Kijk naar deze dag
want het is leven
het absolute leven van het leven.

In zijn korte verloop liggen al
de werkelijkheden en waarheden van het bestaan
de vreugde van groei
de pracht van handeling
de glorie van kracht.

Want gisteren is slechts een herinnering
en morgen is slechts een visioen.
Maar vandaag, goed geleefd,
maakt elk gisteren een herinnering
van geluk
en elke morgen een visioen van hoop.

Kijk daarom goed naar deze dag…

It has hardly been a week since i came back from the Andamans. Normally, people would not feel like travelling, let alone on a motorcycle so soon. But then you know me! Where normal people stop, i begin!

The idea of doing a weekend ride occured to me as Aamir and I were sitting and chilling at my place. We had two days off and i had some (very little, mind you) spare cash. I could have saved it, but the amount was so insignificant that i decided to fuck it. I thought that if i did the ride, the experience would be much more worth it than the money in the bank. There were two major hurdles to the successful completion of the trip. First, to get Aamir (who’s fast approaching thirty and has the mentality very similar to, say, a turnip) up on his ass and preparing him for the trip; and secondly the constant nagging voice in my head which said that Pushkar and back in two days is impossible.

All doubts laid to rest, the day of the trip fast approached. By the time i got home after work, sorting out small mechanical issues on the bike, buying spares and collecting back-packs, it was nearly one in the morning. As per plan we were supposed to be out by 3:30, so we packed fast and settled down for an hour’s sleep.

Thanks to calls from a very supportive girlfriend and a very worried mother, we were up an running on schedule. Our first stop was at the ATM near IIT. From there we hit the NH8, which we would be following all the way to Ajmer.

Dope at the ATM

We crossed Gurgaon at 4:15 in the morning. The expressway is a pleasure to drive in even during peak traffic and at this godforsaken hour of the day when we were practically the only people on the road, it was a whole new feeling altogether. The needle on the speedo stayed still at 120 kmph. Originally (and i attribute it to a late waking-up habit) i had thought that the sun would be out by five, around the time we are out of the NCR and hit the open stretches. But 5 rolled to 5:30 and 5:30 rolled to 6 and there was no signs of the sun. At one point of time i was even thinking that maybe we left at 2:30 instead of 3:30. But anyway, the sky lightened sometime after 6 and by 6:30, we were already within a 100 kms of Jaipur when we stooped at this dhaba for tea and smokes and some photos.

Shameless poser!

You know you are in Rajasthan when....

As we approached Jaipur, the highway got prettier and prettier. The landscape was increasingly getting rugged and we started seeing the first signs of the Aravallis.

Aamir's helmet is too big for his head!

Bodhi on Dope!

Soon we hit the turn which would allow us to by-pass Jaipur and continue on our way towards Ajmer. As soon as we hit the by-pass, the shy darkened and it started drizzling. I was seriously disappointed…first Andamans and now this! The rains must have a serious issue with me. No! Not this time, i pressed on the throttle and began speeding away…. for the next half an hour, we literally outran the storm brewing behind us. What a feeling!

Thats the feeling you get when you outrun the storm!

If the Delhi-Jaipur stretch of the highway is ’smooth’ then from Jaipur to Ajmer, it is a veritable Autobahn. Hills flank the wide tarmac on both sides and for the longest stretch, the surroundings were devoid of any human presence. I have never been on roads like this. The road eventually leads to Mumbai which is 1200 kms from Jaipur. The urge was great to keep driving and not stopping till i reached Mumbai…but not this time. Very soon, though!

NH8, somewhere between Jaipur and Ajmer

By the time we crossed Jaipur on the by-pass it was 9:30 in the morning and our stomachs had started to growl in symphony. Aamir at this point started acting like a bitch that he is. He rejected all the highway dhabas that i wanted to go to. He wanted a nice, sanitised, clean, ‘family’ place. So after much searching, we stopped at this dhaba and got ourselves stuffed on some awesome pakodas and paneer paranthas.

Pakodas

After this dhaba stop, we had to go on for another 80-85 kms where a state highway branched off from the NH8 towards Ajmer, and guess what… we completed this stretch in under 40 mins.

I got sun on my face!

Aamir had been a very good boy to this point. But when he saw a Cafe Coffee Day outlet on the highway, he just could not resist himself. He started flailing his arms about, jumping on the backseat, threatening to jump off if i did not stop. So i had to. He marched in, sat on the most comfortable couch and ordered a cold coffee! Road tripping with such people is such a pain, i tell you!

