I was excited to attend Deva Premal & Mitten with Manose’s concert. I’ve listened to their music and Sanskrit chants for years though I’ve never heard them live. I didn’t know that they were still touring. On May 19, 2018, the ensemble shared with us at the Chan Centre of Performing Arts.
It’d been years since I’ve been back on campus. It’s also changed so much, which of course is not a surprise. Some hall names sound familiar, though mostly not. Just a haze now. I had to check, and re-check, the campus map and driving directions to make sure I could find the Chan Centre. I ended up getting there a little early and so I walked around a bit.
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts opened in 1997. It’s hosted many well-known musicians like Yo-Yo Ma and speakers such as David Suzuki.
Deva Premel, Mitten & Manose
This concert was sold out and I’m not surprised. Their music is wildly popular and living in Singapore for so long, it was natural to come across it. Singapore is like a hub, so many expats coming to discover or re-invent themselves. It’s also close to places like Bali and India with their mysticism and spirituality. Many people in Singapore go to Vipassana retreats or to ashrams, and other pilgrimages.
While living in Singapore, I learned many mantras. For astrology, going to kirtans, and kundalini yoga classes, etc. There’s something about chanting and singing mantras, these “energetic sound formulas” as Deva Premel & Mitten call them. You can use a mala with 108 beads to count these repetitions. One of my favourite is one with lapis lazuli that my mom gave me years ago.
108 has special meaning in Vedic scriptures and chanting mantras 108 times fill our 108 energy channels with specific vibrations, specific to the mantras. Years ago, my friends and I walked 108 times around, inside the temple. This is called Pradakshina or Parikrama, walking around the deva, as an act of devotion and worship, meditating, sometimes for releasing illness and for blessings.
Even though we were in a large auditorium, one that seats nearly 1,200 seats, the concert was an intimate affair. It was a sold-out concert. They shared their stories with us, from their personal lives. Mitten was resting and recovering, coming out to say hello and sat in on the second half of the concert. It felt so amazing with the audience singing along.
