A FESTIVAL OF ANTHROPOSOPHY, OCTOBER 2013
“THE HEALING IMPULSE OF ANTHROPOSOPHY IN INDIA”
– report by Aban Bana
The city of Hyderabad in India has always been active in holding events. It has four Waldorf Schools and many Anthroposophical institutions. The Anthroposophical Society in India organised ,and Sloka Waldorf school hosted ,a three-day Festival of Anthroposophy in October 2013, which had the theme “The Healing Impulse of Anthroposophy in India”.
About 150 people from India and abroad participated in the Festival. Although there was a great deal of unseasonal rain and cold, due to the cyclone on the east coast of India, the entire mood at the Festival was warm and sunny throughout.
The Festival was inaugurated with the traditional lighting of lamps and singing of Vedic hymns, followed by music, dance and Eurythmy presentations by Waldorf school children.
The speakers at the Festival, representing the different fields of Anthroposophy, gave very inspiring talks, focusing on the healing impulse of Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy within the society in our times. Participants had the opportunity to attend the many and varied artistic activities between the talks.
There were cultural performances by the two Camphill Villages. One of them was a unique collaboration of the Camphill community in Bangalore with the local Steiner School to create a splendid shadow play.
The seven students of the newly founded Bio Dynamic Agriculture College in Tamil Nadu, together with their teacher, made an imaginative representation of planets and Zodiac signs to create the planting calendar for the month of November.
On the last day there was a plenum to discuss future events within the Anthroposophical movement in India. One important feature is that there is very good communication and networking between the various Anthroposophical institutions within the country. The Festival ended with the Foundation Stone Meditation of Rudolf Steiner.