whole thing, and I had to do stuff at home, like my Hindi homework, and rest my aching legs from my hunt for buttons and Muslim trimmings in Divisoria this afternoon.

- I decided to "carpe diem," and go to Lucky Chiantown Mall after a jiffy-dinner, I wore a comfortable half-kurta, and rode a trike to the mall. Just after I arrived, the host was thanking everyone, and the musicians (a tabla player and a sitar player) started packing their things. It was around 7:30pm, and I expected that I had around 30 minutes to enjoy the show more. I had never been so wrong. I was devastated. I almost rolled on the floor to start crying.

- The event was held by the Sahaja Yoga Philippines, and this music performance one of the - if not the final - events lined up by Sahaja Yoga Philippines. Sahaja Yoga, like most yoga forms, relies on self-calming methods and meditation techniques in order to connect all chakras. It is one of the forms of yoga that do not need all the body-knotting forms. Simple gestures and breathing exercises are all it takes to connect the body to itself, and all other beings. Of course, this is probably just the surface of what Sahaja Yoga really is. I did appreciate the fact that Sahaja Yoga is being taught worldwide by practitioners, more often than not, without pay. This form of yoga, like most forms of yoga, transcends all religions, and is more of a lifestyle than a "religion." Still, I noticed that the practitioners had images of Ganesh and other Hindu gods in their phone wallpapers, or their jewelry.

With the two musicians. I assume the played well. They're both from Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Left: Avnindra, Right: Sandesh.

- Most of the practitioners stayed after the event, and lingered to take photos, and talk to each other, or to interested passers-by. I took the opportunity to talk to these practitioners, which included the two musicians, Sandesh and  Avnindra. I met Russians Sergey, Anya, and another guy whose name I have forgotten (shame on me,) Iranian Olga (residing in the Philippines for some years now, studying dentistry,) Australian-living-in-Hong-Kong Alex, among a few. I also met a couple from Shenzhen, who demonstrated the short steps in doing basic Sahaja Yoga. Needless to say, I was able to use some of the many languages that I knew, and had to use them one after the other. It was confusing, and fun at the same time.

With my new Russian acquaintances.

Practitioners wearing Indian clothes.

- I was also able to bump into my friend Yanyu, whom I haven't seen in the last few years.

With Yanyu and her officemate Janice.

With Alex, who gave me much info about Sahaja Yoga.

- I left an hour later than I expected, having a lot of laughs and chats with the practitioners. I had no regrets going to the event, despite missing the performance itself. I'd still like to thank my friend Sandino for "alerting" me "in real time" after encountering this in Lucky Chinatown. Today's lessons are: a. carpe diem, especially if the venue is close to you, b. when a door closes, another door opens, and c. knowing languages will definiely get you somewhere.