Aamir finally finds 'his kinda place'

Me in 'Aamir's kinda place'

Once we took the turn from the National Highway into the state highway, ther  was a perceptable change in the landscape. Dhabas and petrol pumps were few and far between, as were the villages. Soon we reached Kishangarh, which marks the beginning of the ‘Marble Belt’. For centuries the hills in this area have been quarried for their white marble. 4o kms down the road branching towards the right are the fabled mines of Makrana, that supplied the unblemished white marble used for the construction of the Taj Mahal.

These hills were once very high. On the outskirts of Kishangarh

Kishangarh fort in the Distance

Soon after Kishangarh, we entered Ajmer. It is a rugged yet serene town located along the base of a line of lofty hills. At the centre of the town is the sprawling Maharana Pratap Sagar lake. Our plan was to go to the Dargah Sharif before continuing towards Pushkar, 15 kms from here. The Dargah is located insuide of the Ajmer’s busiest markets and since it was also Diwali, the crowd was unbelievable. So we decided to skip it and continue towards Pushkar. We would come back for the darshan the next day, on our way back to Delhi. We stopped for some time on the lawns beside the lake and took some pictures

Maharana Pratap Sagar, Ajmer

In Pushkar, we were booked into the Pink Floyd Cafe, where the decor is psychadelic and the rooms are named after Pink Floyd albums. As Luck would have it, we were given the room called “Animals”. Anindita had a good laugh when i told her about it!

Pink Floyd Cafe

Interiors - First Floor

Interiors - Second Floor

The Lounge

The hotel was spread across three floors. All floors had a hall into which all the surrounding rooms opened. The top floor was the restaurant cum lounge and on the terrace there is a landscaped garden as well as another seating area. The terrace provided amazing view of Pushkar and the surrounding hills.

Pushkar From the terrace

Pushkar From the terrace

Pushkar from the terrace

Pushkar from the terrace - The Savitri Temple atop the hill watches over the town. We climbed the 700 steps leading to the temple in the evening

When we reached the hotel, we were quite exhausted having slept for hardly an hour in the last day and a half. Aamir was all for going to sleep and i had to push the old man along. So tired of me prodding his ass, he came up to the restaurant where we sat flicking through magazines and taking pictures while we waited for our lunch to show itself.

The best part about the hotel though was this little girl called Appu. She is hardly two years old and is all over the place. She, without hesitation enters rooms of strangers and every half an hour, there is someone or the other returning her to the reception to her dad. She came to me and settled down on my lap and narrated me a story in her own language, made up of a lot of different undistinguishable sounds and hand gestures.

Appu!

After a rather satisfactory and surprisingly delicious lunch, we went off to explore the town. To our great dismay, the lake was quite dry except for a puddle here and a puddle there. But on the upside, the ghats were gloriously deserted. There were hardly 10 people there and the architecture was brilliant. It is like Benaras, scaled down, built around a lake.

There are more than 52 ghats at Pushkar. Each of the ghats leads either to a temple and in some cases, the courtyards of  rich landowners and merchants.

The deserted ghats at Pushkar

A moment of quiet reflection

Two people and a whole lot of piegeons - the recipe for serenity

Among the larger things in the picture like the clear blue sky and the deserted ghats there were these innocuous little corners which are equally attractive. This jaali window once had a view, but has since been blocked up by a wall of bricks.

People have various methods of making a wish. In this case, some leave hand prints of themselves on the walls in vermillion. The last place i had seen this was at the Mmahamaya Temple, a shaktipeeth near Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh

This babaji claims to have walked down from Rishikesh!

This tree was the trippiest thing in all of Pushkar. Reminded me of the gnarled tree on the ramparts of the Hall of Gondor in Minos Terith.

The old man was feeding his piegeons. Sometimes they ate from his hands while others sat on his shoulders and sometimes even on his head.

Thats Aamir surveying the scene from his vantage point on the ghats

More signs of worship!

From the ghats we wandered off through the markets to the Brahma temple that makes Pushkar so unique. Apparantly, it is one of the only four Brahma Temples in the world. I thought it would be different from the other temples i had seen, but i was grossly disappointed. It was as commercial as any other big temple. There was nothing striking about its architecture too. I preferred to stay out while Aamir went in.

Outside the Brahma Temple

Hanumana himself!

A rare sombre face on a festive day!

Goodies at the Pushkar Bazaar

We walked a lot through the markets and the bylanes. I have seen lots of markets like this and there was hardly anything unique  about it, except for the stalls that were selling a vast array of swords, daggers and other hacking / slashing / cutting paraphernelia.Owing to the huge influx of Israeli tourists, a lot of the shops had hoardings or posters in Hebrew! I hace heard about stuff like this in Himachal..but the first time that i am seeing one.

