The fields divided one by one
And the train conductor says
“Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We’ve been on this shift too long”
And the train conductor says
“Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We can reach our destination, but we’re still a ways away” — Driver 8 (Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe)
Out of the blue, I started humming this old R.E.M tune today. That’s the power of a song for you, showing up in places (such as walking a dusty road in India) you’d never think when you first heard it, 25 years ago, when Michael Stipe had hair, to give you a little oomph. Jeepers, the stuff that comes up here. But if practicing yoga in Mysore isn’t performing tapas (“focused effort leading towards bodily purification and spiritual enlightenment”), I’m not sure what is. Sure enough, it’s been an up and down few days on this end, the practice cooking me, or rather cooking things out of me, in unexpected ways. As it should. I’ve been thinking about those bull runners I saw Sunday for inspiration. The farmers who ran with their bulls through the fire were barefoot, afterall. Barefoot! Nonetheless, I’m feeling a bit more like Driver 8, a little weary, a little far from from a longed for Santosha-like destination.
Speaking of drivers, I was walking into the bustling Devaraja Market a few days ago I was surprised to hear my name called out. I turned to see Raju, a rickshaw driver who delivered me to the train station on my first visit to Mysore in 2004. I saw him on subsequent trips, catching up about his children and family, and relying him to get around town, but was mystified, and concerned, not to see him this go. As it turned out, he has been driving downtown now, rather than Gokulam, the rickshaw scene around the yoga shala a little too competitive (and cut-throat when it comes to inflating fares for we Western types). That said, he’s my likely ride for the remainder of the trip. Raju is a good egg.
Speaking of eggs, or good things just-hatched, check out this vintage R.E.M. footage.
Deborah Crooks (www.DeborahCrooks.com) is a writer, performing songwriter and recording artist based in San Francisco whose lyric driven and soul-wise music has drawn comparison to Lucinda Williams, Chrissie Hynde and Natalie Merchant.
Singing about faith, love and loss, her lyrics are honed by a lifetime of writing and world travel while her music draws on folk, rock, Americana and the blues. She released her first EP “5 Acres” in 2003 produced by Roberta Donnay, which caught the attention of Rocker Girl Magazine, selecting it for the RockerGirl Discoveries Cd. In 2007, she teamed up with local producer Ben Bernstein to complete “Turn It All Red” Ep, followed by 2008’s “Adding Water to the Ashes” CD, and a second full-length CD “2010. She’s currently working on a third CD to be released in 2013.
Deborah’s many performance credits include an appearance at the 2006 Millennium Music Conference, the RockerGirl Magazine Music Convention, IndieGrrl, at several of the Annual Invasion of the GoGirls at SXSW in Austin, TX, the Harmony Festival and 2009’s California Music Fest, MacWorld 2010, Far West Fest and many other venues and events. She toured the Northwest as part “Indie Abundance Music, Money & Mindfulness” (2009) with two other Bay Area artists, and followed up with “The Great Idea Tour of the Southwest in March 2010 with Jean Mazzei.
