Shiva slaying Andhaka - carvings at Elephanta Caves

A post shared by Madhavi Nadig (@m_nadig) on Mar 18, 2018 at 5:14am PDT

What a difference there is from reading about the caves, the sculptures and the destruction in a high school history text to seeing it with one's own eyes!

The combination of history and mythology is so captivating. Why do the writers of history text books present only uninteresting, dull facts and dates to students?! The beauty of the caves is scarred by sabotaging colonists, still it shines through.

The sculpture reveals the full mythical story of the battle between Shiva and Andhaka. During the battle, each drop of Andhaka's blood that falls to the ground spawns another form of Andhaka. In this depiction Shiva pierces Andhaka's heart with his trident, collecting Andhaka's blood in a bowl while Kali drinks the blood, effectively preventing the emergence of more Andhakas. The asura's fault was that he unknowingly lusted after his own mother, Parvati. After being defeated, Andhaka realizes his mistake and submits to Shiva. Shiva forgives him and makes him the head of his ganas.

Masterclass with Benjamin Zander

#nadigram #20171209 #conductor #musiclessons #westernclassical #ಗುರು #ಪಾಠ #BostonPhilharmonicYouthOrchestra #BostonPublicLibrary @bplboston

A post shared by Madhavi Nadig (@m_nadig) on Dec 9, 2017 at 7:44pm PST

Recently watched the delightful Benjamin Zander conduct a masterclass and coach talented teenage musicians at the Boston Public Library.

Benjamin Zander's teaching style was a performance in itself ... explaining to the budding musicians the historical context, motivations and emotions behind the piece ... conducting them repeatedly until he was satisfied, through several seemingly flawless performances ... involving all ages of audiences ... getting the kids to focus on involving audiences instead of their own playing, artistry or poise.

The kids were great at playing their chosen instrument to start with. The coaching transformed their performances, elevating them to a completely new level. Loved every bit of it!

After watching his TED Talk way back in 2013, I immediately picked up his book The Art of Possibility which left me inspired. I don't know much about Western Classical music, but have wanted to see him in action since then.

Was pleased to meet him in person after waiting 5 years. Since the only thing I collect is books autographed by their authors, I happily bought his book and he graciously signed it for me. A new addition to my small but growing collection. Made my day!

Indian + International Fusion Music

I enjoy Indian fusion music and started compiling a playlist.

https://open.spotify.com/user/mnadig/playlist/3bYlgxeUd0r4ZF4senV5bi

Suggestions are welcome.

Rebuilding Nepal

Hello reader,

I am heading to Nepal for 2 weeks in Oct to volunteer with a group that's working to rebuild communities destroyed by the earthquake in April.

Some of these guys were visiting Nepal and hiking the Himalayas when the earthquake happened. They decided to stay back and volunteer in some villages. My coworker knows them personally and has been assisting them with fund raising and organizing supplies from everywhere. I decided to join her team and help out.

The idea is to work with another local NGO in Nepal to clear rubble and build new buildings using locally available materials. So far, Conscious Impact has been working on the logistics and waiting for monsoon to end. Hence this effort will go full swing from September.

Rebuilding your life and home with your family after you've lost everything can't be easy. Am looking forward to helping families in this herculean mission.

I started raising funds for this effort today. Please support me with your donation at http://www.empowered.org/mnadig.

Thank you for contribution!

I will keep you posted about the changes you helped bring about once I return from this trip.

Yours truly.