Before i came to Pushkar, i read some blogs and all of the raved about the malpuas at the sweet shops. So we decided to check it out. The sweet shops had spilled into the streets and there were heaps of Bangali sweets in makeshift stands in front of the shops. A little conversation with the halwaii inoformed us that Pushkar sweets are so famous that people come here from Ajmer. We asked for two plates of malpus and that stuff was outright delicious. I am not a big fan of sweets and crazy as it may sound, i hate if my sweets are… well..too sweet! But not this. It was soft and chewey and just the right amount of sweet. It was excellent. Aamir wanted to pack some for home, but as usual, he forgot!

The Pushkar Bazaar

from the 'Dali Shop'

From the markets, we drove to the base of a hill on the top of which is a temple dedicated to goddess Savitri, Brahma’s consort. A board at the base of the hill where the stairs start, informed us that we would have to climb 702 stairs to reach the temple. In the beginning the steps were of concrete and very comfortably spaced. About halfway up, the concrete disappears and the stairs are just made of the hillside rock, chiselled to have footholds. And very steep!

Didnt know back then how excruciating it would turn out to be

Pushkar viewed from the initial stages of the climb

The valley...the road from Ajmer passes through it to reach Pushkar

As you climb on, more and more of the surrounding wastelands show up. You can see the gap in the mountains through which the road from Ajmer enters Pushkar. You can see the town, so tiny that it seemed to fit in the fold of your hand. On the other side of the saucer shaped valley where Pushkar is located, you can see hills, one of them  even topped by a temple. As you go higher, you can feel the vertical distance between you and the town increasing. What a place to build a temple!

and we climb a little higher

...and higher

The real climb!

There were a group of Vaishnav pilgrims from Bengal. Most of them were elderly couples from a lower middle class background. Many of them were visually aged while some were bent over and walked with sticks. All of them were climbing the steps… people who were slightly more able were helping the others. Others were shouting words of encouragement to others. A few of them chugged on, chanting ’shakti dao, Ma!’

Faith Moves, literally!

We finally made it to the top and so exhilerated were we about doing this, that we forgot about at least going to the temple. I guess, sometimes the test of faith (for lack of a proper word) is maybe, just to reach the right place. A sojourn that i am more than willing to make…where the journey itself becomes the destination.

We did it!

View of Pushkar from the top

A close-up

:D

Under his wings!

We soent a lot of time on the top of the hill. The sun was just going down and the entire valley was bathed in the glorious orange light. There was a little cafe there and we just ordered large servings of water! The climb had completely drained. We sat on the chairs and looked at the sights unfold in front of our eyes. One by one and often in little groups pilgrims reached the top and were visuallly happy at the achievement. We decided it was time to go down when it started getting dark. The steps leading down looked even scarier while climbing down. The rocks were slippery and it was difficult to find a flat piece of stone. Help came in the form of a Sikh babaji (in the pic) advising me ‘Radhey, chappal utar lo’. It worked!

Descent, very Descent!

Sun switching off!

...until tomorrow!

mystic notes!

When we came down to the parking there was a man playing the instrument (i must find out the name). He stared off with hindi fil tunes. I asked him to play some folk tune and he obliged.

I had to get the rear brakes worked on so i took Dope to the “Shreeram Enfild Gairaj and Sarvice Canter”

How do so many Indians win the spelling bee?

How i wish, how i wish you were here, Anindita!

We decided that we would go out for dinner again and we had seen this restaurant in the market which we kinda liked. It was a shack made on the terrace of a building. So we went ot the almost-empty Hard Rock Restaurant and ordered some sphaghetti and macaronis. Le less we say about the food, the better!

Hard Rock Restaurant!

Fireworks - 1

Fireworks - 2

Reeling from tiredness and lack of sleep, we went to bed at 9:30 and woke up 12 hours later, fresh as flowers bathed in the autumn dew! All that was left for us to do was visit the Dargah and then head back to Delhi. So we decided to have a laid back Breakfast. We went up to the cafe upstairs and ordered the creamy lasagnas. While i waited a saw a copy of the book ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ that someone must have left behind. I picked it up and started reading. It was turning out quite interestingly actually, but can you blame a guy for putting down a book when a hot cheesy platter is laid in front of him?

I swear i was not posing for this one!

Yeah yeah..Lennon and all!

On the road from Almer to Pushkar, you have to cross a mountain. There comes a point in the road, the highest pint from were you can see the land for miles and the road snaking through it across all impossible angles. While going to Pushkar we stopped here too but something went wrong with the camera and it just didnt click! Not this time, though!

The road to Pushkar!

