I recently watched Life of Pi at a cinema in Kolkata with my daughter Ruby who had never been to a 3D movie before and at first refused to wear the glasses for whatever reason, insisting that she could see fine, until I forced her to put them on which was met with a gasp as birds flew towards us in our reclining seats in the fully packed theater.
During the film, audience members took phone calls, cupping their hands to their mouths as if this was some kind of gesture as to not appear rude. And as soon as I was able to let go of being annoyed, I enjoyed the film, especially Pi's journey on the lifeboat with Richard Parker.
What I feel now, as I sit to write about my experience in India so far, is what I witnessed onscreen with Pi. There were days when the ocean was calm. And then there were days when waves would knock him off his little raft and make poor Richard Parker seasick.
And so has been my short time in India. Days when the water was calm and the food was plenty and then days when I have been knocked off my little raft. But like Pi, I am optimistic and unexplainably faithful.
There are already so many stories to tell, such as arriving to Hong Kong and taking a glorious glass bottom gondola ride to see the giant Buddha during my short layover. Then the horrible connecting flight to Delhi that had an unexpected 2 hour stop in Bangkok and this after a 16 hour journey from Los Angeles plus the 7 hours rushing around in Hong Kong.
In Delhi, my bags arrived but one suitcase was missing it's wheel. I also soon discovered that the domestic airline I usually fly to Kolkata changed its policy the month before and would not allow me the international bag allowance so I had to pay more than my ticket just to take my bags.
On board, I asked to change my seat and was sat next to a lovely gentleman who happened to know the principal of the best hotel management school in Kolkata (my daughter Ruby wants to study hotel management) --calm--and when we went to meet with him soon discovered it's a very difficult process to get admitted --rough--!
Before leaving LA I was told that I no longer had a car to drive in Kolkata --rough-- upon arriving to India, a friend called and told me that he just sold his car to a garage and he would arrange to have them rent it to me --calm--
Yesterday evening, while on my way to a concert, my new car was struck by a local bus tearing the wing mirror from its body, right in front of a policeman! The bus and my car were attached to each other for a good 10 minutes in a busy intersection while traffic swarmed around us and I unable to move either backwards or forwards as the side mirror was jammed into the wheel well of the bus. The police managed to separated us and apologized on behalf of the bus driver who clearly hit me and I was told to make a claim at the local police station (ugh) but when I called the car owner, they said "we are a garage, why would we make a claim? Just bring it in and we'll fix it!" --calm--
And then there was the death of our beloved Sri Ravi Shankar. For those of you who do not know, Tanmoy Bose, my Expression Through Rhythm partner was Guruji's tabla player for many many years. And when he passed away, there was the distinct possibility that our program, scheduled for next week may understandably be postponed. Today I was informed that our program would continue as scheduled!
There have been so many adjustments that have been made to our program. Dates, venues, timings, participants, budgets . . . just about everything, so when Ravi Shankar passed away, I was reminded that I have very little control over any of this. In other words, I sincerely
During the film, audience members took phone calls, cupping their hands to their mouths as if this was some kind of gesture as to not appear rude. And as soon as I was able to let go of being annoyed, I enjoyed the film, especially Pi's journey on the lifeboat with Richard Parker.
What I feel now, as I sit to write about my experience in India so far, is what I witnessed onscreen with Pi. There were days when the ocean was calm. And then there were days when waves would knock him off his little raft and make poor Richard Parker seasick.
And so has been my short time in India. Days when the water was calm and the food was plenty and then days when I have been knocked off my little raft. But like Pi, I am optimistic and unexplainably faithful.
There are already so many stories to tell, such as arriving to Hong Kong and taking a glorious glass bottom gondola ride to see the giant Buddha during my short layover. Then the horrible connecting flight to Delhi that had an unexpected 2 hour stop in Bangkok and this after a 16 hour journey from Los Angeles plus the 7 hours rushing around in Hong Kong.
In Delhi, my bags arrived but one suitcase was missing it's wheel. I also soon discovered that the domestic airline I usually fly to Kolkata changed its policy the month before and would not allow me the international bag allowance so I had to pay more than my ticket just to take my bags.
On board, I asked to change my seat and was sat next to a lovely gentleman who happened to know the principal of the best hotel management school in Kolkata (my daughter Ruby wants to study hotel management) --calm--and when we went to meet with him soon discovered it's a very difficult process to get admitted --rough--!
Before leaving LA I was told that I no longer had a car to drive in Kolkata --rough-- upon arriving to India, a friend called and told me that he just sold his car to a garage and he would arrange to have them rent it to me --calm--
Yesterday evening, while on my way to a concert, my new car was struck by a local bus tearing the wing mirror from its body, right in front of a policeman! The bus and my car were attached to each other for a good 10 minutes in a busy intersection while traffic swarmed around us and I unable to move either backwards or forwards as the side mirror was jammed into the wheel well of the bus. The police managed to separated us and apologized on behalf of the bus driver who clearly hit me and I was told to make a claim at the local police station (ugh) but when I called the car owner, they said "we are a garage, why would we make a claim? Just bring it in and we'll fix it!" --calm--
And then there was the death of our beloved Sri Ravi Shankar. For those of you who do not know, Tanmoy Bose, my Expression Through Rhythm partner was Guruji's tabla player for many many years. And when he passed away, there was the distinct possibility that our program, scheduled for next week may understandably be postponed. Today I was informed that our program would continue as scheduled!
There have been so many adjustments that have been made to our program. Dates, venues, timings, participants, budgets . . . just about everything, so when Ravi Shankar passed away, I was reminded that I have very little control over any of this. In other words, I sincerely
adjective, sin·cer·er, sin·cer·est.
1.
free of deceit, hypocrisy, or falseness; earnest: a sincere apology.
2.
genuine; real: a sincere effort to improve; a sincere friend.
3.
pure; unmixed; unadulterated.
4.
Obsolete . sound; unimpaired.
Origin:
1525–35; < Latin sincērus pure, clean, untainted
1525–35; < Latin sincērus pure, clean, untainted
surrendered. And that is where I am still. Surrendered and reminded that my work here is not and has never been about me.
And like Pi...I accept Richard Parker as part of my journey and like Pi am grateful for his companionship.
The workshop begins next week and we have scheduled some amazing artists to work with the children. I am grateful to be doing what I do even when the waters are rough. I was reminded this morning when I received a phone call from one of the participating NGOs who told me that the children have been asking her since September if Laura Auntie is coming this year to do her workshop and she was able to say yes. That made me smile, if not tear up a little. Sometimes I forget why I put myself on this little life raft, in part to save my life and in part to surrender to something bigger I don't understand and perhaps I do not need to understand. It's happening. That's enough.
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