Sitting still but dancing within

The Hall was packed but I got to sit in the wings –

sometimes gazing on the side profile of the musicians on stage

sometimes watching the audience, seemingly still but dancing within.

They were immersed – the singer in his song

and the listeners in what turned out to be theirs. 

Tied together by Jogkauns, Sohini, Mishra Pahadi, Kaapi, Bhairavi –

they inhabited moving continents of melody and rhythm

weightless, while still in their bodies

floating, flying, swimming, swaying...

outwardly present in the Hall but

traversing an inner cosmos.

Sitting in the wings of the Hall

watching the singer and the listeners

I saw how songs can break out into a dance

and stationary humans take flight on musical notes.

Note: This poem is a response to a deeply soulful Hindusthani vocal recital by Siddhartha Belmannu last evening at Adishakti Theatre, Pondicherry.