When I registered for this event,
little did I know what I was getting into. A few talks, some cultural shows, I
thought I would spend the day listening to a few interesting speakers and maybe
spend most of my time browsing on my phone. But I was in for a surprise. Every
single speaker, every topic and every performance was engrossing, immersive,
informative and provoking.
Starting from the Ganapati shlokas
and other vedic hymns, talks ranging across a wide variety of topics from the
Ramayana, rise of Bharat as a nation, cultural heritage – textiles, artifacts,
temples, education, water conservation, wealth (Artha), kartavya bhava – duty or
doing instead of whining. If the talks left a lot of thoughts, the performances
kept the audience spell-bound. The solo dance/talk on the Ista Deva, the violin
symphony from a troupe of artists across ages, the finale performance by the
Shankarananda Kalakshetra students was top-notch. It took us to an entirely
different world – the tales from the Bull(Nandi) and the Tiger (Simha – vahana of
Parvati). From the viewpoint of these vahanas, the greatness of Shiva and
Parvati was expressed to Ganesha and Karthikeya. The entire choreography, music,
lighting and dance was a feast for the eyes and ears.
My takeaways from the event –
1. Read the
original Ramayana written by Valmiki (hope to be able to read it sometime in my
life)
2. Get rid
of the devil inside me – procrastination
3. Encourage
weavers through use of handloom
4. Learn
Sanskrit
5. Mindset change - Earning wealth is not a crime
