 Amma's
Darshan flowed like a silent river of love as the Sarod maestro
Ali Akbar Khan played with all his heart...on the last day of the
Retreat in San Ramon.
Many kinds of music, not
just bhajans, have a way of leading us along spiritual paths. Last
night, the second night of the retreat in San Ramon, was characterized
by a musical plus dance explosion.
Amma's darshan started somewhat late. Close to midnight, we noticed
a group of very well-dressed people coming up for darshan - it was
the world-renowned sarod-player Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and his troupe.
Khan-sahib wanted to play for Amma with his troupe, and everyone
was eagerly awaiting the treat. He had come a day earlier and had
expressed his wish to play for Amma, and she lovingly agreed. After
each one of the troupe had received their darshan and blessings,
they went up on stage.
 Khan-sahib,
who is 81 years old, tuned his sarod. He explained that the kind
of music he was about to play, Hindustani classical, traced its
lineage back many years. Music, he said reverently, was nada-brahma,
and as such has the ability to lead one into meditation and eventually
even self-realization. It was a blessing, he said, to play for Amma
and her children. The raga that he had chosen, Bageshree, is an
old temple raga that began to be played and sung in palaces in the
13th century. It was a raga that invoked devotion, leading to pathos,
and finally, joy.
And indeed, the music was all that Khan-sahib had promised. After
seeking Amma's permission, he started off with an alap in vilambit
teen-tal (a slow 16-beat cycle) and went on to a composition where
the tempo and intricacy increased. Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri was on
the tabla, and his style was restrained and his tone sonorous. Khan-sahib's
son, who said that he was looking forward to turning 21 at midnight
while he was playing for Amma, kept up his sarod accompaniment perfectly.
Amma looked back at the musicians frequently from her darshan chair,
and was heard to comment that the music was ideal for meditation.
In fact, Amma's eyes closed several times during darshan, as she,
along with the audience, went into a contemplative mood. Bageshree
lasted about 90 minutes, the last part being a playful query-answer
between the two sarods and the tabla. The audience was so impressed
with the music that they gave Khan-sahib and his troupe a standing
ovation.
 It
was noticed that the lid of Khan-sahib's plectrum box had a picture
of his father, the famous Ustad Allauddin Khan, arguably the finest
Hindustani musician of the last century. Many felt that the entire
family was graced by the Goddess Saraswati.
After Bageshree, Khan-sahib asked the audience whether he should
continue. Upon hearing an enthusiastic affirmative, he proceeded
to regale Amma and her children for another hour.
Afterwards, we were treated to the talented 6-year old Eknath doing
a couple of dances in the Bharatanatyam style to the accompaniment
of the bhajans Om Namo Narayanaya and Gopala Krishna. The last item
of the evening was a Muruga folk dance by Sudhakar, who obviously
was thoroughly enjoying himself while he danced to a simple but
catchy folk tune, a decorated pot balanced on his head and ash marks
all over.
Darshan finished quite late, and Amma explained apologetically
that she was so caught up in the melodious music of khan sahib and
his troupe that her pace of hugging had slowed down.
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