its any normal school dance competition.."rangeelo mhaaro dholna..."
the act is almost ready..the troupe needs just one more dancer...they run towards a gurl playing the record for them- "help us!!!! you dont have to do much...just shake a leg here n shake a leg there" she stares..petrified..."no!! i cant...get someone else please! not me!please..i have never done it before!"
blasting music blared from speakers in the hall... it was the farewell given to seniors...her friends tucked at her shirt..
"get a life gal..join us..."
naa...m fine...no no..just shy....
i cant dance buddy...its okie...
she watches the others and smiles..."dekha na haye re socha na..." playing in full swing...
in awe of her friends the way they moved with the beats..unaware of anyone watchin...
n now its her brother's wedding...
somewhere the dhol wala strikes the dhol twice..n the crowds in a frenzy..the masis n masads...the chachis n chachas...the mamis and mamas...all in a trance...
the girl sits fiddling with her attire..chatting with her nana..enjoying the paneer tikka and the moong chilla..suddenly she stops.. vacates her seat to a panting old man...
"uncle can i get you some water?" haan beta..thanks..
his wife hurried..."kuch to sharam karo..."
he retorts..."oh jee abhi to main jawaan hun"
he looks at the girl..beta y r u not dancing...
and the same answer follows: no uncle..just shy..neva danced...i like watching..
he wiped the sweat off his face.."tut tut...take my hand..lets go..."
no!!!!!!!!
its now my lil lady...dance before your knees wobble...before your face wrinkles and before you sigh -ahhh! wish i danced that time...
he led her, despite her protests, to the floor took her hand and swirled her around...
n then the beats rung in her ears... n the scene around her dissolved...it was just her and the music..the rythm..the twirls...the moves to the left and the curves to the right..she turned..unaware of the dozen suprised eyes...shedding her inhibitions...leaving behind doubts...vanquishing her hestitation...
the dj spun faster...the dance floor cleared to make way for the dancing powerhouse and her ever 'youthful ' aged partner....
no fear of people lookin... no fear of "i CANNOT" no fear of "I HAVENT"...no fear of "JUST shy..."
just her and her music...and there she was swinging like never before...smiling and happy to break the cant's and havent's...the beauty of realisation shone on her face...realising that hidden part...shut away from the world..shut away from herself...
and she moved with sweat beads on her forehead, applause ringing in her hears...jolting her back..making her aware...but there was no time to think of how -what- where...amidst the appreciation, awe and suprise of the on-lookers..
she smiled at the uncle...whispered a thank you..as her cousins rushed towards her to take her to the floor...the thump of the music shook the floor...she kicked off her shoes...dint look back at who was watchin who wasnt...
.....and she danced.....
5 comments:
I liked this post very much...
Until we try once, we never know the intensity of what we are feared of..
I wish i could go back and change many opportunities that i got when i was a child... whether its dancing or anything... But today things are changed...
keep writing
Cheers
hey...thanks...:) all of us hav those tweeny weeny regrets that we cud ve seized "that opportunity"...some of them are realised eventually but some of them are nt even realised under the cover of "being shy..."
Aww... this is lovely... first part is totally ME... haven't done the second as yet... :-s
"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance". Thats the tagline of my blog and perhaps the reason I picked up the post with the 'dancing' tag to read first up ;)
The post was great. The way you ended it was amazing. And she danced..with not a care of the world around her. And that's the way it should be.
@ vipenn: welcum to my blog!:) thankyou so much for commentin n appreciatin this post!
:)
this post is deeply close to my heart..
glad u liked it!!
kip visitin!:)
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