In an attempt to bring music into Shibumi and deepen the learning space at Shibumi we had a Dhrupad retreat with Pelva Naik, It was a week long rigorous engagement with the artist.Plelva brought a new rhythm into the space. For our oldest children it was a residential retreat as they participated in the morning ‘kharaj’ practice with the artist. The younger ones had an hour long singing session and some activities that deepened our engagement with our learning.
Another beautiful element that this week brought was the bringing together of Teachers and Students as learners. The vertical age groups in which we learnt the Dhrupad was from our littlest 5 year old to our oldest 68 year old.
All children were struck by sound. Some were drawn to sound and vibrations of the tanpura. Some were humming the notes of the bandish. Some had their fingers busy keeping the jhaptaal. It was fascinating how Pelva’s passion for this style of music was what touched each one of us. Some of us entered this week of Dhrupad with some resistance, but at the end of the week there was the relationship to the sound that was above all likes and dislikes.
