A very packed an eventful first day… sleep is for the Afterlife! Checked in to the beautiful Gayatri Bungalows at 2pm after the plane trip. Anita has been a tremendous host and organised with the amazing support and hard work of Adriana. It was great to see posters and big canvas banners adorning the main street of Ubud.
A hearty early breakfast was followed by a 45 minute drive up through the winding hills with the lush green countryside, to a sanctuary set amidst a sprawling plantation… quite the best havan spot we’ve ever experienced, where each country was invited to place any negative issues into the holy fire.
After we shared lunch (Bali takeaway style) with vegetarian and chicken dishes cooked in steam rice and vegetables wrapped in banana leaves and topped off with fresh locally grown corn…. hey healthy takeaways – a new concept!
Running on close to empty some had a power nap after lunch, or a refreshing swim in the hotel pool and some did a late last minute shop for performance outfits… the men decided on the batik look with black trousers and looked very smart indeed… be sure to check out the blog tomorrow to see what outfits the ladies will unveil.
The venue for the evening’s performance (Balai Banjar) was a hop and a skip down the road from Gayatri Bungalows and is a magnificent arts venue. From the majestically ornate entry, to the spacious and cool interior resplendent in carved statues of many religious figures from the hindu pantheon including Shri Rama and Shri Kalki.
We had access from 3pm onwards so were able to undertake a comprehensive sound check which bore fruit, as the sound mix was virtually spot on for the performance with the levels just right, which made for a very entertaining and enjoyable evening.
There had been some challenges in obtaining the permit to perform at this venue. Permission required 8 signatures from 8 separate sources. We got the 8th with a whole 30 minutes to spare. (Of course not thinking like truly surrendered yogis we all new the issue was never in doubt 🙂
The evening commenced with a blessing from the main local hindu priest, who referred many times to the power of meditation. He was absolutely beaming once the bhajans got underway and has requested a CD from Bhakti. The audience consisted of a mix of English and other language speaking tourists and locals. One of the local yogi’s Pak Nyoman presented in Indonesian and John Fisher provided the English translations.
A group of 4 Balinese ladies set the scene for Bhakti with a beautiful rendition of a well known local temple dance. During the musical performance Craig read out the translations of the songs and Pak Nyoman translated these into Indonesian. Bhakti then performed for 2 hours and left the audience wanting more. During a softer phase of devotional bhajans which included Jago Kundalini Ma, Apani Paanah and Jai Radha Madav, the audience was led into the self realisation process led by John Fisher and Pak Nyoman.
A great first music performance with an audience of approximately 100 newcomers, with yogis from 7 countries.
Kind Regards
Martin Purcell