Yesterday night, I reached my room at around 1am…totally
exhausted and too tired to even cycle the whole way to the hostel and using
music to keep myself up and about. But just as I reached my room, one of my
favourite dance numbers came on, and I ended up dancing to not one but 4 songs
back to back. BY the end of it all, lots of my joints were aching, I knew I
would definitely have a tough time getting any work done the next day….and yet
I was completely and totally blissful. For those twenty minutes I was a perfect
version of myself, I didn’t have a single negative thought in mind (getting
thoughts out of my head is almost an impossible task…..like getting Geet from
Jab we met to stop talking!!!). It was
just me and the music and in that moment it was perfect!!
I have tried for a long time now to infuse this kind of
enthusiasm for dance in the people around me. Trying desperately to get them to
see the kind of joy they were missing out on by not giving themselves to dance.
Then yesterday I realized, that I couldn’t possibly hope to succeed because
this point of view is not something that is logic bound, it is just something
that is inherent in me and so it works for me. And in the meantime, there are
probably many equivalent things out there which others may like but I just don’t
get!!
So here’s my proposition. I would like to know, what is it
that makes you happy. I’m not asking what yo or others might think you are good
at, I don’t care if you are pathetic at that activity, all I am concerned about
is how happy it makes you feel. It could be anything ranging from reading,
writing, running, staring out into space, sleeping or even doing nothing!! If
it connects with something deep inside you, makes you feel alive, makes you feel
happy, then I would like to know! You might wonder what I might gain from this.
Even though I am just asking you to talk about an activity, in essence I am
asking you to tell me about something that is very close to your heart. And
through this, I’d like to gain some insight….find a new perspective at looking
at the things around me, maybe even come to love it like you do. But most importantly
it’ll allow me to get to know you a little bit better. This blog has been that
for me, a process in learning things that matter to me the most, maybe putting
it into words might help do the same for you!
So here’s what you do, either comment on this blog post or
email to me (reply to all is also an option if you so wish) telling me up to 3
things that love doing the most and what makes you love it so much. And
secondly I would like to know what long term goal (if any) you might have
related to them…. might be learning something new about them, taking a course
or even teaching it, or just making sure you continue to keep in touch with it
as the years pass by. I know I am asking a significant amount of your time
(hence the weekend mail!!) and there is no compulsion to reply to it either.
But if you do decide to reply. You will have atleast one very interested reader
guaranteed!! :)
I am happy you danced ! It was long due :)
ReplyDeleteIf I find an answer for the question that you have asked, I will surely post it here / email you.
:) this sounds like an interesting exercise.. can the comment column accommodate long stories? dont they have word limits? i will post my list soon enough.. while fully expecting that dance falls in this category for you.. would love to know what other two things do too by basically throwing your question right back at you :P ;)
ReplyDeleteHmmm....the word limit on the comment box i def need to look into. Its so nice to anticipate getting long replies to the post!!! If you exceed the limit, please just reply in multiple comments....but please don't edit out a single word. I'd love to know the stories!! :)
DeleteWell I was kinda anticipating someone asking me the ssame question, though i'd hope to circumwent it by referring to my blog for further details....shameless attempt at advertising, I know!!! :P Thing is, as easy as it was to know that dance is on that list, its pretty difficult to think of what else deserves to be put in the same category!! The easiest answer is most certainly music. I know it seems kinda obvious that a person who likes dance should like music, but even if i couldn't move a muscle, my love for music would be intact. As many of you know, I have a tendency to get lost in the music. I can get involved to the extent of having my mood completely change according to the mood of the song I am listening to. I have even been known to cry while listening to certain songs (hence it is vitally important to my well being to have a playlist that is well balanced in its mood quotient!!! I was gonna put in a smiley but then i realised that this was no joking matter!!!!) I love losing myself in the lyrics, experiencing every emotion and just living it. From this is born my almost involuntary ability to remember lyrics...even of the most stupid songs!! I plead insanity on this one!! :)
The third option is very very difficult to answer. Was debating between books and movies initially. But then I realised there is an underlying theme to both of them.I think its my love for getting to know people and their stories, connecting with them and learning about their life and experiences. Thats why a character in a book or movie can sometimes feel just as real to me as my best friends....I feel happiest and most privileged when any of you choose to share your stories with me. The connections that this sharing creates is the means by which i measure my life and my happiness. This blog post is just another way for me to reach out to all of you. So i gotta say thank you to all those who have responded....either here or on email. Thanks for caring and for sharing :)
Guess that means that there is no word limit :P
ReplyDeleteLOL!!! Thank you for validating the word limit for me..
DeleteWell.. When I try to think of 3 things, these are what come to me, though not necessarily in the order of my love for it.
First, theatre :) no prizes for guessing that. I love going to plays, but being on stage and part of a production is really something else!! ..exhilarating!! Everyone who knows me knows that I do not have a great memory. It scares the shit out of me that I might not learn my lines in time, that I might forget them when I get on stage and end up fumbling. But despite all that, there is something about the adrenaline rush of getting on stage that works for me. To tell a story with its uniqueness and appreciating its nuances! Its a package deal with loads to offer!
Next.. long drives.. :) in a 4 wheeler... with the wind in my hair and some fantastic music playing alongside. It has to be like that and nothing else! It fills me with positivity and hope and all the good stuff. ZNMD captures that with all its awesomeness and does complete justice to it!
