Today began with work in the fields
(something that the Radhasoami do/can do every morning after the morning satsang).
Today's work was threshing the rice that F had helped harvest a week or two
ago. And by thrEshing we mean thrAshing or rather smAshing :). We threshed by
hand. We picked up bundles (ca. 3in/10cm in diameter) of rice stalks and
smashed them onto the ground in front of us, almost as though we were trying to
whip the ground with the stalks. It was very satisfying to pull back the bundle
and see a nice handful of rice pods lying on the ground. The rice will then be
gathered and taken to a rice mill.
The plaza on which we worked was concrete,
covered in rows of workers and lots of rice. People wove between the rows
delivering fresh bundles to the piles in between the workers and gathering the
'used-up' bundles behind them. All of the green 'waste' from the different
plants grown is used at the radhasoami dairy farm. (Maybe that's why the cows
give 6% milk!) The radhasoami community is largely self-sufficient, supplying
itself and its university with grains, fruits, vegetables, oil, milk and
electricity. One of the few things they have to buy from outside is sugar.
Before showering I found over 50 grains of
rice or husks in my clothing/hair and even 8 in F's short hair.
Then at the university, F gave a workshop
entitled: “Introduction to Literary Analysis”. There he used the 'get thee to a
nunnery' passage from Hamlet and analyzed it using various literary theories:
formalism, structuralism, marxism + pyschoanalysis. What stuck out to me most
was the relevance of the passage and the themes for these women. For formalism,
for example, F talked about the definitions of words such as 'chaste', 'dowry',
'pure', etc. Once entering into discussion, it became clear that these concerns
were at the front of their minds.
We had some good discussions and, to support
the last theory, he showed the relevant clip from “Reduced Shakespeare Company”
(ah, good memories, R, N, E!) :). Of
course we enjoyed “Maybe, maybe not” and other quotes from the video clip. (Maybe
some things really are universal—F’s fellow students (most of which are female)
also really enjoyed this clip and will occasionally quote ‘maybe, maybe not’ in
class).
We also got a tour of the Fine Arts
Department. I peeked into several of the rooms and admired the great
women-empowering murals. While peeking into a practice room, I listened to a
girl practicing. I asked if I could sing with her. I realized after a bit that
she was essentially practicing her scales, but (as I believe is typical in
traditional Indian music) the ascending scale used is different than the
descending scale. It sounded cool and we then took some photos together.
When I
offered to have F take a pic of us, she said “No, selfie” :) So we took some
selfies with her phone. Afterwards a music instructor came by and we began
discussing western vs. traditional Indian music theory. She was apparently
impressed enough to invite me to give a workshop the next day :).
Then we also got a tour of the textiles
department. The instructor talked about the importance of learning (and being
able to accurately copy) the traditional patterns and methods of weaving, designing
and printing. Once the students have the foundation of the traditional
practices, they are then encouraged to create their own designs, sometimes with
certain motifs and inspirations in mind. One sari was, for example, based on
Disney’s “The Jungle Book”.
Being intrigued by the seeming lack of
coherent color theory (evident in the fashion choices we'd seen around us), we
asked the instructor what was taught. She explained that she taught the girls
to be aware of various factors: climate + season, cloth material, age of the
wearer and, for a wall hanging, size of the intended room,. We were fascinated!
She (like F's mother) is fond of using cool
colors for a warm season and warm colors for a cool season. Primary colors
should be used for young children but in foggy London, for example, tertiary
colors would fit better. The vibrant Indian colors would be out of place.
Primary colors can also be used well in wall hangings for large designs meant
to be viewed at large distances (because other colors would appear muddled and make
the design unclear) or to make large rooms feel cozier and smaller (so you
don't get lost!). Oh and group picture! (The girls were told to climb on the
tables but were at first hesitant—apparently they’re never allowed to otherwise :) )
That night we went to dinner at F's adopted
mother's house (and yes, I ate with my hands :) Her husband said that, it is
said in India, that you can only truly taste the food if you eat with your
hands. The other guests at the meal were an Indian math professor from Kiel and
his family. His wife happens to be in the same Waldorf teacher training program
that I did, so we compared stories. We had three languages swirling around the
table in animated and well-fed contentment. At the end of the meal F’s adopted
mother also gave me my first kurta + churidar set and a new sari, made in the
DEI textile department. I was so excited! She expressly said that I should wear
the kurta tomorrow to fields to meet the guru (otherwise I would never have
worn new clothes to fields!)
And here are some of the great murals we saw:
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