Modern Bohemian Style Lesson #308
To be chic, a bag must be large enough to fit a small portable man.
09/13/2011
09/09/2011
Om.:.
Modern Bohemian Style Lesson #153
Meditate in gold platform heels. Om mani padme om.
09/08/2011
The Cape.:.
Modern Bohemian Style Lesson #213
This season, EVERY girl's got to have a cape and a Yak.
Yes. A cape and a Yak. Start your shopping now.
09/07/2011
Red.:.
Modern bohemian style. It's like poetry for the eyes.
A photo a day folks! For the next week and a half!
Do subscribe dear visitors.
07/31/2011
a dancer's leap {part iv}
I feature a lot of traditional Eastern architecture, the kind that's far removed from the world of Tyvek. I know most apartments in India are humble spaces, but tell us about your apartment in Pushkar!
The building is a tall narrow handmade 3 story structure on a little narrow gully that, when standing in the lane and looking up, you can only see a small sliver of sky. The buildings are all of stone and made close together so that the houses stay cool in the blazing heat of Rajasthani summers. The walls are painted cool blues and yellow and white with a lime wash that keeps the look of the buildings cool as well.
"I love to hear birds, feel the sky, smell cooking of neighbors, hear the chanting and bells of the many temples in Pushkar."
In my room the ceiling has mandalas painted on the ceiling that is over 80 yrs old and little personal touches that have been there for near 100 years. The stone is cold in winter and there is no hot water. So I have to bundle up from the breeze that blows through the cracks of the old building.
"In summer I enjoy the openness of the home and generally love that the sounds of the world come floating through my home. Nothing is airtight in the village and I occasionally will have a sparrow fly into my room and nest there nightly."
In summer I enjoy the openness of the home and generally love that the sounds of the world come floating through my home. Nothing is airtight in the village and I occasionally will have a sparrow fly into my room and nest there nightly. The house is open to the sky in the center so rain washes through if it rains (Rajasthan rarely does rain) and there is no glass on windows… so yes, it gets very very dirty! But I love to hear birds, feel the sky, smell cooking of neighbors, hear the chanting and bells of the many temples in Pushkar.
This year the neighbors did renovations to their building, they unearthed some relics of an ancient temple far below our home. It is a piece of a temple pillar carved of very old stone. The scene is of dancers in tribhungi (an Odissi posture) dancing to a Pakawaj drum. Once again I was reminded… it is no accident that I am here.
Photographs Colleena Shakti
S H A K T I D A N C E S C H O O L
Visit the Shakti School of Dance
Pushkar, Rajasthan
07/29/2011
the size of hope...
Below, Marcia Cross of the Desperate Housewives tells the story of Fuad, a boy in Ethiopia who is in need of a sponsor.
Photograph Plan USA
Sponsor a Child
07/28/2011
a dancer's leap {part iii}
Pushkar is a beautiful town, I can see why you chose to settle there. What do you do in Pushkar when you are not dancing or teaching dance?
I walk out to the desert to the ‘Gypsy’ camps to see my family, visit other beautiful places in Rajasthan, like Udaipur, Jaipur and Jaisalmer, visit my Langa musicians' little village. I perform a lot all over India. I practice yoga. I sit and chat all day with old ladies on the temple steps, play with children on my street, learn to cook and eat with neighbors, study chanting with my Pandit (priest)... Eat and drink lots of CHAI! Watch the sunset on the lake…
The Khalbelia gypsies are among your closest friends. Who are they, and how did you meet them?
They are a caste of Jogi (yogi mystics and beggars) who are snake charmers and originate from a tantric sect that worships Lord Shiva. They are semi nomadic and outsiders of society, they keep it that way. The women are very powerful and sing incredible songs and dance. Men are musicians, snake charmers and unfortunately sometimes prone to drinking. There are Kalbelia who live in cities who are very modern and then there are some who are still totally nomadic.
My family is semi-nomadic and live in non permanent living structures in the desert outside of my town. I approached them after seeing them dance. I asked if they would teach me their dance. It has been a long and funny road with them, the first few years just a lot of getting swindled by them. Now, we care for each other as family.
"It has been a long and funny road with them, the first few years just a lot of getting swindled by them. Now, we care for each other as family. "
The gypsies are a difficult people to really know. In what ways have they let you know that they accept you as a friend?
They are extremely loyal – this quality has preserved their culture. So it took many years to feel trusted and accepted, now I am just one of the tribe. They still find ways to test my patience and I always struggle with the ‘rich foreigner’ stigma (with both Indian and ‘Gypsy’ though).
They show their love for me by thinking of me when a special meal is prepared and offer food to me, they are so poor and always share what they have with me. When I am sick they come to my home to check on me and yell at me if I am not following their instructions. They include me in every holiday and prayers. They come to me with their worries and never hesitate to help me when I am worried, even if I don’t ask for help, they sense it. They are very, very good friends.
To be continued...
Photographs Colleena Shakti
Odissi Classical Dance School
Pushkar, Rajasthan
07/25/2011
a dancer's leap {part ii}
I've heard Odissi dance is difficult. And then I read that it requires that the head, chest, and hips move independently! The result is a strange grace that appears otherworldly, even alien-like, but also magical. What was it like to learn?
