Isha Mahashivratri 2020 — Performances
Continuing my earlier post on the aspect of devotion or Bhakti at Mahashivratri celebrations, this is about the cultural performances I liked most this year.
The crowd at Isha MahaShivRatri celebrations this year comprised of people from a variety of backgrounds, countries and cultures. Yet, two things united them this night — their spiritual quest to be with Sadhguru and Adiyogi. The second factor was the splendid music performances.
Every year, these musical performances keep going up a notch and all jived for the lively performances that kept them awake through the night.
Isha Samskriti children
It is probably their intensity or sincerity or skill or may be all of it that when the children from Isha Samskriti (a Gurukul system of education) render any song, it sounds utterly pure. This rendition of Thevaram by the children was no different.
All the Tamil people in the audience were extremely moved and even those who do understand either the Tamil language or the Tamil culture, could not but admire the beauty of this rendition.
Sodaf Beirut
A Lebanse band, Sodaf Beirut, performed at the Isha Mahashivratri celebrations this time. Just with their instrumental music, they brought the audience out of their chairs onto the dancing floors. Truly, they set the momentum for a wonderful night of wakefulness. I was personally taken by surprise because I have never seen the crowd getting into dance this early into the Mahashivratri celebrations.
This was the moment when I realised that music is truly beyond any language. The rich and the poor, people who understand the language and those who do not, all of them were on their feet.
Ananya Bhat
She definitely deserves a second mention (first is in my earlier post: bit.ly/MSR2020–1) for moving the audience into a world apart. I understand a little bit of Kannada only, but the way she sang, the language did not seem significant. It is the raw emotion that uplifted the being to a different level.
What more, even Sadhguru was moved into tears at the end of her rendition. That speaks volumes about this special performance.
Anthony Dasan and his team
Anthony Dasan is basically a Christian. Purists would have been horrified that a Christian is performing at the MahaShivRatri celebrations. But such opinions do not matter at Isha Yoga Center where all religions are treated equally and in fact no one bothers to even ask one’s religion, caste or community. Everyone is equal in the eyes of spirituality and the epitome of that ethic was this performance.
At around 4:30 AM when the audience generally falls into a lull, Anthony Dasan’s performance set the stage on fire with the perfect blend of beats, tamil folk cultural singing and devotion. The audience were all out on their feet dancing in abandon, which Sadhguru also acknowledged. A true recognition for an artist comes when there is no judgement of his or her background but the moments of performance creating a thrill in the audience. Anthony Dasan has been a revelation to me that way — he is a great artist.
Other special performances
A very accomplished and recognized musician, Parthiv Gohil along with his talented band of musicians brings music to life through a series of devotional songs blended in a beautiful rendition that at the same time pushed the audience into devotional states and also kept them dancing to the tunes.
The performances from Kabir Cafe and Aditya Gadhvi were simply amazing. Oh, I can keep talking about how special each one of the performances was. It is like an ocean of nectar, each drop tasting as sweet as the other.
Artists from across India and the world have participated in making this night of Mahashivratri truly special and unforgettable for everyone blessed enough to attend in person and also watch on TV or the internet. I am sure I am missing some of the other super performances as well, including Isha’s own extremely talented artists of the Sounds of Isha band. It would be complete injustice not to mention their several performances through the night on their own and along with several talented musicians adding more flair to what was already a spectacular night of dance and music for the lakhs of devotees.
For me, this year was the best of all the times I had the privilege of either attending Isha Mahashivratri celebrations in person or watching on TV. There was never a moment of dullness, not for a minute, so much so that I did not realize it was already 5:30 AM when Sadhguru started addressing the gathering again.
More posts from this series:
- Post on my personal experience of MahaShivRatri 2020 — https://medium.com/@bigfundu/as-promised-here-is-my-blog-on-my-experiences-of-the-mahashivratri-celebrations-at-the-isha-yoga-a0ed7a05ba27
- Post on MahaShivRatri 2020 social impact — https://medium.com/@bigfundu/isha-mahashivratri-2020-society-2dca1a9f49f1
- Post on lies about poor people not allowed to participate in MahaShivRatri 2020 celebrations — https://medium.com/@bigfundu/isha-mahashivratri-2020-controversies-1-227895767255
