39

plays again. Decides he's finished, then decides to play all night. It is not about 3 in the morning the audience is down to a tired seven. Galpal has had his eye on a French hip girl all evening, playing to her and ordering her to sit in front of him etc. People being to drift off, argument breaks out, he decides to pack up. The tabla player has packed and unpacked his drums several times. Everything has gone down hill. Galpal drags the French girl to the back end of terrace in persuasive terms. Exit.

But for a time on that roof in Assi, under the expanding-closing sky, the surrounding buildings, a flat dark quiet blue background from a Kangra painting. On that terrace, great music was heard briefly, a great artist with perfect execution performed. This redeemed part of the ugliness of India its corruption and pettiness. That this great music still existed, was still alive, in decay, unappreciated by most perhaps, but in one man at least still alive. This redeemed so much.

40

The dancer a middle aged boy, wraps the bells around his legs, after touching them to his head in reverence to God. He selects an orange colored silk scarf to tie around his waist. He will perform a woman's dance. Indians think nothing of men dancing or acting like women on the stage it is accepted. D. tells of a Hindi mythological film about Krishna. In on part Krishna wonders what it's like to be Radha his beloved and suddenly - flash - there are two Radhas sitting next to each other. [MARGIN: He has turned himself into a woman.] In Hindu tales the changing of sex is not an uncommon device of some stories. (see Ocean of Story - note in Renondstory)

So the boy gets up and dances taking the part of a woman, undulating and flirting with her imagined lover. Effeminate gestures, arched fingers, rolling eyes - you don't quite know if it is a man or women performing and suddenly it doesn't matter - you put aside western anglo saxon attitudes and watch the dance.

March 29. 70

one of those literary metaphors that are like juicy plums:

"Well, you could have a crazy mirror like that and a whole collection of different [ILLEGIBLE: looks like "nonnons"], absolutely absurd objects, shapeless, mottled, pockmarked, knobby