It IS like learning an alien dance form that came from creatures who were much more intelligent, subtle, divinely steeped and intuitive than we are. It is very ‘foreign’ shapes at first. Moving in contrasting directions to keep a balance structure is a theme, emotional acting that borders on ‘spirit possession’ is there and embodying the nobility and wisdom of gods. The dance lineage was started by gods in their celestial abodes and passed on for thousands of years.
Alien is a great choice of words, because our dance is not of this world. But the movements, when practiced over time, slowly bring you into an elevated mood of thinking… a beautiful place, beyond the individual… a reuniting with a divine love – that is so refreshing and intoxicating.
The school is set in a traditional Rajasthani style villa. It's gorgeous. (I love the traditional Indian architecture!) Tell us about it. Also, about the original idea for a school. How did that come about? And did you face any challenges in opening it?
It came about on its own!
I was given a space to practice in the temple, people asked me to teach and I asked my Guru if he would come from Orissa to do workshops. He agreed.
I fell in love with Rajasthan and its folk music and dance, the architecture and climate, the whole feeling there. I was so thrilled having found the ‘Gypsies’ too, wanted to continue my investigations with them AND continue studying Odissi.
We started the school just with Odissi. And then, with the intention of encouraging the local Kalbelia ‘Gypsy’ dancers with whom I worked, I invited the ‘Gypsy’ girls to start teaching their dance with me at the school. It became internationally known. Now we do a classical Indian dance and music festival every year.
The village adores us and our students because we bring business and a positive message about foreign visitors respecting Indian culture.
"I was given a space to practice in the temple, people asked me to teach and I asked my Guru if he would come from Orissa to do workshops. He agreed."
Has Bollywood come calling yet?
Oh, no. Not sure I would pick up if they called!
I am so deeply inlove with my dance forms, I am very particular about how they are portrayed.
To be continued...
Photographs Colleena Shakti
Odissi Classical Dance School
Pushkar, Rajasthan
07/23/2011
a dancer's leap... {part i}
The Interview Colleena Shakti is the founder of the Shakti School of Dance in Pushkar, India. Over a decade ago she went searching for meaning and purpose in her life. Her search brought her to India, where she discovered a passion for one of the country's oldest dance styles.
"...in just those first days I began to understand that this dance would require lifetimes of study and practice before it is embodied. After 10 years I feel like a toddler, taking my first steps."
I read you bought a one way ticket to India, for your first trip to the country? What led you to India all those years ago?
I did buy a one way ticket to India. It was Odissi that lead me there. I was taking a few classes of Odissi (Indian Classical Dance) in the US and after a few classes, I realized this art form would require full time study to even start to sink into it. I thought I would go for a few years, master the dance and come home to teach it. Haha, in just those first days I began to understand that this dance would require lifetimes of study and practice before it is embodied. After 10 years I feel like a toddler, taking my first steps.
" I am shy and introverted anyway and India is so open and expressive."
What did you find in India? And what experiences made you think, "I feel at home here, I could live here." ?
Um, NOTHING made me say to myself… “this is so pleasant, I think I will live here”. It was so uncomfortable and awkward in the beginning, and to be honest can still feel that way. I am shy and introverted anyway and India is so open and expressive. People stare at me where ever I go and children peer into my windows. The idea of privacy is very different. I have always lived in villages or in a very traditional context (like with a Guru). I am sure my experience would have been different if I lived in a city.
"Something was so ultimately satisfied inside of me, while outside I was so uncomfortable and unaccustomed to literally every basic aspect of life..."
In my early years of Odissi training, everyone thought I was a freak and I was so scared and uncomfortable. There were not a lot of foreigners who had come before me to study or be in the places I went to. I guess the way of life somehow made sense over time. Dancing all day and siesta in the afternoon, life centered around family and community, children everywhere. The dance was so deep and SO satisfying. I craved more and more to go deeper.
Something was so ultimately satisfied inside of me, while outside I was so uncomfortable and unaccustomed to literally every basic aspect of life: food, weather, language, clothing, behavior, housing set up, etc. I have grown to love the little things of India – food, family all around you, noises, smells, clothing, colors, celebrations, music and dance every where!
To be continued... (I've enjoyed Colleena's story so much - and I know you have too! - that I thought to post it in 3 parts. Part II and III coming up!)
Photographs Colleena Shakti
Odissi Classical Dance School
Pushkar, Rajasthan
07/22/2011
the size of hope...
{Pakistan, December 2010: Tayyab lost a leg to a landmine in Dera Ismail Khan District. The 2010 floods had washed mines into the district from a nearby conflict zone. “I saw something that looked like a thermos cap,” said his father. “I gave it to my children to play with… I heard a big explosion… I came out and saw Tayyab lying in a pool of blood... I feel so guilty…Only if I had some education, I would not have done something so stupid.” }
Photographs UNICEF
Education, aid in Pakistan
I'm that traveler who chose mind expansion over a neatly boxed career. Soulbird was born of a need for spiritual exercise. A way to ward off that particular type of soul atrophy that comes from chasing the American dream, an illusion that in reality amounts to a load of stress and a pile of bills. Soulbird hovers at the crossroads between adventure and authentic cultural experience.
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