The road cuts through solid rock at this point, creating a gateway of sorts. This photo was so overexposed that i had to convert to b/w just to make it visible!

Gateway to Pushkar!

I am tempted to use "Riders in the Storm".. but its too overused!

All i desire... a life on the highway!

We reached the main bazaar at Ajmer from where the road to the dargah begins and parked the bike. We deposited our luggage and helmets at a flower shop and proceeded towards the shrine. The road was covered with tinsel streamers which made it a very pretty sight!

In my defence, i was not aware when the picture was taken

Entrance to the Dargah!

The Pilgrims!

SOME PICTURES OF THE DRIVE BACK FROM AJMER…

Another hill...another temple crown

The colours of Rajasthan

Food, truck-driver style!

A most delicious lunch!

dilli abhi bhi kaafi dur hai

The Highway!

Pit-stop for pakodas!

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः । तत् सवितुर्वरेण्यं ।

भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ tatsavitur vareṇyaṃ| bhargo devasya dhīmahi dhiyo yo naḥ prachodayāt|

With origins in Rig Veda, Gayatri Mantra, also called the Savitri Mantra,  is attributed to BrahmaRishi Vishvamitra.

Manu Smriti says, “There is nothing greater than the Savitri Mantra”.

And in the Geeta, Krishna says, “Of all poetry, I am the Gayatri”

Ashok Kumar is one of the most celebrated Indian actors of all time. He is born on October 13, 1911 in Bengal Presidency, British India which is today’s Kolkata. He has changed the outlook of modern film acting. When majority of his counterparts still prevailed in theatrical style of acting, Ashok Kumar went one step ahead to give more realistic acting style. His two brothers Kishore and Anoop Kumar also acted in films. His younger brother Kishore Kumar was one of the most famous playback singers in Indian Film Industry. The three brothers acted in a series of comedy based movies together like, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Badhti K Naam Daari and Chalti Ka Naam Zindagi. Ashok Kumar stopped celebrating his birthday after his youngest brother Kishore Kumar died on that date in 1987. He has acted in many socially committed films like, Achhut Kanya, Izzat, Savitri and Nirmala against famous actress Devika Rani. Main Ban Ka Panchhi is one of his famous movies. He also proved his acting skills in Negative roles as well. Kismet in which he acted as a villain was the highest grossing film in India at the time of its release. His others famous movies are, Parineeta, Bahu Bagum, Ek Hi Raastha, Aarti etc.

He was also a practitioner of Homeopathy and a great painter in private life.

Film: Kandan Karunai (1967)

Language: Tamil

Slide Show Link:

Click Here

Title: “The Conquest of Death: An Introduction to Sri Aurobindo’s ‘Savitri, a Legend and a Symbol’”
Featuring: Debashish Banerji
Type: DVD
Number of Discs: 16
For complete information, videos, and more, click here.

Product Information: Dr. Debashish Banerji is a professor of cultural history and philosophy and is well known as an interpreter of the works of Sri Aurobindo and his collaborator, the Mother. Here, he presents Savitri in terms of the main themes of Sri Aurobindo’s teaching, with introductions, recitations and interpretations. Set in nature and recited with Sunil’s sublime New Year music for background, these presentations are aimed at introducing both the teaching of Sri Aurobindo and the consciousness transforming potency of his cosmic poem.

Themes: 1.Love and Death; 2. The Symbol Dawn; 3. The Human Aspiration; 4. Fate and The Problem of Pain; 5. The Psychic Being; 6. Avatar; 7. The Triple Soul Forces; 8. The Divine Mother; 9. Soul And Nature; 10. Evolution; 11. Mind, Overmind and Supermind; 12. Attainment of Immortality; 13. The Supramental Manifestation.

Prices (includes shipping and handling in continental USA):
1. 16 DVD video set. $101 (save $91 with complete set!)
2. Audio DVD with mp3 soundtrack. $70
3. Audio CD set of soundtracks in mp3. $80
4. DVD video set plus mp3 audio DVD. $130
5. DVD video set plus mp3 audio CD set. $140
6. Single DVD video. $12
7. Single mp3 audio CD. $10

Pushkar

Arrived in Pushkar, Tuesday afternoon around 4 o’ clock. Pushkar is beautiful, with a lake surrounded by rugged hills on all sides. The lake, very much receded suggests little rain though the surrounding areas look lush and green.

Here is one of the very few places to find a temple to Brahma in India, and is said to be the place Brahma dropped flower petals that caused the appearance of three lakes. There are many different stories as to why Brahma is not worshipped.

