Thursday, November 29, 2007

Dancing Dervishes
















A Times of India Photo

Whirling Dervishes perform the sema ceremony (mystical dancing) at the Taramati Biradari on a hillock near Golconda Fort last week. This photo is from the Times of India. The "biradari" is a pavillion built with Hindu and Persian architecture as a tribute to the renowned dancer Taramati in the court of Qutub Shahi kings.

"Dancing faces you towards Heaven, whichever direction you turn." -Sweetpea Tyler

"Dancers are the athletes of God." -Albert Einstein

9 comments:

Ioanna said...

Wonderful, colorful, direct photo! Are they folk dancers?

zakscloset said...

very colourful and pretty! i wish i was there to see the dance.

Mo said...

I love all of the colors, very beautiful.

Wayne said...

Neat shot you found. Looks like some cool dancing. Don't see that here, I can tell you! :)
Thanks,
Wayne

Nihal said...

I did not surprise as UNESCO announced the celebration of 800th anniversary of the birth of Mevlana in the world 2007 ''The Year of Mevlana''. So in India Mevlana Year organisation takes place:)
Sema dancing -also known as the dance of the Whirling Dervishes- represents a mystical journey of spiritual ascent through mind and love to ''Perfect''. During the Sema the arms of dervishes are extended with the right hand opened upward, the left hand turn downward as seen in the photo. The meaning of this is: From God we receive, to man we give, we keep nothing to ourselves.

Did you read my article about Divine Love of Mevlana on my blog? Search for it in Sept file from the archive.

Do you know Prince Charles is known for his interest in the writings of Anatolian philosopher Mevlana Rumi. He attended a Sema ceremony performance by Mevlevi Dervishes in Konya. He arrived in Turkey with his wife Camilla, the duchess of Cornwall, visited historic and cultural sites in Izmir, Ankara, Konya and Istanbul for a four-day schedule in Turkey. Refer here:
http://www.wtopnews.com
/?nid=500&sid=1298638

How nice your sharing this cultural activity at your home:)

Hyderabad Daily Photo said...

@ioanna - They are not folk dancers, but rather mystical dancers.

@nihal - I did not know that 2007 is Year of the Mevlana! Thank you so much for directing me to your blog article. I enjoyed reading it very much! Mevlana Rumi's poetry is so sublime. It puts me in a different world when I read it. Do you know Dr Deepak Chopra? He often quotes Rumi. I wish I can experience the Sema at Konya sometime in this life.

You are quite an artist and a humanitarian. Thanks again.

Gudl said...

Very nice photo!

Neva said...

Hey, I am really getting into these different dances ! looks good!

Kumudha said...

Beautiful!