From Holland, a film on the yoga of sound

VRINDAVAN - Holland-based Indian origin filmmaker Rishi Chaman, who had earlier made “Bollywood Blues”, is releasing a telefilm on ‘nada yoga’ in Dutch and English. He says it is a modern, spiritual and musical version of the wellness technique where East meets West.

Titled “Nada Yoga - The Secret Of Sound”, the 28-minute movie will be telecast on the Dutch Hindu Broadcasting Network OHM. The word ‘nada’ refers to the physical, mystical, religious or cosmic sound.

“The film will be relevant to watch because you will see how an ancient, secretive tradition in the East is translated to the West. The focus is on Acharya T. Jaimini who teaches the authentic, demanding form of nada yoga to two of his students, which is confidential,” Chaman, 32, who was here to shoot the film in Vrindavan, told IANS.

“In sharp contrast, a German, Tomas Meisenheimer, offers nad yoga in the form of a sound massage table to clients who need a relief from their demanding careers. What is common between these two different approaches is that they offer the tradition of the yoga of sound that can help an individual gain peace of mind.”

Earlier, Chaman had directed “Laxmi Calling Ling”, “Sapney” and “Itch” and made documentaries on Indian artists like Sonu Niigaam, Asha Bhosle, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek.

He collaborated with Delhi-based Anupama Jain for the telefilm “Nada Yoga”.

“Anupama was able to persuade Acharya Trigunateet Jaimini, one of the great practitioners of authentic nada yoga, to participate in the film. For Anupama, producing a film for the first time was a huge learning experience. She rose to the challenge with gusto.

“Working up to 20 hours a day, she managed the budget, kept close contact with the film crew to ensure that the film is completed on time and within the budget.”

Jaimini is a sitar maestro and head of the department of music in Mangalayatan University, Aligarh, and his achievements on nada yoga are well-known.

Talking to IANS, Jaimini said: “Indian music has its essence in a deep sense of spirituality along with roots in yoga and Indian philosophy. The theme of the compositions is mostly devotional in nature and many of them also convey abstruse philosophical concepts in a form that is easy to grasp.”

(Brij Khandelwal can be contacted at brij.k@ians.in)