Last December if someone told me Anu would take up dancing, I wouldn't have believed them. But then the Annual Day happened, she got into a group dance and I watched in awe as she took to dancing as if it was in her bones. She would dance everywhere, even on the roads and while bathing, and now the near-impossible is here; she wants to learn Bharatanatya!
I joined Bharatanatya classes right at her age and I think mostly to make up the numbers for the teacher, who was some sort of celebrity. Some of my father's friends had got hold of him to take lessons for their children and I got added, along with two of my friends. I still remember the trepidation with which I met the teacher, a senior and an imposing figure. But somebody made him look at my palm( what the hell!) and for some damn reason, he said I was going to be a great dancer some day, if I took it up seriously. I was both shocked and of course, flattered.
But I wonder if he was drunk that day(I heard later that he was in the habit) because my dance moves showed no signs of greatness. His words on the other hand made me feel guilty that I was letting him down by being ordinary. Not that he showed that he remembered what he said. He had a couple of favourite students and they mostly discussed sundry things while we waited our turn for the attention. I think it went on for 2-3 years, I learnt rhythm and a couple of dances, even participated in a dance show in a temple festival as a sidekick but I never really owned it. When the walks to and from the classes and picking wild fruits along the way became more enjoyable, the three of us dropped it altogether. No parent protested.
So when I went to the hostel and learnt that birthday cakes were accompanied by dancing, I only had cold feet. But L was always there for company and to make me feel better. So I figured over the course of four years that all I had to do was to drop any pretence of greatness and give a damn and just flow with the rhythm. Which I did and Khandelwal, the guy I partnered with at the office party, may vouch for that. I felt great that night.
I joined Bharatanatya classes right at her age and I think mostly to make up the numbers for the teacher, who was some sort of celebrity. Some of my father's friends had got hold of him to take lessons for their children and I got added, along with two of my friends. I still remember the trepidation with which I met the teacher, a senior and an imposing figure. But somebody made him look at my palm( what the hell!) and for some damn reason, he said I was going to be a great dancer some day, if I took it up seriously. I was both shocked and of course, flattered.
But I wonder if he was drunk that day(I heard later that he was in the habit) because my dance moves showed no signs of greatness. His words on the other hand made me feel guilty that I was letting him down by being ordinary. Not that he showed that he remembered what he said. He had a couple of favourite students and they mostly discussed sundry things while we waited our turn for the attention. I think it went on for 2-3 years, I learnt rhythm and a couple of dances, even participated in a dance show in a temple festival as a sidekick but I never really owned it. When the walks to and from the classes and picking wild fruits along the way became more enjoyable, the three of us dropped it altogether. No parent protested.
So when I went to the hostel and learnt that birthday cakes were accompanied by dancing, I only had cold feet. But L was always there for company and to make me feel better. So I figured over the course of four years that all I had to do was to drop any pretence of greatness and give a damn and just flow with the rhythm. Which I did and Khandelwal, the guy I partnered with at the office party, may vouch for that. I felt great that night.
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