Buddhist Chants

Ladakh mountains - 2019

In the last 5 yrs, I developed a strange affinity towards Buddhist Chants. Around the same time or maybe a few years before that I was drawn to Buddhism as a religion. It sort of fitted the concept of religion - it’s very logical in its explanations. Also led very strongly by psychology - for example mindfulness has become a whole new thing and there are lots of studies on how meditation, mindfulness helps to calm you down.

In Gayatri mantra or other sanskrit shlokas I have heard & I haven’t heard many - there is a meaning to whatever is being sung, recited. So you actually are listening to words and music is only on the periphery. 

But the buddhist chants, tibetan music - it evokes a very different feeling, the music, chiming bells and the way chanting or the words are spoken makes me feel calm. It has become one of my go to playlist whenever I am feeling stressed or a bit off sync. One of the visual memories which it triggers is of Ladakh. The snow peak mountains filled with mist and large rock cut images of Budha and the monasteries and prayer flags. 

Postscript: I stumbled on this blog & love this creation. 

Poetry and ceramic pots. http://blogs.newarka.edu/nawam/2022/06/07/poetry-ceramic-pots-by-julia-polen-24/

Off to forest - Reading about animals, birds and their habitat.

One of my favourite columns which I read regularly in the weekend edition of Hindu is by Janaki Lenin. It comes once in a fortnight and she shares the experience of a researcher / naturalist who studies a particular bird or animal in their habitat. 

She has a very beautiful way of writing - it’s almost like you are reading about a friend or family. She describes the approach and the reason for the researcher to get interested in a particular species & their behaviour and how difficult it is to be up close and personal with these animals. There are times in fact, most of the time, these young students will get up at 4 am and go in search of a bird or mammal or go into the river in search of a fish. Many times after 6 months they would have a sighting or they may come back empty handed.

But it’s not just students, the trigger for this note came from an article on nicobar long tailed macaques written by Ishika Ramakrishna. It must be a 1500 word article and beautifully captures her travel to Great Nicobar island and beautifully captures the island's micro-environment and the diversity of endemic plant, animal, insects & marine. It’s not just about macaques - it’s about an appreciation & holistic understanding of the fragile ecosystem. Everything will come to ZERO if the government’s plan to transform this into an international transhipment terminal, international airport etc. 

The power of an idea comes only through storytelling - that’s when common people like me can feel deeply about what’s happening in our delicate biosphere and they help connect the dots.

And stories are that we need to save the world, not just data and good work. 

Postscript:  

The hindu article which I referred to above are only for subscribers :( 

But you can read a few here.

https://m.thewire.in/byline/janaki-lenin 

Ishika’s article here

https://roundglasssustain.com/species/nicobar-long-tailed-macaques (Explore the site it’s a hidden gem)

Read how melting of arctic ice,leads to flooding in louisana. (Also explore evoke which has some of the best articles on biodiversity)

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/as-greenlands-glaciers-melt-louisianas-waters-rise-ice-is-the-keeper-of-deep-time/articleshow/98398561.cms