Photo by Darpan Dand
Vijaya Sundaram is a poet, a musician, teacher, a keen observer of the world, and the mother of one of Chhandika’s young students who has been studying with us for three years or so. Vijaya wrote the following poem after sitting in on her daughter’s ghungroo ceremony, at which the child received her ankle bells. She captures exquisitely the mood of the room, the essence of the ceremony, and the feelings that we experience upon receiving our own bells, or watching our loved ones do so.
And once you have read this poem, do take a moment to visit her site, vijayasundaram.com, for a treasure trove of beautiful writing and reflections.
Dancing Bells
(Honoring my Daughter’s First Ghungroo Ceremony)
©By Vijaya Sundaram
April 6th, 2013
A deity smiles
Benignly down
At the offerings
And the flowers.
Indian food and chai
Compete with incense
The air is quiet
Awaiting blessing.
Today, my girl learns
What tradition is
And she turns on the
Hinge of creation
She to her teacher,
She to her teacher,
Connected by bells
Strung tight together.
Wise words are spoken.
Her teacher evokes
A sense of sweet awe
Reaching for realness.
Hot tears sting my eyes
Mine too, he whispers,
As I dab at them
With my dupatta.
The ceremony
Glows through the morning
A quiet reverence
Saturates the air
Bells on their ankles
Tender and thrilling
Quell their pressing doubts
Render them quiet.
Then, they whirl and twist
They twirl and they stamp
And turn, her young friends
And she, dancers all.
The bells ring out clear
And bright, and tender
The blessings linger
In hands, feet and hearts.
Now, she is one with
Her dancing self and
She sees where the road
Leads. She is unfazed.
She is persistent,
She is stubborn,
Reverential.
These will move her feet.
And her arms will shape
The air into song
Sculpting song into
A pattern for her days.
And her teacher’s words
Will string the small bells
Of each dance into
Bells that ring for life.
For the tradition
Comes through each of them
Through the student and
Into tomorrow.
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