Northern Light - Shindhu on tour in Scandinavia | Inspiration Sun

by Paula Bartimeus

In early July, the international singing group Shindhu led by Udasina
(Bristol), along with Sangvad (Bristol), Stef (Bristol), Fran
(Bristol), Shinja (London), Paula (London), Hita (Cambridge), Anne
(Helsinki), Annemarie (The Hague), Lunthita (Hialeah, Florida) and
Sarbaga (Carrboro, North Carolina), set off on a five-day concert tour
through picturesque Scandinavia.

Inspired by Shinja, out of her enthusiasm to manifest Guru's light in
her homeland (Norway) and other Nordic countries, the trip began in
the Stockholm, Sweden at a location close to the city centre. Although
the venue was small, it had a vibrant feel about it, and with a full
audience to play to, a cosy, intimate atmosphere was quickly created.

Besides the harmonium, flute, recorder, glockenspiel and cymbals,
Udasina introduced the harp to the group sound, playing it both solo
and accompanied. This brought a new magical dimension to some of the
songs, with voices, harp and other instruments weaving angelically in
and out of each other. At this first concert we were joined by Adarsha
from Glasgow, whose powerful yet haunting voice resonated between
every few Shindhu songs, providing a captivating and varied
performance for listeners.

With the first concert over, most of the girls spent the night in the
nearby city of Uppsala at the much acclaimed "blue house" owned by
Komal and Mahalakshmi. It is there that the Uppsala centre is housed
and provides a magnificent base for Nordic joy weekends. Others,
including myself, remained in Stockholm overnight where we were made
to feel very much at home at Khudita's comfortable apartment.

The following morning it was an early start as we made our way by
plane to Helsinki in Finland on the second leg of our journey. We were
met by local disciples, and just like pop stars, were chauffeured from
the airport to the city with a stop-off at the Helsinki meditation
centre. After a singing practice we all ate at a delicious vegan
restaurant and then had time to either take a rest or sightsee before
getting ready for the evening concert. Although the stage was a little
tight for the 11 of us, the venue at Balder Hall was larger than the
previous setting, and we seemed to be well received by a responsive
audience.

After the concert we adjourned to a backroom for a private gathering
to celebrate Jigyasu's birthday. Then we walked back to the meditation
centre via the harbour where a meal was laid on for us by the Helsinki
disciples.

The next part of our journey took us back to Sweden, in Gothenburg on
the west coast, where Kamaniya (who grew up there) is in the process
of starting a new centre. The top floor of the spacious apartment she
rents has been converted into an impressive meditation room, with one
girl – Irina – recently applying to become a disciple.

Personally, I had a particularly special experience while singing in
Gothenburg, and was moved by the profound receptiveness of the
audience, which was later confirmed when many people hung around for
ages to chat and sign up for meditation classes. One man wouldn't
leave until all the group members had signed the Shindhu CD he had
purchased. I look forward to hearing how the Gothenburg meditation
group develops over the next few months and if any of the seekers end
up joining the Path.

Our final destination was Nesodden, an island in Norway about an
hour's drive (or a 23- minute ferry ride) from Oslo. With its
extra-large stage and attractive auditorium, we sung our hearts,
adding an arrangement of "The Eternal Peace Flame" (a song written
about the metal lotus, with an ever blazing flame dedicated to the
city of Oslo by Guru in 2001) to the repertoire.

Later we went back to Shinja's friend's island house for the evening
where the boys from the The Fragrance of the Heart (the Oslo café
enterprise) brought us a feast of soup, salad and quiche. Norway, land
of the midnight sun, was still light at 11pm, and as we sat in the
garden soaking up the stunning landscape and the stillness of the Oslo
Fjord, nothing could have been more perfect. The evening was rounded
off with a vocal cake-presenting ceremony with us singing
"Congratulations" to Udasina who had worked so hard to prepare us for
the tour, and the "Thank You" song to Shinja, Komal (who organised the
sound at three of the venues) and the local disciples.

The following day we went to Oslo and had the opportunity to meditate
at the Eternal Peace Flame, installed permanently at Aker Brygge, a
complex on the Oslo Harbour frequented by hundreds of thousands of
people each year. We were then treated to lunch at the enterprise café
which Guru had spent time at on several occasions. I could feel Guru's
presence very powerfully in this city and I look forward to returning
in October when Kaivalya's incredible statue of Guru is planned to be
sited by the Peace Flame.

One thing that was evident throughout this amazing trip was the
kindness, generosity and selflessness of all the local disciples, who
provided us with ground transport, accommodation and meals, despite
the small numbers of them in each locality. Also the feedback and
openness from the audiences were tremendous, with the pile of Shindhu
CDs that we took almost selling out.

Now back home in London I can fully appreciate how much I've gained
from touring with Shindhu and being able to share Guru's melodious
compositions with the public. Not to mention how inspiring it's been
staying with disciples from other centres and getting a flavour,
however brief, of the fascinating cities that they live in. Now that
the focus is less on being in New York, I'm sure many of us will get
new inspiration from visiting different centres around the world, and
I'm already intrigued to know where the next Shindhu concert tour will
take us…

by Paula Bartimeus

Shindhu online http://www.radiosrichinmoy.org/radio/69/

From: Inspiration Sun edition 5
http://srichinmoyinspiration.com/inspiration-sun