As we drove out into the cold and foggy Monday morning, the only warmth in the car (apart from that which radiated from the two of us!) came from Pt. Jasraj’s voice.

His rich, sonorous tones drove out the Monday-morning blues and enlivened us like nothing ever did. In mid-October, Art of Living, Atlanta had organized a classical music concert of Pt. Jasraj to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake. As volunteers for the event, we got autographed CDs of Panditji’s latest albums. On recommendation, Pinch picked up ‘Shiv-Shiv Anuraag’, a CD that contained classical compositions dedicated to Shiva. It turned to be the best selection ever. I don’t own too many bhajan CDs, very few, in fact. I am a HUGE fan of Pt. Bhimsen Joshi and intend to bring back from India lots of CDs containing his Pandurang abhangs. But these Shiva bhajans are fabulous ones. The musical ensemble is fantastic. There is a large group of percussion instruments including the ubiquitous tabla, the majestically resounding pakhawaj and surprise of surprises, Shiva’s own instrument, the dumroo. It resounds at strategic points in one of the songs, ‘Namo Namah, Shankara Parvatibhyaam’, adding its own inimitable touch to the composition. The cymbals have their own place here. Not the gentle tinkling that one is used to in other bhajans. Here the cymbals have a strong presence of their own. They sound more like the large, brass cymbals one comes across in Rajasthani folk music. Most beautiful of all, is Panditji’s voice, rich, strong and powerful. At the same time, the bhakti and love in his voice cannot be missed.

After all, he is singing about none other than Shiva Himself. Borrowing from Souvik Dutta who writes a regular blog on Shiva (Please visit http://satyamshivamsundaram.blogspot.com/), Truth(Satya) is God(Shiv) and God(Shiv) is Beautiful(Sundar). This blog represents my passion and longing for the Beauty of God in Truth, the Beauty of Shiva, the Ultimate Truth of Realisation, the Most Gracious among the Graceful. To Him I bow, Who is born of none, Who is God of Gods, Who is giver of boons, Who is the conquerer of death, Who was, is and shall be even after eternity, Who is in me and I in Him.

Cannot think of a better eulogy of Shiva. He is the one with the ash-laden body, Bhootnath, the utlimate yogi, the source of all bliss. He is Ardhanareeshwara, the Ananth and the Anaadi, the one with no beginning and no end. He is Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer who brought about this entire creation. There is no Shiva without Shakti and no Shakti without Shiva, the two are one – or the absolute state of being – consciousness and bliss.