|
dipika.org |
|
dipika.org |
|
Srila Prabhupada dipika.org Features Books Contributors Discussions Downloads Padayatra Websites Worldwide Earlier Articles
|
Govardhan
Hill in North Carolina From Urmila Devi Dasi Posted January 3, 2004 It wasn’t an assignment. It hadn’t been taught. Who teaches script writing to six-year-olds? But on weekends, Jahnu dasa was writing dramas, lots of dramas. He was taking stories and transforming them into plays. One day he decided to write a script detailing how Krishna lifted Govardhana Hill. His mother had written some plays, and when she saw his interest, she showed him some details of proper form. But mostly he worked on his own. About a month before the festival of Govardhana puja, he brought his script about the Govardhana pastime into his school, Padma Academy, and showed it to one of his teachers, Campakalata devi dasi. Certainly she was thrilled that such a young student had taken such initiative. And the work was good, too. But Jahnu wasn’t satisfied with a smile or a pat on the head. He wanted his play to be performed— at the temple for the festival. He wanted music, props, and costumes. I tried to dissuade him— after all there wasn’t much time. Wouldn’t he prefer to work instead on a play for Lord Caitanya’s appearance? Then we would have time to make a first-class script, add a sound track, and rehearse. Oh, but he was adamant. And, his determination won Campakalata’s heart. First, she brought out the Bhagavatam and Krishna book. They spent some of their English-class time comparing what he had written to the books. Ah, the benefits of an education in a devotee school where instruction is both based on devotion to Krishna and individualized! Jahnu discovered that he should adjust which people were saying what lines, or what they were saying or doing. He truly learned the story, as well as some rudiments of writing a play. Campakalata herself had had the fortune of taking a course when she was in gurukula on the art of writing dramas according to Vedic parameters. I had worked with Tamal Krishna Maharaja to expand his books, Jagannatha Priya Natakam and Prabhupada Antya Lila into a one-year secondary level course on analyzing and writing drama. The course still awaits publication, though we continue to use it in the gurukula in manuscript form. (Harikesa was going to fund the printing and distribution.) After finalizing the script, the principal, Mayapurcandra dasa, worked with him to create a sound track, and Campakalata organized some of Padma Academy’s youngest students— and one of Jahnu’s brothers who is too young to come to school— to act in the drama. The students for this festival made a Styrofoam® hill instead of one from paper mache like they usually do, and used their hill in the play. As the short and simple presentation unfolded, the audience felt themselves transported to Krishna’s divine pastimes. "Just like this child. She has taken birth having Vaisnava father and mother. So she must have been a Vaisnavi or a Vaisnava in her previous life. Because this is an opportunity from the... All our children, those who are born of a Vaisnava father, mother, they are very, very fortunate. From the very beginning of life, they are hearing Hare Krsna maha-mantra. They are associating with Vaisnava, chanting, dancing. Imitation or fact, it doesn't matter. So they are very, very fortunate children. Sucinam srimatam gehe yoga-bhrastah-sanjayate. So they are not ordinary children. They are... These children, they're always hankering after associating with devotees, chanting Hare Krsna, coming to us. So they are not ordinary children. The bhakti-sange vasa. This is the very good opportunity, bhakta-sange vasa." (Srila Prabhupada lecture: Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 7.91-2 — Vrndavana, March 13, 1974) © dipika.org January 3, 2004 |
Send
articles to news@dipika.org
Send comments to webmaster@dipika.org
All rights reserved. Copyright © 2002 - 2004 by www.dipika.org
