Friday, August 31, 2007

A RECOVERED MEMORY



My last day at the shala was a primary series class led by Sharath.

It was a full house. I was in the front row; Lino and a couple of others were on the stage.

Guruji led the chant and Sharath led us through the sequence.

When it came time for Garba Pindasana, in which you go into lotus and roll around on your back in a clockwise circle, I did my usual - I rocked back and forth so I didn't collide with my neighbors, whose mats were a mere two inches from mine.

Partyway through the rocking, the lights went out. Then they came back on, only brighter.

Then the fans started going.

I looked up at the stage.

Lino was on his side, still in lotus, his knee next to the shala's many (low-placed) light switches. He had an amused/chagrined look on his face as he frantically fiddled with the switches, trying to put them back the way they were.

Sharath finally noticed, and smiled as he started to walk towards him.

"No need for fan," he said.

The crowd cracked up.

1 comment: