Weird, Extreme and Random Desi Stunts and Performances…

lol…excellent…where there’s a will to be weird…there’s a way…

of course we don’t approve of the snake biting…that dude clearly has some serious oedipal issues with his father and he needs to stop taking it out on those sweet garden snakes…

Drag Queen HARISH: The Rajasthani Maharani of the Desert

When her majesty Queen Harish graced ROTD with her presence in an earlier comment…we felt compelled to invite her to dance…I give you Queen Harish “the whirling dancing desert drag queen”:

Queen Harish is my alter ego – drag is in my blood, and while I am dressed as her I can let loose all my greatest passions, flirtations and wild behavior! I come from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, the Indian desert, land of colorful men with beautiful moustaches, women with traditional jewelery and children with mystical eyes. I am a professional dancer and performer. Since 1997, i have been touring, dancing in thousands of shows, performances, parties, dance workshops and acting in films worldwide and at home in Rajasthan. I master Rajasthani traditional dances and Bollywood , i also workout bellydancing, flamenco and pantomime. I used to tour with Rajasthani music groups Musafir, Maharaja and you can see me in the film called “Gypsy Caravan”. Since 2003 i freelance as a solo performer and joined several stage projects. I am currently developing a show based on Moghul courtisanship and the traditions of Mujra. Visit my blog : www.queen-harish.blogspot.com

p.s. here are Queen Harish’s tour dates for this year if you happen to be in the area:

Here is my US tour schedule

i have also noted the available dates when someone can invite me

June 20 – 21 – 22 : New Jersey – Indian Weddings – Private

June 25 : NYC – JeBon – guest of http://www.bellyqueen.com/kaeshi_bio.html

June 26 : NYC – Drom – http://www.dromnyc.com

June 27, 28 : Available

June 29 : NYC – Desilicious – postParade event , http://www.sholayevents.com/

June 30 : Available

July 1, 2, 3 : Available

July 5 – 6 : Portales NM – show and workshop http://www.myspace.com/gypsyalanar

July 7, 8, 9 : Available

July 10 – 11 : San Diego – show and workshop with http://www.nomadartz.com and guest of Danyavaad http://www.myspace.com/danyavaad

July 12 : LA – Getty Center – guest dancer of Cheb i Sabbah
http://www.myspace.com/chebisabbahji

July 13 : LA – workshop with http://www.beyondbellydance.com/

July 14 < 19 : Available

July 20 : Seattle – Colombia City Theater – http://www.myspace.com/i_heart_shiva

July 21 : Seattle – workshop with http://colleenashakti.com/

July 23 : San Francisco – Bollyhood – guest dancer of DJ Amar http://www.myspace.com/bansuri

July 24 : Available

July 25 : Available

July 26 : San Francisco – Bollywood workshop at Clandestine

July 26 evening : Available

July 27 : San Francisco – Fat Chance Belly dance Studio, Rajasthani workshop with http://colleenashakti.com/

July 27 evening : Available

July 28 < August 1 : Available

August 2 : Dunedin FL – workshop & show with http://www.myspace.com/beledibay

Morchang…

and an old soul stepped out of the desert lands…and he brought with him a small forked metal instrument that was the whole of the desert…and time got distracted by his playing and made the universe stand still for a moment…and it sounded something like this… (only obviously much much cooler in person)

Morchang:

the fadereu:

Darbar Morchang Party: Rajasthan Desert Festival Evora 2007:

Music for a weekend Monsoon by the Colonial Cousins

This subtle song about rain mixes perfectly with the backdrop of rain falling on my window shutters. These guys have amazing voices with a mix of Indian classical and the song really captures the original idea of seasonal ragas, and brings out the sound of what it feels like to get lost in one’s thoughts on a rainy day when you have no where particular to go and have the time to trace the raindrops:

Rāga (in Sanskrit “Raga” is literally “colour” or “mood”) and (rāgam Carnatic music) refers to melodic modes used in Indian classical music.[1] In Indian music, a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is founded. Raga may also denote a particular melody. In the Indian musical tradition, ragas are held to evoke particular “moods” and metaphorically “colour” the experience of the listener and are often performed to correspond and resonate with a season or time of day. Indian classical music is always set in raga. Non-classical music such as popular Indian film songs sometimes use ragas in their compositions.

from wiki

The Mad Experiment takes Place Tomorrow: DJ Fadereu and his walking words

Dr Frankenstein is ready.

July 27, 2007

An event is happening in Mumbai tommorrow at Kala Ghoda. It is the unveiling of a mobile phone technology to track your own movement, and a game. Kindly see the event poster, visit the website, and call us for more information.

यह मेल आपको कल मुम्बई में होने वाले एक अनोखे खेल के बारे में सूचित्
करने के लिये भेजी गयी है! हमारा पोस्टर देखिये, वेबसाईट पर जायें, या फिर
अधिक जानकारी के लिये सम्पर्क करें!

Website: www.algomantra.com

For information in Hindi call—>>>DJ Fadereu(a.k.a Rohit Gupta) : 098214 24074
For information in English call—>>> Gabriel Greenberg : 09870181434
or email: algomantra@gmail.com

I leave you now with the mad laughter of maniacal mad scientists on the loose…

A Finnish Mad Scientist Laughing competition:

(Post script)

Cellphabet was featured on BBC Radio Five.