And.. I love water bodies.. particularly the ocean!! I can just sit and look at it and hear and admire the unending waves.. like forever!! It cuts off every thought from my head and fills it with nothingness that nothing else can give me. I've managed to do that a bunch of times and the calmness and quiet that it can give me is extremely satisfying :) Despite despising almost everything I first saw in Bombay, the only thing that anchored me there and redeemed Bombay in my eyes is Marine Drive :D
While I am allowed only three..I will go with one more. This one is not tried and tested. Its just a hunch. For no concrete reason, I believe dancing will fill me with a sense of... hm.. liberation! :) Its something I have always wanted to embrace but always hesitated. It always gets pushed to the future but I do think I will get around to it some day! :)
I always knew you enjoyed theatre, but to tell you the truth i never realised it meant so much to you. In the light of what you've just said, I'm even more proud of you now for having resumed your participation in theatre and putting yourself out there!!! Makes me all the happier to know that i've seen you perform, though i'd like to see you do a much meatier role some day soon!!! I'm sure you'll do great, regardless of your fears about your memory. When it comes to things you love, all such earthly limitations generally don't apply :)
DeleteDriving is surely a great way to unwind. The spirit of adventure in ZNMD...of discovering yourself as you learn new things and get to know new ppl n places is really well conveyed!! It hurts me to think that you didn't like Mumbai tho. Never stayed here, always been a visitor....but there is something about that city i have always found fascinating. Maybe since you come from a metro yourself, it doesn't hold the same charm. But you chose one of my favourite places of all time (not that i've seen much but still) to watch the ocean. Marine drive is simply heavenly. Its one of the reasons i loved wake up sid too....couldn't have said it any better!!!
As for your hunch....I am totally rooting for you!!! The sense of liberation is totally guaranteed. And its pretty easy to attain...just find a day when there is no one at home....put on a song you love and just move, without thinking about how it'll look!!! Its such a heavenly feeling....you won't be able to resist moving the next time even with ppl around. And once ppl accept that you're a little mad....voila....absolute freedom!!! :) :)
Good you danced! holding back if u want to have fun is not your style :) Although, i do wonder how you take care to maintain that energy to dance and move around so much...lol
ReplyDeleteI would definitely say teaching -- long term plan to teach history in schools
and travelling -- long term plan to just travel as much as I can
and trekking (how can i forget that!) -- long term plan? Go live and die in a mountain...I am pretty sure I wont be able to trek all my life :p
Hmmm..I have an idea who this might be, but you shall remain unknown if u so wish to be! :) History is a very uncommon answer i'd guess!! What is it that draws u to it i wonder!
DeleteAnd as for my energy I do almost nothing to maintain that!!! Like you said, if I dropped dead dancing one day....I think i'd be pretty damn happy to go that way!!!hehe....
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ReplyDeleteI'm going to assume the 'unknown' person above me was Ashish! Dude, doing your MBBS, shifting to some small town in Sikkim or some other himalayan state and helping put with the local school would totally fulfill your life!
ReplyDeleteAs for me, as boring as it sounds, long walks in the night. Preferably while listening to music (that I've never heard before) or podcasts, but just walking while thinking about stuff is fine as well. Looking at the stars or clouds with the forest in the foreground; the interplay of light and shadows on trees and their branches; listening to the crickets, frogs and the wind; looking at insects, bats and birds flitting about or just walking through the housing blocks and taking in the awesome sterile geometry and the feeling of sonder (http://niel.delarouviere.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/sonder.gif)- it gives me a great sense of peace and detachment for some inexplicable reason. I'm really indebted to Singapore and NTU in particular for this, any other place would have been too crowded, noisy, unsafe, unclean and either too urban or too wild for being able to do this. The entire place is like a big garden.
It doesn't make me fill up with joy like dance does to you, but it gives me a great feeling of calmness and peace which I think is just as important. All the troubles, tensions and worries seem small and distant, all little victories and good things stay in perspective and the future seems full of possibilities. At best I get this wonderful feeling of oneness and detachment simultaneously and my belief that whatever goes in the world is random, pointless and yet important and full of meaning at the same time is refueled... its an awesome thing. These days I walk almost 4-5 km each day around the campus doing this stuff, and I'm desperately trying to add atleast another 4-5 of jogging to it (and failing desperately :p).
The other thing I like (and I've always liked) is discoering something new- literally anything- music, a book shop, an idea I had never considered, a great new game or website, a shortcut, a road that leads to a place I've never been before, a restaurant or a cafe, a mixture of ingredients that I just discovered to be awesome or just some bag full of stuff in my house I didn't know or had forgotten existed. It just fills me up with child like glee and I get this stupid grin on my face that I can't get off.
I actually had a taste of my personal slice of heaven just a couple of weeks back in Taipei- I walked almost 15-16 km, in those awesome cold mountains that I told you about (I think?), in suburbs, monuments, shopping malls and the business district all in one day and ended it by having great cup of coffee, a pastry and a quirky book in a cute little cafe over the course of an entire hour! By the time I reached my bed I swear I could almost touch nirvana and had an indescribably great night of sleep.
I've known your penchant for walking long distances alone and am still as amazed by it!!! I can't ever imagine doing that myself. If left alone with just the thoughts in my head, I'd probably get super sad or self-destruct or something....like a computer who burns itself out by contemplating a problem beyond its capacity!!hehe....When I used to go for morning walks (managed a week before I fell off the wagon!) I had to force myself to concentrate on the outside world, think of that instead of the mess in my head. I've always envied that about you....you are inherently very happy and at peace just by yourself, which is why I've hardly ever seen you struggle with loneliness....atleast not on the scale I do. Its a great gift you have.....cherish it!! I'd never have guessed that novelty would be on your list.....i never thought of it from that angle before!!! And hey, thanks for the lovely long reply! :)
DeleteThe 3 things that bring me peace n happiness are
ReplyDeletemorning long walks amidst nature, staring for hours at night sky, and music...whenever i am in any kind of dilemma, i turn towards nature and with simple examples and signs, mother nature guides me to the right direction