“Steal Away” & “I am your Arjuna”

Had a wonderful experience on Sunday. I was taken to Immanuel Methodist Church down in Egmore, in the heart of Chennai, IMC has one of the best church choirs in Chennai, and I was invited to attend their noontime rehearsal and then stay for the evening service. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I am now thinking that church choirs here must be the same as church choirs in the U.S. Here was a bunch of folks gathered together because they love singing (and love singing praises to God)—and who love being together. So much good-natured joshing and laughter, and still a great seriousness about singing well and cohesively as a good choir must. Over the years I have sung with many choirs, and I felt right at home at IMC. First they ran through some music they are preparing for Christmas—“And the glory of the Lord” from Messiah and other assorted anthems—some of them very difficult with lots of chromaticism, yet they were managing very well. I sat there thinking these could use some polishing and shaping, but when they pulled out the spirituals for the Sunday evening service, I realized that this would certainly happen in the two months before Christmas. The spirituals were very definitely well polished and shaped, in fact, surprisingly well so. Back in the U.S. choir directors (myself included) often grumble about how hard it is to get a white choir to sing African-American gospel music in an authentic manner. It’s hard for us to forget our reserve and sing with the vocal and emotional abandon the music requires. Now, I’m not saying that the IMC choir had totally absorbed the idiom, but they were way ahead of any white choir I’ve ever been a part of. The director used rhythm very creatively (swung rhythms and occasional triplets) with introductions and repetitions back and forth between sections—things that were not in the printed score, but all very stylish and effective. Good stuff! The same collegial spirit that filled the rehearsal carried over to lunch at the diner about ten of us walked to. They were surprised I wanted to eat dosai and uttapam rather than some kind of fried rice or Chinese noodles (not knowing I had spent a little time here before), and they were also amused I wanted to have a glass of steamed milk as my “dessert.” They were interested in and concerned about the state of Christianity in America. I was surprised to find they were impressed with Bush and very worried about Obama, and I felt compelled to point out that in spite of Bush’s public statements and certain actions, Bush had done some things that did not strike me as the actions of a committed Christian. The choir director was talking about a quartet he sings with—they sing a lot of spirituals and other sacred music—that has toured many locations around the world, including an appearance some years back at the Chicago Gospel Fest on the lakefront. I said, so that’s how you know the gospel tradition so well, and can get your choir to sing spirituals so idiomatically! He said yes, but that as a youth he had also listened regularly to the jazz show on Voice of America radio. What fun to find such a person in India! After lunch we retired to private rooms (mine with A/C, I don’t know about the others!) for a nap in the heat of the day (and it was hot!). Afterward the choir reconvened to warm up, and then the service. It all started with contemporary praise songs accompanied by 2-3 guitars, electric bass, piano, and violin, led by the choir director himself. The choir sang 3 spirituals before the sermon, and another 2 afterwards. I got to sing with the one male chorus number I had rehearsed with them earlier, “Steal Away,” and since I stand out like a sore thumb, the director had to introduce me to the congregation before we sang. Lots of warm greetings afterwards, and then off for dinner at a local Christian restaurant that was showing a Michael W. Smith video on the big screen. They serve somewhat more American-style food, including chicken burgers, fries, milkshakes, lasagna, etc. (no Coke, Pepsi). I had been lamenting the lack of cheese in my diet just a day or earlier in a phone call to Virginia, and the lasagna sounded like just the thing. Not Italian, particularly, but it tasted very good. Just what the doctor ordered!

On Monday, I was again an honored guest, but this time at MCC, my current home away from home. Every year the philosophy department has an endowed guest lecture in honor of distinguished alumnus Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, rather like Elmhurst’s annual Niebuhr lecture. Radhakrishan was a distinguished professor of philosophy at Oxford for many years, and then after independence, India’s first vice president and its second president (not the same as their first prime minister, Nehru, but that’s another story). A highly-respected philosopher from Kerala was brought in to speak on contemporary views of the nature of consciousness, one of the thorniest areas of inquiry in all of philosophy. Well, Dr. Gabriel decided to honor me as well by inviting me to preside over the lecture. This meant providing very brief remarks at the beginning (following a host of other speakers providing words of introduction and felicitation) and serving as a respondent at the end. While I very much appreciated the honor, I certainly felt as though I was in way over my head! When it was my turn to speak, I said as much, and at the last minute was inspired to use a quote I had read while prepping for the event.

Gandhi and Radhakrishnan often worked together, and Radhakrishnan often deferred to the great man’s wishes. One day Gandhiji decided enough was enough, since he very much wanted Radhakrishnan’s full input, so he said to his friend, “I am your Arjuna, and you are my Krishna!” This is a reference to the Bhagavad-Gita, where the soldier Arjuna surveys the battlefield just before the battle is to begin. He questions why he should even bother—there will be much killing and death, and he has many family members on both sides of the battlefield. The god Krishna appears to Arjuna to explain the nature of existence and the importance of dharma (duty, but understood more broadly). At the very end, to put any lingering doubts to rest, Krishna appears in his cosmic form, and Arjuna has a terrifying, humbling vision of Krishna in all times and all places (their conversation has striking parallels to Job’s talk with God at the end of the Old Testament book of Job). In other words, Gandhi was a mere servant next to Radhakrishnan’s godlike presence.

Well that certainly described my feelings at that moment, so I used the quote … and got a good response! As expected, it was a difficult talk. Thank goodness Gabriel suggested I do a little advance reading on the topic. Even so, I couldn’t come up with anything very detailed as a respondent, something they would expect here. I said something about feeling like Arjuna after experiencing the cosmic Krishna—later I realized I should have said, “You are still my Krishna, but now I am only the horse pulling Arjuna’s chariot!” Thankfully, Gabriel came to the rescue and took on the role of respondent for me. The guest speaker, Dr. Kanthamani, must have appreciated what I did say, though. We had a very nice conversation afterward and then over the lunch table with other philosophy faculty members. Not a flawless performance on my part, but good to have had the experience … and another good dose of the Indian love for ceremony!

Changes are afoot at the International Guest House (IGH), too. Just last week I saw a new fellow at the guest house, and before I had too much chance to wonder what he was doing there, he introduces himself as Pravin, the new housekeeper. It was his first day on the job, and he had just left a job at the Hotel Meridien, one of the really ritzy Western-style hotels here in Chennai (and around the world). I gather MCC wanted someone with experience in the hospitality industry to supervise things at the IGH and create a more welcoming climate, especially for Western guests. So far, so good. When they changed my bed linens today, he showed Benjamin how to put on both a bottom sheet AND a top sheet! (On previous visits it’s been a bottom sheet and a thin blanket only.) And he even showed Benjamin how to turn down the top sheet at an angle like they do at the fancy hotels! I’ll know we’ve really arrived when I see a mint on my pillow as well!! Today I came home from tea in the staff room to find Benjamin washing the numerous windows on the east and south walls of the IGH dining room. The place really sparkled! By the time Lynn and I return with students at New Year’s, we may not recognize the place. Best of all, Pravin is a really nice fellow … and his English is excellent. Now I can make my needs known without always pestering my friends on the faculty.

And in the meantime, prep work to do for two lectures in an English department postcolonial literature course taught by good friend Nirmal Selvamony—one on post-slavery African-American music (with emphasis on the blues), the other on Caribbean music (he wants reggae, and that will require some scrambling on my part). More on that later!