What a wild, whirlwind of weekend it was!! My little brother got married… it was so nice to see him so happy, and finally able to enjoy the big day after waiting so many years. A memorable and fun-filled reunion with friends, family from Ottawa and from England.
I performed a dance at the reception! It’s always been a dream of mine to perform flamenco, and it turned out better than I’d hoped! There was pindrop silence while I was dancing – even the kids were quiet. It was a combination of flamenco, along with my own “feel the music and the moment and just let loose” style. As the MC said, it was ‘flamenco’ of Spanish origin, not to be confused with the long-necked pink birds.
The women were all dressed so beautifully!! A few of us got outfits from our friend Rupa’s boutique, Live the Collective. Mine was from House of Masaba, designed by Masaba Gupta. I hadn’t even heard of her before, and now I’ve discovered her show on Netflix (Masaba Masaba), and I’m hooked!!
I caught some bug at the wedding so have been drinking lots of tea and stuck on my couch. I started a new book, “Mansions of the Moon” by Shyam Selvadurai, about the life of Yasodhara, the wife of the Buddha, and her journey through grief and abandonment when the Buddha decides to leave her, their son, and the palace behind in search of the truth (in the middle of the night while they are sleeping).
I met the author recently, and asked him about whether Yasodhara had followed the Buddha’s activities over the years from afar, as I’d read somewhere. He said that was one take on it, not giving away whether he had incorporated that perspective in his book. “I wish he was dead, why is he alive, why” she says in the book… which seems extreme, but then again abandonment can make you vicious.
In the Ramayana, Ram experiences intense grief after Sita is kidnapped, during the last year of their 14 years in the forest.. just when they were getting ready to go back home! I found this little description of that emotion that I’d written awhile back.
The Separation
His grief touched the boundaries of the universe,
as he searched for her. His brother Lakshman at his side.
“Sita!!!” he wailed, delirious in pain.
The love between them was no ordinary love,
but a love that would last lifetimes, from the beginning of time to
when the universe imploded to a pin-size drop.
But by then they would be reunited, maybe in another form.
The large bird lay dying on their path.
“Jatayu,” he said, sadly leaning down to touch the magnificent creature,
The warmth of his hand upon its feathers a balm to both of their pain.
“I tried,” croaked the bird, his eyes heavy and body struggling to hold on.
“He took her… Raven took her. Look for her jewels” were his last words.
Ram grew quiet while Lakshman went into planning mode. Took her where?
Look for her jewels
She must have dropped them – there must be a trail.
She's Come Undone 