Priyanka Writing

Another post on Mahashivratri and what I did at Isha Yoga Centre around these nights due to public demand :P

The Isha Yoga Centre has a large number of activities going on and as a volunteer one can work in different capacities in many of them.

So the first Mahashivratri in 2007 I was just loitering around and I was put into the info stall group where I helped a couple of monks and co volunteers set up that stall. The next day we decorated it with very few resources, in fact this was the time I carried a tree!

We were putting banana saplings about 5 foot high as decorations and I had gone to find decorations, so I came across the tree and just took it before anyone else scooped it up hehehe so I was trapezing around the ashram with a tree slung over my shoulders :D that must have been a site. Sadly couldn't get a snap of it.

Then I joined the festivities of the Mahashivratri night as a golden pass guest so had front seats and was dancing all night long cause in the celebrations many big musicians come. Indian Ocean, Sivamani drummer, Gundecha Bros, Shankar Mahadevan and more.

The 2008 Mahashivratri I was a full time volunteer, so more responsibilities. I had chosen to go volunteer in the temple and I was part of a more eliter bunch of people cause I had fought and stuff so they did not push me around like before. :D

So I did the finer things in the temple like the rangoli (south indian style), putting lotus flowers around the linga, did other flower decorations.
Though of course even in that bunch of people there are always hierarchies so an ok-ok experience with a monk snapping at me and some jhol. :p
After everyone vacated the temple around 3.00 am, it was great cause it was totally silent and the decorations were almost complete so the ethereal glow of the lamps, with pink lotuses aorund the temple, earthy colours of the entire place was very soothing and very touching experience.

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