Veena-players, Soul-stirrers, S.
S plays the Veena (beautifully, with reverence and dignity, I add).
It lies in her room, within an intricate metal cuff that she calls its 'prop'. S does not approach the instrument when she has her period.
The Veena is sacred, she says.
I ask: Who said to you that you are not sacred when you have your period? Who said it first? When did you first begin to believe it?
I ask: If you respect the Veena, if you come towards it with respect and touch its strings with love, are you not performing the sacred, no matter how you are attired or what colour your discharge is?
I say: "Veena" is the name of a woman.
S says: It is a custom. I want to follow it, and I only know to follow it. There are some questions that do not have answers.
S reads this blog sometimes. Don't mind me, S. I like to listen to you when you play the Veena. In my greed, I only wish that your time didn't face such monthly constraints.
It lies in her room, within an intricate metal cuff that she calls its 'prop'. S does not approach the instrument when she has her period.
The Veena is sacred, she says.
I ask: Who said to you that you are not sacred when you have your period? Who said it first? When did you first begin to believe it?
I ask: If you respect the Veena, if you come towards it with respect and touch its strings with love, are you not performing the sacred, no matter how you are attired or what colour your discharge is?
I say: "Veena" is the name of a woman.
S says: It is a custom. I want to follow it, and I only know to follow it. There are some questions that do not have answers.
S reads this blog sometimes. Don't mind me, S. I like to listen to you when you play the Veena. In my greed, I only wish that your time didn't face such monthly constraints.
Giving some silent pauses underlines the music :)
ReplyDeleteAgreed. :)
ReplyDeleteBut I'm not sure what it is you mean.
..that those days of non-playing add more meaning to my love for playing.
ReplyDelete