Thanx to my dear friend Suriya for letting me know of the MLK day
celebrations in Boston. I called in and got 4 free tickets, but had very
difficult time in convincing anyone to go. Unfortunately everyone had
something going on that day, or wasn’t interested or some other valid reason.
But I honestly felt that they missed one of the finer moment in their life. I did convince Sanjib Da to go with me. The weather was very cold that day. I braved the howling winids and the near freezing temperatures. I met Sanjib Da at the Wang center around 6:30 pm and gave back 2 extra tickets with me.
The theater was packed. Never never in my life I have seen or been
amongst so many well dressed my fellow African American friends. The
dresses came in different colors, beautiful hats, the traditional head
gears in bright colors, Men at their best, escorting their wives, sisters,
mothers, girl friends, aunts.. they were everywhere. Everyone was very
joyful, smiling, laughing, hugging each other and everyone seemed to be
very peaceful.
I walked in along with Sanjib Da and were greeted by so many smiling
faces and I have to admit that I did notice some surprised looks from some.
We managed to find two seats in the crowded theater and settled comfortably.
Something was magical about that moment in time, the ambiance was great, I
felt so comfortable, warm, loved, secure, like I was in my Ammas (Mother)
arms. Did I pick up the good vibes of a wonderful group of people? Yes I
did. Was it spiritual, yes it was. My feeling was so elated, don’t know
why. There is something in me just opened up, let my guards down, my
pretence is gone, my uptightness is gone, I was more confident than the day
before. This feeling is something magical and I didn’t feel this way in a
very long time. I try to cherish every moment and try to take it all in. May be I was trying to grasp all the things going aorund and imprint deep in my memory, to recall it in the days to comes.
The program started with a wonderful Hymn sung by a New creation Church
group, that followed by a brief talk by Mayor Menino and some community
leaders.
The R&B music performers/groups Metro and Phaedra rocked the first
session. After the break, Recording Jazz artist Andre Ward rocked the hall
with a mind rendering performance of his own. I don’t recall enjoying any
Jazz performance before that way, he was playing amongst the audience at the
end. He grew up in Boston and now he is one of the upcoming and
accomplished Jazz performer. He touched the soul, he made us sing with him
briefly. That was great.
Patti Austin another well known R&B artist (Remember Baby, come to me..)
rocked the rest of the evening with R&B, Jazz and Gospel. We sang with her,
laughed, almost cried, amazed by the stories, entertained and it was
moving. Did u know that when Gospel singers sing about going back to
heaven, means going back to their homeland.
The evening ended by a wonderful Gospel song sung by Ms. Patti Austin and
the New Creation group.
All along, amongst various speeches about MLK, his achievements, the
slavery, the struggle for equality, the violence in the community, the
poverty, it was ironic to me how far away we are from reaching the goal.
The visions of our leaders which has carried us all in to this century and
how todays leaders are determined to drag us back in time. The social
progress we made in all these years are being destroyed before our own eyes.
Where are we going to stop?
Amongst all of these questions I had, I stood among my fellow brothers
and sisters. When they prayed, I prayed with them. When they laughed, I
laughed with them. Tears were flowing from within, they are not from
sadness, they are tears of joy. I held hands with my fellow spectators
during varios prayer sessions and I was connected instantly to the such a powerful source of energy. Hundreds of years flashed in my mind. The warmth, the
spiritual energy was at the highest level. The comfort that a man back in
India wearing his loin cloth, inspired MLK along with others to start the
Civil rights movement I will take it to the grave. I felt and feel so proud
of of my heritage. I was among them at that moment, the political,
economical, racial, language borders disappeared. I was there a human
being, a fellow soul and we are all the same.
We are human beings and we are all one. We have to keep reminding us
again and again. The Color of the skin, The Language, Race, Gender,
sexuality.. and many more can be used to discriminate against our fellow
human beings, but we do have hope and with sheer determination and vision of
the community we can move forward and make progress even in this turmoil.
Thank you Suriya again, I will give you my warm hugs when I see you
next. Next year, I want all of you to go with me and stand besides me and
feel this for real.
