On New Year's Eve, which I spent in New York with Clara and Myq, I was asked what my New Year's resolution would be. After thinking for moment, I declared that I would learn to sing... in Hindi. So... about a month later, back in India, I went with my "little sister", Nicki, to meet a music teacher. I was impressed right away, not just by her voice (which is quite lovely) but by her nature. I began vocal lessons, with the focus of learning bhajans, that week. After my first lesson, I remember thinking, "this is who it's all for"... this woman is the reason why I learn about culture and music. She's full of bhakti (devotion) and God forbid that ever be taken from her. Her culture, esp. it's music, shines through her in a special way. God created this beauty and if she's to hear of Yesu... it must be in a way that communicates to those depths.
This last week we had our second Maheela Mandali (Ladies meeting). We gather to sing Yesu bhajans and pray together. I asked my music teacher, Gopa, if she would like to come. She was the first to arrive and the last to leave. We had an excellent time of worship. Afterwards, while we were visiting, Arati asked her if she would sing something for us. She sang a bhajan... later Arati mentioned that she noticed that there was something about the way she sings that's not just beautiful, but really touches people's souls.
Today, in my class, I took a copy of the Yesu Katha... stories from the life of Yesu, written in song form. I told her that I want to learn how to sing it... but we only have the words, not the tuning. She looked at the first few lines and began to sing it softly. It was beautiful. "This will take time," she told me. She had me leave it with her to work on... after she learns it, she'll teach me.
The thought of singing the Story... we'll... that's much more than I had hoped for when I made my out-of-the-clouds New Year's Resolution.
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the overflowings
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