The Cellphabet project is
now part of the syllabus at University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
It is being taught in the Department of Aerospace Engineering
at the Beckman Institute. The relevant lecture notes by Tim Bretl
are available as a PDF.

Click to access bretl_ae498mpa_03.pdf

Thespian lol Cats and the Natya Shashtra

Cats appeal to me, in part, because of their independent natures and swift and immediate capacity to be able to shift between emotional registers. They can be at one moment, coy and mysterious (I was once worshiped as a god in Egypt you insignificant human), the next a bold thief and brazen lier (how can I have stolen the steak from the fridge. I don’t have opposable thumbs!), suddenly affectionate (love me, pet me, feed me!), suddenly cheeky (your legs make a good scratching post), and especially histrionic (tera khoon pee jaoonga, chooha!). They make the best actors and as cats over the ages have inspired different poets mystics and artists, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that cats had some hand in inspiring the Natya Shatra…that is, the oldest existing theatrical text from India that is used as a manual today in the classical dance and theatre traditions alive today. So here’s a little Desi classical theatre history for ya presented with the assistance of some feline thespian lol cats…

The Natya Shastra of Bharata ( Nātyaśāstra ) (titled as Natyashastra नाट्य शास्त्र) is the principal work of dramatic theory in the Sanskrit drama of classical India. It was written by the sage Bharata Muni. It is a set of precepts on the writing and performance of dance, music and theatre. While the Natyasastra primarily deals with stagecraft, it has come to influence music, dance, and literature as well. Thus, an argument can be made that the Natyasastra is the foundation of the fine arts in India. This Natya Shastra was written by the sage Bharata Muni who, it is claimed, was directly inspired by the god Brahma. It is believed to have been written during the period between 400 BC and 200 AD.

Bharata sets out a detailed theory of drama comparable to the Poetics of Aristotle. He refers to bhavas, the imitations of emotions that the actors perform, and the rasas (emotional responses) that they inspire in the audience. He argues that there are eight principal rasas: love, pity, anger, disgust, heroism, awe, terror and comedy, and that plays should mix different rasas but be dominated by one.One of the most important concepts in the Natyasastra is the experience of rasa (translated sometimes as ’emotions,’ ‘sentiments’ or ‘flavor’). Rasa are the emotional states that the refined and educated Sanskrit Drama audience members experiences as they watch a play. Each rasa experienced by the audience is associated with a specific bhava portrayed on stage. For example, in order for the audience to experience srngara (the ‘erotic’ rasa), the playwright, actors and musician work together to portray the bhava called rati (love).

The Natyasastra identifies eight rasa and eight corresponding bhava:

Bhava(the performance of emotion)……… Rasa (the audience’s reaction to it)

Vismaya (Astonishment)…………………… Adbhuta (Marvelous)
Hasya (Mirth)……………………………….. Hasya (Comic)
Rati (Love)………………………………….. Srngara (Erotic)
Jugupsa (Disgust)………………………….. Bibhatsa (Odious)
Utsaha (Energy)……………………………. Vira (Heroic)
Soka (Sorrow)………………………………. Karuna (Pathetic)
Bhaya (Terror)………………………………. Bhayanaka (Terrible)
Krodha(Anger)………………………………. Raudra (Furious)

(A ninth rasa, called Shaanta (Peace), was later extrapolated from the eight identified in the Natyasastra. info from wiki

A Feline Demonstration of the Bhavas…

Vismaya (Astonishment)……………………

Hasya (Mirth)………………………………..

Rati (Love)…………………………………..

Jugupsa (Disgust)…………………………..

Utsaha (Energy)…………………………….

Soka (Sorrow)……………………………….

Bhaya (Terror)……………………………….

Krodha(Anger)……………………………….

images from roflcat

the performance continues:

Drag Queen Orientalism…the fabulous Arthur Gulkarov

Orientalism is not dead! It wears sexy lizard costumes and long spikey golden fingernails. I have never seen anything quite like him! This guy has reinvented gay burlesque with a bit of Indian dancing (kathak + Bharatanatyam) and Balinese dancing together with a background in ballet to create something…well…I think “fabulous” is the only word that comes to mind. Check out his website. Its…well…fabulous. www.gulkarov.com He’s a Tajikistani immigrant to the USA and is quite famous for his work as a contortionist and dancer. He’s done a special guest appearance with the Cirque du Soleil in Vegas.

Lizard Queen dance:

Indian “Dream” dance:

God of the Sun dance with long spikey balinese fingernails:

All I can say is that it takes a lot of balls to be able to turn classical Indian and Balinese dance into something that would probably give my old Indian dance teacher a seizure if I showed him the clip! But of all drag queens I’ve ever seen I have got to rate Arthur as the best…because not only does he look hotter than I do with false eyelashes…he’s double jointed and looks good in a tall pointy golden crown.