One is that Brahma wanted to perform a yajna (fire sacrifice) at Pushkar but needed his wife with him to do so. Since she, Savitri was late, he married Gayatri, the priests daughter instead. But Brahma had not asked Savitri’s permission to do this so she cursed him so he would only to be worshipped at Pushkar. Along with Brahma’s temple (and about 400 other temples) there are two hills, one large and one small with temples to Savitri and Gayatri respectively.

Route to Savitri's temple

Three little incidents, along with the story of the Maharaja of Jaipur’s trip to England (see previous post), set me thinking about sacred territory and how the word ‘sacred’ with a single vowel shift changes to ‘scared’ and how fear can indeed shape territorial responses even in the realm of sacred territory or space.

I decided first to pay my respects to Pushkar lake but on approaching Badri ghat, where steps lead down to the water – or mud in this case – two crows did a Hitchcock (see film: Birds) and swooped down on my head twice. It was more of a push than a peck and I was glad to have my hair protectively piled high on my head. There must have been a nest nearby and the little dears were just being protective. I took my shoes off just in case religious etiquette might have been their problem, and since these were my first moments in sacred Pushkar, I was eager not to offend. Fear of offence is very real in sacred India.

Poised for strike two

Then as I sat out by the isolated lake edge, a chorus of dog barks started up. Not aggressive barks, more like: “Who are you and what are you doing on our turf?’ I did my best to pursue my contemplative moment until five of them came over for a sniff. That must have gone well as within seconds they were all over me benedicting me with the blessed mud of Pushkar lake and affectionately chewing my scarf and shirt to pieces. I gave up, and returned to the street looking like something from the swamp. Buying a new shirt and leaving the digested one behind, I thought how over-intrusive attention, in sacred spaces the world over can over-whelm reflective moments in our surroundings. Over zealous preachers; pushy priests with commercial interests; overly friendly advances or speaking for myself,

Badri Ghat

bombarding some poor unsuspecting sadhu with too many questions.

The third incident was at the Raghunath temple where I was promptly given my marching orders because I was a foreigner, irrespective of life-style or practice. The guard was apologetic and kindly added that he did not think it was a good idea and was sorry I could not go in. I appreciated his sympathy and am glad this is the exception rather than the rule here.

No Entry

I thought again of the Maharaja of Jaipur’s Ganges Urn story. Both incidents demonstrate an underpinning exclusive or elitist approach that withholds access to the sacred out of fear of contamination or pollution. Unlike the Maharaja of Jaipur, not even a bottle of Ganges water could counter-act contaminating influence in my case. Perhaps I should have tried rupees!

Protective, intrusive and exclusive approaches may be part of the multi-layered and complex interweaving of many strands in issues concerning the sacred, but it is my experience here that it cannot be limited by or to them.

Tonight at midnight I leave for Udaipur and from there to Nathdwar and Dwarka. That’s the plan. Let’s see what happens.

Yeah, the fantastic next Movie & Music & Art event lies ahead and I will give you you here all the needed informations for the Free Cinema Filmfestival in Mirapuri – so here we go ..

Mirapuri International Free Cinema Filmfestival 2009

When: from 12.06 – 14.06.2009

Where: Omnidiet Resort and Business Hotel (www.Omnidiet-Hotel.com)
Via Monte Falò 8
28011 Mirapuri – Coiromonte (Prov. di Novara)
Italy
Phone: +39 – 0322 – 999 009, Fax: +39 – 0322 – 999129
eMail: Omnidiet@Mirapuri-Enterprises.com

Website: www.Mirapuri-Filmfest.com
The Free Cinema Festival in Mirapuri, Italy is the International Film and Video Festival for all categories of movies in all languages.
The Free Cinema Festival in Mirapuri, Italy presents Mirapuri movie artists and their new consciousness approach to the art of movie making as well as international Friends of Mirapuri movie artists.
The Free Cinema Film Festival in Mirapuri takes place every year in June during three days of movie-screening, artist presentation and creative being together with free entrance, free camping and friendly prices for drinks, food and Hotel accommodation

Program:
Friday, the 12.06.09
Movie-Screening from 6 pm – 10 pm
The movies shown on Friday:
‘Mirapuri – City of Peace and Futureman in Europe, Italy and Miravillage – its first satellite in Germany’
(color, English and Italian language)

‘The Hour Of God’
(color, English language)
A rare meditation movie with filmscenes of Mira Alfassa – The Mother and her recitation of Sri Aurobindo’s text ‘The Hour Of God’ accompanied by her organ music and music of Sunil Bhattacharya.

