My Favourite song: “Patience” off the Distant Relatives project and my Favourite Director: Nabil Elderkin connect to produce some more than suiting visuals… #Savali #CaviarLiving
We are writers, students, musicians, dancers, creators, innovators..we are many things, but above all we are humans. That is our connection; our bond. The concept of this project is to explore the human connection and inspire change not only within each other but amongst others.
A group of 9 will…
Can we get much higher..
Although I went to India under painful circumstances, the experience was put into my life at just the right time. Timing is truly essential to lifes clockwork. My time there brought me back to my roots, brought me back to who I really am and have always aspired to be. I reconnected the part of me that was lost the past few months; the part of me that was inspired by life and the beautiful struggle it really is. I was able to fall in love with humanity all over again. Ive always been a strong believer of world connectivity and being surrounded by such beautiful people in India only reinforced that belief in me. This world is so much bigger than our everyday, and this trip was the perfect reminder of that for me. I pray my Grandfathers soul rests at ease peacefully and am thankful he revived the clarity in my heart in only the way he could have.
This was India for me..
Ive been back from India for a few weeks now, but right after the New Year had work in Europe, finally I’m back..and India is still on my mind..I’ll share soon..
India..
The past few days Ive been completely overwhelmed; love, culture shock, jet lag, and loss. My Grandfather passed a few days ago, thankfully he passed quite peacefully, and within hours most of my family that was able were on airplanes back to the motherland. We made it back to our family village after an exhausting and excruciating 20 hours of flying and 6 hours of driving. I have been to far too many funerals in my life, lost my mother, family, and great friends, but nothing I have seen compares to what I saw the day of the cremation. I didn’t see my Grandfather until I came down into the courtyard in the morning. His body was placed on a simple wood platform. He was dressed in the whitest of white clothes I have ever seen, his traditional navy blue turban impeccably tied, with his arms crossed over his chest. My eyes filled with tears, he was the epitome of a man; the pillar of our family, the strength in all of us. He dedicated his life to the service of others by founding a school, orphanage & hospital for the poor in Calcutta. So many times we had begged and pleaded for him to join us all in Canada but he always declined. India was his heart. He was deeply rooted to his people and home. He was what I aspire to be in so many ways. And he was gone. My Aunt held my hand as I knelt by his body, surrounded in a sea of family and villagers all dressed in white, everything around me was a blur, like a dream, like I was staring into the sun. And then it really hit me…he was gone. As the day progressed his body was carried by his sons and grandsons to the edge of a village by a river, where his body was slowly stacked with wood logs. Log by log we were losing him, he was disappearing. After his final ardaas (final prayer) my oldest Uncle took a torch and lit the wood on fire. It was the most surreal experience, the echoing of the hundreds of people chanting the prayers, the crackling of fire, and quiet sobs of his loved ones. He was gone. We stood for over an hour watching this fire, I thought back to all my memories with him, everything he had taught me, the ways he inspired me, and the genuine love between us. It hurt. To watch someone you love, someone you adore just vanish in front of your eyes is an out of body experience..I couldn’t believe I was witnessing it. The next day the close family members all went back to the site and with the priest once again praying on our hands and knees everyone gathered his ashes and put them into a bag, the prayers vibrating inside of me again. A man; to some a Father, Uncle, Husband, Grandfather, Friend…was now ash; MY Grandfather was now ash. Really think about that..how raw of an emotion it is to have your hands on the earth collecting the remains of someone whom you are rooted out of. I really feel the intensity of life has hit me through this experience. Losing my Mother was the most traumatic experience of my life, but losing my Grandfather has changed my energy and something in my soul. This is it. Before we know it our spirit can leave our vessel and all that remains is ash. From the earth to the earth. THIS IS IT. Love yourself, be passionate, and LIVE.
xo, K.
RIP Grandfather..THE MAN we all are inspired to be like.
