devamitenblog

hawaii: the big island and kaua'I - part four

seen from the air, waimea canyon, the largest canyon in the pacific, looks more like the grand canyon than the grand canyon

fans of the tv show ‘lost’ might recognise that beach down there

and this is where they filmed jurassic park...

and for you old-timers, south pacific was shot on this beach!

happy talk

this valley is the wettest place on earth – 400 inches of rain fall here every year

usually the helicopter can’t get this far up in to the valley
today we were lucky, the clouds had lifted.

even this digital picture got damp around the edges...!

we were far, far away from our next stop - los angeles - with steve miller band guitarist, greg douglass

with love, in the moment, deva & miten

hawaii: the big island and kaua'I - part three

back on dry land we explored a lava tube...cooler, safer

..and then headed for the incredible island of kaua’i – one million years older than the big island.

much of it uninhabited...

...mysterious...

...inviting...

...friendly...

...lush...

...breathtaking...

...uplifting...

...funny...

i mean, really funny...

..scary...?

hawaii: the big island and kaua'I - part two

we weren’t lazy there ... deva joined in the global climate awareness campaign (on the beach of course!)

and next morning we took up an invitation from our new friend zsolt

to take his boat out for a close-up of the lava as it meets the ocean

this photo was taken at 5am before sunrise.

it was completely awesome to see the lava in darkness...and to hear the harmonious, whispering voices of the ocean and the volcano

the ocean itself was boiling hot and as you can see, we were very close to the source.

we were definitely out of the tourist zone...

as dawn rose, we caught our breath...

...while manose led us in a morning celebration of mother earth...

....who responded in all her splendour...

...we caught our breath for the second time as our little boat bobbed about on top of the deep, dark pacific.

- meet the crew!

hawaii: the big island and kaua'I - part one

the big island is youthful and vibrant and naturally attracts a similar kind of people

the active volcano kilauea spews out around 708 million litres of lava a day, creating an ever-increasing land mass

it is a land still being formed, and this definitely influences the inhabitants and their zest for life.

they tend not to take life too seriously!

check out the colours!

...the energy...

these guys really know how to celebrate!

see what I mean...!?

hawaii part 6

hi friends
we’d heard great things about the honolulu beaches, but unfortunately we didn’t get time to explore them.

we had to be content with a beautiful gathering...

...a reunion with our sweet ashram friend heeraa...

...and views of the mountains as we drove from the airport

next stop, the big island, the youngest and most volatile of all the islands

where people are just plain beautiful and amazingly colourful!

hawaii part 5

at the concert we were reunited with our old friend ramoda who came into our dressing room to eat with us, with his mum and dad..

...which made deva very happy!

ramoda is a bright and shining spirit.

he lives with such dignity and humour - and with such a keen intelligence that he always blows me away whenever I see him.
he is a fan of gabrielle roth (bless her) five rhythms dance technique, and currently he is busy fighting for people’s rights to dance anywhere in maui (which surprisingly enough, is still illegal right now!)..

here’s a dressing room snapshot with ramoda, deva, nadaraj, me, kabba anand (pops), parmita (our guardian angel), and mom, raje.

and finally, before we left the island, I had time to reunite with two of my sweet and dear students from my time at the ko hsuan school in the uk, sagara and her little one, nina, and supriya.

we said goodbye to maui and headed for honolulu...

which was slightly different!

hawaii part 4

before we left the island we were invited to visit the (breathtaking) art gallery of artist spar street.
spar told us is has been very inspired by our music and plays it while he paints.
here are some things people have said about his work:

andre agassi (tennis champion): “...wow! amazing!.. there is so much energy here.
you have captured the feeling entirely. this has so much more energy than anything i have ever seen before!..”

sir richard branson: “..brilliant...stunning..altogether splendid...the movement and excitement of your artworks are irresistibly compelling...”
more here

manose was inspired

while sound tech nadaraj found peace and quiet among the beauty

hawaii part 3

every morning manose gave deva singing lessons on the raga form

one day, we visited iao valley

the clouds hung low and ominous

some terrible battles took place on the land – somehow i could still feel it

...inspite of its obvious beauty

...then the mushrooms kicked in! ;0)

and everything looked different...

the ghost of wild man appeared from the bush...much to deva’s delight.

on the way back the clouds lifted and were blessed with this...(I don’t mean the traffic jam)

hawaii part 2

next day we trekked down to the sea, which you only reach after a pretty strenuous hike

...with the help of a rope to prevent you falling off the cliff...!

...it’s a long way down...

...with amazing views...

and worth the sweat

hawaii part 1

maui
maui is small and old, and stunningly beautiful.
not as small as kaua’i which is much older...and possibly even more beautiful - if we were comparing.

the big island – hawaii – described as a young innocent teenager and still growing; young and hopeful of all that life has in store.
and the people who live there are tuned into this earth-sweetness...they have a kind of crazy jubilation about them!
while the rest of the world is so ancient, weary, polluted and over crowded, the big island is still forming itself and growing.
we were blessed to see the lava pouring into the ocean from our little boat at 4 am in the morning (pix coming).
maybe the only place left on earth like this.

but maui – maui is sweet.
here are some pix of our time there

we stayed with kutira and raphael at the exquisite kahua institute <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_5-EBfIY40&feature=channel>

welcome!

unlike australia, hawaii has practically no poisonous insects or reptiles...here’s a very harmless chap...unless you’re a fly of course.

you can walk through tall grass and wild foliage with no fear of disturbing a sleeping snake!

kutira and raphael have a beautiful sanctuary dedicated to amma

..and a beautiful house to go with it.

there are two waterfalls in trekking distance...

this one is at the top of a deep canyon - 300 feet below the water forms another swimming hole.

we were told that a playful and mischievous spirit lives there which likes to play games with your possessions.
sure enough, when we came out the water the camera had been moved and deva’s sunglasses were gone.

this is the edge...