‘Savitri, Book I, Canto 1′
(color, English language)

Part 1 of Michel Montecrossa’s ‘Meditations on Savitri’ series presenting Sri Aurobindo’s great spiritual poem ‘Savitri’ through images created by Mira Alfassa – The Mother along with her recitations from Savitri and her organ music.

Saturday, the 13.06.09
Movie-Screening from 3 pm – 6:45 pm

The movies shown on Saturday:
‘Like An Awakening Breeze – Portrait of a Cyberrocker, Part One’
(color, English language)
Michel Montecrossa’s free cinema portrait presenting early documents from the beginnings till 1988.

PREMIERE:
‘The Resurrection Movie’
(color, English language)
‘The Resurrection Movie’ released by Filmaur Multimedia on DVD is Michel Montecrossa’s great peace & climate change musical with 27 songs and a great passion story telling the love-tale of cyberrocker-astronaut Starlight and his mate Earthpower and how they change hellish mega city planet through their music into a free world.
‘The Resurrection Movie’ has its premiere on Saturday, 13th June 2009 at the Mirapuri International Free Cinema Filmfestival.
“The Resurrection Movie”, says Michel Montecrossa, “is a continous awareness enhancing stream of multilayered messages telling the story simultaneously in a poetic, picturesque and musical way. It is presenting a new level of my ongoing creation of Fullstream Cinema-Art.”
‘The Resurrection Movie’ tells the mythic love story of cyberrocker-astronaut Starlight and Earthpower. In a world that became one global mega city system, Starlight and Earthpower embody the unexpected and unforeseen that change everything. Into the holocaust of unending wars fought by an abysmal society, split between gangstas and rockers and led by a central processor regent (CPR), they bring the victory of humanity. An epic movie of music, love and passion for freedom. A celebration of deep-brain lovemakin’, a grail of demechanization, a revelation of soul and body overcoming terror and impotence. A surreal and ultimately real world where death-fear and libido change into love and life. A musical verite of courage and love, profound emotions, passion and mystery. Michel Montecrossa is cyberrocker-astronaut Starlight. Mirakali is Earthpower.
‘The Resurrection Movie’: Power of Art. Power of Cinema. Power of Music. Power of Consciousness.

‘Love Revolution’ – Cyberrock & Climate Change Concert with
Michel Montecrossa (www.MichelMontecrossa.com) and his band The Chosen Few
from 10 pm – 1 am

Sunday, the 14.06.09
Movie-Screening from 3 pm to 7:45 pm

The movies shown on Sunday:
‘Mystery Of Love’
(color, English language)
Meditationmovie by Mirakali

‘The UFO Landed – Portrait of a Cyberrocker, Part Two’
(color, English language)
Michel Montecrossa’s free cinema portrait journey till 2004.

‘The Peace & Light Cybersymphony and Song Concert,
Part One and Two’
(color, English language)
‘Peace & Light’ is Michel Montecrossa’s eleventh concert of his ‘Peace & Climate Change Tour’ presenting 30 cybersymphonic instrumentals and poetic songs by Michel Montecrossa and his Lightsound Orchestra. Performed and filmed at the Toskana Therme Bad Sulza, Germany it is presented as an inspiring movie, a highly artistic meditation event and cyber masterpiece

Hier alle Infos zum diesjährigen International Free Cinema Filmfestival, das vom 12.06. – 14.06.2009 am Omnidiet Hotel stattfindet.

Wann: vom 12.06 – 14.06.2009

Info & Zimmer-Reservierung:

tel:+39-0322-999009
eMail: Omnidiet@Mirapuri-Enterprises.com

www.Omnidiet-Hotel.com

Website: www.Mirapuri-Filmfest.com

Das Free Cinema Festival in Mirapuri, Italien ist das internationale Film- und Video Festival für Filme aller Kategorien sowie allen Sprachen.
Das Free Cinema Festival in Mirapuri, Italien präsentiert Mirapuri-Filmkünstler und internationale Freunde von Mirapuri-Filmkünstlern.
Das Free Cinema Film Festival findet alljährlich an 3 Tagen im Juni statt und bietet Filmvorführungen, das Vorstellen der Filmkünstler sowie Möglichkeiten zum gegenseitigen Austausch. Der Eintritt zur Veranstaltung ist kostenlos, man kann umsonst campen und und die freundlich gestalteten Preise für Essen, Trinken und Hotelunterbringung tragen zur besucherfreundlichen Ausrichtung dieses Events bei.

