Raja Deekshithar
My blogs
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Industry | Consulting |
| Location | India |
| Introduction | Raja is a forty-two-year-old with a broad, infectious smile and a natural ability to make others comfortable. He reminded me of Arlo Guthrie, with his long hair and graying beard, his organic wit and good-natured liberalism, his ability to synthesize tradition and progress. He is both “folksy” and urbane, calm and kinetic, a local priest and a citizen of the world. He is the first Chidambaram priest to travel overseas. He has conducted workshops and courses in Bharat Natyam (and other subjects) for universities in Europe, Australia and the United States. He has worshipped God in European cathedrals and felt the presence of the Divine while listening to Simon and Garfunkel. He admits he may not be a typical dikshitar but feels his attitude is in perfect keeping with the Hindu priestly tradition. The priests of old, after all, lived on the cutting edge of society. They were not curmudgeons but inventors. They were scientists and poets, astronomists and artists, explorers and discoverers, shapers of culture. They were worldly in every way. (Bob Walker, 3 June 1994) |