Ravan in Alaska

And why not? Incongruous as it may sound, they are not dissimilar. The image conjured up by ‘The Cosmic Dance of Shiva’ is the spectacle of Lord Shiva dancing atop snow clad peaks, against the backdrop of a clear azure sky, amidst ranges of snow-capped mountains, with the sun gleaming its benevolence, sparkling like gems on the white snowy cover and his locks flying in the wind!

The natural mountainous grandeur of Alaskan snow-capped peaks provided the perfect setting. The lake near Portage Glacier, nestling within the protective arms of snowy mountains, served as a reminder of Mansarovar! How blessed we were to be receiving the opportunity to meditate in this replica of Shiva’s holy abode through our art form, Kathak. Our hearts raced faster and faster as the fire of life surged and coursed through our veins. We looked up in ecstasy and, lo and behold, the sparkling sun’s reflection glittered like an uncut diamond on its forehead: ‘dhagaddhagddhagadjwalahlilaatpattapaavake kishorchandrasekhare ratipratikshanamamah’.

As we were experiencing the ever-reverberating sounds of Existence of the Spirit, and soaking ourselves in its myriad hues, we soared into the ecstasy of music and rhythm through ‘sargam’. As we dancers entered the region of ‘paramananda’, it culminated into a beautiful rhythmic labyrinth of colours of rhythm, through the sounds of ‘manjiras’ and ‘dholaks’ echoing the eternal sound of Shiva’s ‘damaru’, that intermingled and dialogued with the sound of dancing feet. The audience went along with us on this spiritual journey.

Together we soared into the unlimited expanse of the skies, soaring into divine bliss! We sought His blessings and we received it! He gave us a chance to be near Him through the Asian Alaskan Dance Festival at Anchorage! To us, the pristine and untouched beauty of the Alaskan mountains had become our Himalayas—the ‘abode of our beloved Lord Shiva’!