Programm:

Freitag, der 12.06.09; Filmvorführungen von 18:00 – 22:00 Uhr

18:00 – 19:30 Uhr

‘Mirapuri – City of Peace and Futureman in Europe, Italy and Miravillage – its first satellite in Germany’

(Farbe, in Englisch und Italienisch)

19:45 – 20:45 Uhr

The Hour Of God’

(Farbe, in Englisch)

A rare meditation movie with filmscenes of Mira Alfassa – The Mother and her recitation of Sri Aurobindo’s text ‘The Hour Of God’ accompanied by her organ music and music of Sunil Bhattacharya.

21:00 – 22:00 Uhr

‘Savitri, Book I, Canto 1′

(Farbe, in Englisch)

Part 1 of Michel Montecrossa’s ‘Meditations on Savitri’ series presenting Sri Aurobindo’s great spiritual poem ‘Savitri’ through images created by Mira Alfassa – The Mother along with her recitations from Savitri and her organ music.

Samstag, der 13.06.09; Filmvorführungen von 15:00 – 18:45 Uhr

15:00 – 16:30 Uhr

‘Like An Awakening Breeze – Portrait of a Cyberrocker, Part One’

(Farbe, in Englisch)

Michel Montecrossa’s free cinema portrait presenting early documents from the beginnings till 1988.

16:45 – 18:15 Uhr

Movie -Trailer: ‘The Resurrection Movie’ – Michel Montecrossa’s great Peace & Climate Change Musical

PREMIERE:

‘The Resurrection Movie’

(Farbe, in Englisch)

‘The Resurrection Movie’ released by Filmaur Multimedia on DVD is Michel Montecrossa’s great peace & climate change musical with 27 songs and a great passion story telling the love-tale of cyberrocker-astronaut Starlight and his mate Earthpower and how they change hellish mega city planet through their music into a free world.

‘The Resurrection Movie’ has its premiere on Saturday, 13th June 2009 at the Mirapuri International Free Cinema Filmfestival.

“The Resurrection Movie”, says Michel Montecrossa, “is a continous awareness enhancing stream of multilayered messages telling the story simultaneously in a poetic, picturesque and musical way. It is presenting a new level of my ongoing creation of Fullstream Cinema-Art.”

‘The Resurrection Movie’ tells the mythic love story of cyberrocker-astronaut Starlight and Earthpower. In a world that became one global mega city system, Starlight and Earthpower embody the unexpected and unforeseen that change everything. Into the holocaust of unending wars fought by an abysmal society, split between gangstas and rockers and led by a central processor regent (CPR), they bring the victory of humanity. An epic movie of music, love and passion for freedom. A celebration of deep-brain lovemakin’, a grail of demechanization, a revelation of soul and body overcoming terror and impotence. A surreal and ultimately real world where death-fear and libido change into love and life. A musical verite of courage and love, profound emotions, passion and mystery. Michel Montecrossa is cyberrocker-astronaut Starlight. Mirakali is Earthpower.

‘The Resurrection Movie’: Power of Art. Power of Cinema. Power of Music. Power of Consciousness.

DVD – ‘The Resurrection Movie’ Michel Montecrossa’s great Peace & Climate Change Musical

22:00 – 1:00 Uhr

‘Love Revolution’ – Cyberrock & Climate Change Concert with

Michel Montecrossa (www.MichelMontecrossa.com) and his band The Chosen Few

Sonntag, der 14.06.09; Filmvorführungen von 15:00 – 19:45 Uhr

15:00 – 15:30 Uhr

‘Mystery Of Love’

(Farbe, in Englisch)

Meditationmovie by Mirakali

15:30 – 17:30 Uhr

‘The UFO Landed – Portrait of a Cyberrocker, Part Two’

(Farbe, in Englisch)

Michel Montecrossa’s free cinema portrait journey till 2004.

17:45 – 19:45 Uhr

‘The Peace & Light Cybersymphony and Song Concert,

Part One and Two’

(Farbe, in Englisch)

‘Peace & Light’ is Michel Montecrossa’s eleventh concert of his ‘Peace & Climate Change Tour’ presenting 30 cybersymphonic instrumentals and poetic songs by Michel Montecrossa and his Lightsound Orchestra. Performed and filmed at the Toskana Therme Bad Sulza, Germany it is presented as an inspiring movie, a highly artistic meditation event and cyber masterpiece

]]> http://theblondewanderer.com/2009/04/24/the-pilgrims-vs-the-tourists/ Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:18:07 +0000 theblondewanderer http://theblondewanderer.com/2009/04/24/the-pilgrims-vs-the-tourists/ http://fenilandbollywood.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/movie-review-8x10-tasveer-by-fenil-seta/ Tue, 14 Apr 2009 05:48:00 +0000 fenilseta http://fenilandbollywood.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/movie-review-8x10-tasveer-by-fenil-seta/ http://francoisgautier.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/the-lives-of-sri-aurobindo/ Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:02:15 +0000 speekout http://francoisgautier.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/the-lives-of-sri-aurobindo/