Martial Arts of India…warriors and saints…

The spiritual art of war is something, that in popular Hollywood films, is often linked with little old chinese sages with drooping eyebrows and a Buddhist approach to defeating your opponent…and Buddhism travelled to China from India…but what about the other forms of spiritual warfare that originated in India? The Bhagavad Geeta is an entire Hindu text which is written as a conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjun, where he is counseled and given a metaphysical ethics and philosophy of warfare. Arjun hesitates (this is during the climactic war of the Mahabarata) before killing his family and teachers, and Krishna, who is driving his chariot, helps him see the bigger picture so that he can go ahead with his dharma…and the bigger picture is…according to Krishna, that its all a game of karma, and that in material form each person has to fulfill his function- Arjun is a Kshatrya warrior and he must fight…and when Arjun is slightly unconvinced…Krishna show him his true form… with a glimpse of the infinite cosmos…which sort of puts an end to the conversation and Arjun, slightly dazed by the infinite, is prepared for battle…

With such an intense history of war and spiritual practice often even associated with war, you would think that India’s martial arts would be pretty well known but Indian martial arts aren’t particularly famous internationally…definitely not as well known as the japanese korean and chinese martial arts…this is partly because Indian martial arts traditions suffered during the british raj and have been getting resurrected and revived since independence…So here are some of the modern day warriors practicing their art today:

Gatka is the martial arts form of the Sikh Warriors which uses the sword as a weapon of choice. Gatka was a tradition that is said to be passed down from God to Guru Nanak…but it was Guru Hargobind who propogated the theory of the “warrior saint”, making it mandatory for his followers to engage in martial arts…acting as an army of defenders not only of the sikh faith but of other faiths as well……. you don’t want to mess with these guys- can you imagine them in the heat of battle? At the end of the clip the teacher slices a watermelon in half off of the belly of one of his students. And click here to see a Punjabi girl practicing Gatka and her brother puts kajol on her eyes with the edge of his sword while blindfolded

Gatka Warriors:

Check out the South Indian martial arts form Kalaripattu…legend has it that it may be the original mother of all martial arts…but
following the collapse of the princely states around Kerela in which it was practiced it dissapeared into obscurity and is now being
resurrected…Kung- fu, popularized by the monks of the Shoaling Temple traces its ancestry to Bodhi Dharma – an Indian Buddhist
monk and Kalaripayattu master. Legend traces the 3000-year-old art form to Sage Parasurama- the master of all martial art forms and credited to be the re-claimer of Kerala from the Arabian Sea. And Parasurama the sage is also known as one of the Hindu god, vishnu’s 10 avatars…who (during his incarnation as Parasurama) weilded an axe and was a devotee of Lord Shiva, who was the one who gave Parasurama the axe and taught him the martial arts. Parasurama translates from sanscrit as “Rama who weilds the axe” (Rama was another incarnation of Vishnu). In other words, The biggest bad ass in the Hindu pantheon invented this martial art form and taught it to another major god in human form and its still kicking. Although I have to admit…it might be deadly…but some of the moves don’t look particularly…sexy…(such as the limp chicken arm at the beginning) still…they have some moves which would probably put Darth Vader and Yoda to shame…well…maybe not Yoda…check it out…

Kalaripattu:

And finally check out the deadly martial arts of Manipur… “The art of the Sword and the Spear” THANG TA (The art of sword and the spear) which was secretly taught in the home schools of individual gurus after being prohibited during the period of the colonial raj (1891-1947). It survived during the period of Manipur’s integration with the Indian Union in 1949, where the art was shown in festivals and performance platforms abroad since 1976. Unfortunately, the internal system of meditative practices and its essential spiritual character is at risk of being lost through lack of knowledge and committed practice by the present generation. Contemporary theatre practitioners are gaining awareness of its basic energy use and creative exercise of the body’s resources which would enhance the performance energy of the artist. Anyway I’ve seen them do this live quite a few times and they always use real sharpened blades and these tiny sheilds and no skin protection…with the real Thang Ta masters they always get within milimeters of slashing eachother’s veins open. Really hard core. (check out more info at thang ta)

Thang Ta

And the filamentary corpuscles have all exploded…

image from novia

Finally! A computer program that gets my panties in a twist…now all I need is a table in a smoky bar next to a crumbling piano and a microphone…and a few weather-beaten French critics wearing black turtlenecks, berets, and unsympathetic expressions. Any volunteers?

image from virginia.edu

Anyway for those of you who would like to test your poetic pretensions…ascertain once and for all as to whether or not your poetry really is worse than a poem picked out of a computer generated grab-bag of words….Check out this link…you just write a few random words and it generates a beatnik poem for you….I just wrote “Walking late night yellowed tar Colaba taxis and sleeping corners” and I got back:

Dig this Daddio:

Walking late night yellowed tar Colaba taxis and sleeping corners
no nads felled were late Walking steal except my hall, if Come
the electric weren’t low And How naked and shut a buy eschew even
like fled decided destiny to with your to can of the bees I revved
up my chainsaw, and felled a few trees errupted with such
visciousness to scare me And the filamentary corpuscles have all exploded,
And the filamentary corpuscles have all exploded, And the My soul on fire and everlasting pain.

image from myspace

Ginsberg would be proud…(or unemployed)