Learning Sama hymns the virtual way!

These are clearly different times. Children have spent over a year in virtual classes. Working from home is the new normal. But the pandemic has also thrown up some unique possibilities. During these quarantined days, I signed up to learn the ancient “sama hymns” in a class taught virtually. What started as a casual pastime, soon became a compulsive obsession; the classes were so riveting.

The sama-hymns are among the world’s most ancient chants. Unlike other chants that are recited, these are set to music and sung. The music in these hymns defies geography- it is as if Indian, Middle-Eastern, Mediterranean, all sounds mingle into one harmonic whole. The gurgle of laughter has the same sound and meaning across the globe. So too, these chants have a universal feel, as if the yearning of a human heart and its appeal to a higher power has to be in this tune and no other. 

The chants are austere, but learning them virtually is complicated and provides its share of unintentional humour. Technology comes with its inevitable glitches. On certain days, the audio is fine, but the video is patchy. On other days, the video is fine, but the audio stutters. If both are fine, there is a sudden power-cut, the wifi goes phut and with that, the class blanks out! At times, the student attends these classes on a hand-held cell-phone, so shaky, that he appears in perpetual movement. Or his camera is off-center and all it can catch is the top of his scalp and the ceiling-fan! It is like tight-rope walking, but you learn to manage. 

A virtual class has several technology imposed rules- only one person can chant at a time, while the rest have to keep their microphones muted. When your turn comes, you unmute and chant. All this is easier said than done. The mind is so focused on the chant that impulse takes over. You can see the person chanting away, all animated, completely unaware that he cannot be heard. Others pounce on him with repeated cries of “unmute!”, “unmute!” till he finally realizes his mistake and grins sheepishly. At times, it is the other extreme- you forget to mute the microphone and blabber away unmindfully, till you are caught napping and curtly asked to mute. 

It has been several decades since you went to primary school. The virtual class transports you back in time. You giggle with impish delight when the teacher picks on a fellow-student and chides him for making repeated mistakes. Or questions the student why he missed the last class and hears novel excuses like “I did not get permission at home!” Or the teacher holds the entire class hostage, refusing to go any further, till a particular student gets it right! 

The virtual classes are as much about bonding in these trying times. With social interaction down to the bare-bones, this is your extended family. It is also about rediscovering the joy of learning, where the fun is in the very process, and not pinned to a future outcome. 

Above all, we admire the majesty of these mystic hymns. They have come down to us, in an unbroken tradition, from the dim and distant past. We also acknowledge the glory of modern technology that makes it so easy, that it is all accessible, from the cozy confines of our home. There is no doubt, we are doubly blessed!