François Gautier

Source: Express buzz

First Published : 27 Feb 2009 03:52:00 AM IST

There is no greater mystery than the Divine incarnating Itself upon earth, what in India is called the Avatar or the Guru concept. It is also a story of Ultimate Sacrifice: Jesus Christ was crucified physically, but every guru is crucified by his or her disciples, even if he or she does not end on a cross. It is the mysterious alchemy of how the All-Perfect, the All-Powerful, agrees to don a human body, along with not only the suffering that goes with it, but also the imperfections a human life is endowed with, which makes it so powerful. Peter Heehs, an American historian, who lives in the Sri Aurobindo ashram, Puducherry, has attempted to recount the life of 20th century’s greatest avatar, in The Lives of Sri Aurobindo (Columbia University Press, May 2008). It created a furore even before it was released in India, as extracts were circulated on the Net. This led to a lot of unpleasantness for Heehs.

Someone slapped a case against him in Orissa, stopping the book from being published in India. He was asked to leave the archives of the Sri Aurobindo ashram, where he worked for two decades; and it is rumoured that he was even assaulted by a student of the Sri Aurobindo school. All biographies of gurus and saints face a painful choice: should they paint over human blemishes and glorify them, as it helps the devotees better focus on the divine? Or should they give the entire picture of a journey from the human to the perfect? Most religious texts and scriptures have chosen the first option. But Peter Heehs went for the second one — and we are grateful for that. For his work will be regarded by future generations as the absolute biography of Sri Aurobindo, avatar extraordinary, poet, revolutionary, philosopher and yogi. Not only is the book remarkably well researched but, as the title indicates, he has really covered all aspects of Sri Aurobindo’s life. When an Avatar or a Master comes upon earth, he or she delivers a teaching adapted to the times, the language and the mentality of the period, for they always live in the present moment. But when the Master goes — and sometimes even during his or her lifetime — the disciples start the process of making a religion out of their teaching and make him or her in their own little image. Thus many of the sadhaks of the Mother have swept under the carpet Sri Aurobindo’s revolutionary years, which are very important, as he is the true father of the Indian nation, being the first to openly ask for outright independence.

Most of today’s disciples in the ashram or Auroville do not know, for instance, that Sri Aurobindo allowed his brother Barin to manufacture bombs in his own house and secretly endorsed early assassinations of select Britons, thereby re-enacting 5,000 years later Krishna’s message to Arjuna. But how does that tally with ideas about spirituality, which we basically associate with non-violence? This aspect of Sri Aurobindo’s life, protecting dharma, standing for what is good and true and noble, by force, if necessary, is today ignored and not applied to the enemies of modern India. It is difficult to write about something close to us, as one often tries to make a distance by being too critical. It is thus true that Heehs is harsh in some of his assessments — but not where he has been pilloried by disciples of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo. Like most Western Indologists, for instance, he has a deep suspicion of Hinduism. He therefore glosses over the famous Uttarpara speech, where Sri Aurobindo clearly defines what he calls the Sanatana Dharma, as the spirituality which is contained in the Hindu religion: “That which we call the Hindu religion is really the eternal religion, because it is the universal religion which embraces all others”.

But Peter only mentions that “left wing critics use the Uttarpara speech as a proof that Sri Aurobindo’s nationalism was Hindu to the core; and right-wing enthusiasts regard the speech as an expression of the imperishable Indian spirit” (p.187). Heehs also passes some judgments on Sri Aurobindo, which are at best puerile: he calls him “intransigent”, which tended “to limit his effectiveness” (p.212); he also finds “his poetry and prose outdated” (p.414). But Savitri, Sri Aurobindo’s Magnum Opus, will be read hundreds of years from now, and compared to the Iliad and the Odyssey, with the prophetic and supramental element added. This stated, I have to say that reading this book has been one of the most uplifting literary experiences: it has refreshed and upgraded my relationship with Sri Aurobindo. I have understood better the extraordinary mystery of avatarhood and the terrible sacrifice made by all great gurus of all religions.

The rhythms of that book accompanied me in my sleep, primed my mornings and touched my heart to the deepest. Thank you, Peter Heehs. I hope some sensible judge will quickly lift the ban and that all your detractors will have the courage to read this remarkable biography and change their opinions.

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WATCH MAYABAZAAR(1957) – TELUGU MOVIE ONLINE

CAST: NTR, ANR,SAVITHRI, SV RANGA RAO, RELANGI, GEETHANJALI

PART 1

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