I go One, Two, Three, Pause, Five, Six, Seven, Next....

"Salsa, is simple. Very simple to comprehend", said Sridhar. I should have read Jeeva's smug look better!

Jeevadhara... Jeeva..Hot & Happening with a fine touch of feminity, a feature long lost in many other women here. Expressionless face, sweetness in place, Jeeva will remain carved in my memory as the very first person who taught me to dance, the very first I remember of.

Lesson 1: No Swaying! (huh? but... but.. whaaT?? :()
Lesson 2: Upper body as stiff as can get. At any point of the dance, when measured, both shoulders should be in a straight line. (I gulped down one big mouthful of air. G-U-L-P!!)
Lesson 3: Women always give men their space. Ahem! what Jeeva actually meant was... While dancing.. Women's right foot always goes back, thereby accommodating her partner's left foot.
Lesson 4: GET the basics right!

Studio 5678's interior is chic. Two sides of the four walls are mirror slabs. The third side is painted the color of blueberry.YAY! (yes, that's my favorite color and hence the excitement!). With me and the studio, it was love at first sight. So, thus started our weekend affair :)

First Day - I learn my basics!
Next Day - I forget everything. Am blank!
I try again in my bathroom. No luck. (waaaahh :'()

Thanks to Jeeva's amazing patience. I learn the basics, all over again.

Back to Shreedhar (or sreedar or sridhar)
Tiny little fellow.. Great things come in small packages. Now I am convinced where that came from!

One minute he is dressed like some hip hop star, A XXXL T shirt (ofcourse, he swims in it) and a Cap.

He goes... Bend your body.. One two three.. jump jump jump (please try and get the rhythm right in your head people) four five six.. jump back back back..

Next minute, he's wearing a T-Shirt his size (thank god!)
He goes... Upper body stiff. basic... one two three pause five six seven next!

Even machine guns take an extra 5 minutes to reload. But, this guy always hits the road running!

Confrontation with Srithar:

Am sure even Wooster would ve had some super embarrasing moments that Jeeves himself was unaware of. Same way, I will also keep this confrontation ('Your basics are all wrong!' 'This way, u ll never learn salsa' 'This, is, NOT, Salsa') in the dark!

Next class... few more people join my club.

Srither - 'Salsa is simple. Very simple to comprehend'
Jeeva - Same smug look
Me - Yeah right!!!

I contemplate…

As I lie here in my claustrophobic second heaven, on my bedbug prone mattress, a sudden realization strikes…. I am simultaneously thinking of three things – three essential phases of my life, at just the same time! No, I am not aiming at a biography, am just… let’s say... thinking…

So what are the three things?

A yesterday – slightly insufficient resources, deadlines to meet, I stand, a few years back, gnawing at the scarcities of life, frowning at the then present, dreaming of the tomorrow (which now, is today). End of thing 1.

The present – resources are sufficient, deadlines can be dealt with, I stand, here today, wishful thinking of life, missing the unsatisfactory-yet-weirdly-fulfilling yesterday, wondering again about the tomorrow. A tomorrow yet to come. End of thing 2.

A Tomorrow – Let me confirm on things here. I am no prophet to prophecy a tomorrow yet to come. But, I am now (in this present day), a believer with the aptitude to design a tomorrow, tailor-made to suit my preferences.
Ok back to thing 3. Resources are abundant, I decide the deadlines for others to follow. I stand, a few years later, tasks accomplished, dreams fulfilled, life well lived! End of thing 3 (please note that there is no period after this phase. Like I mentioned earlier, the tomorrow is tailor-made, the tailor being myself. I have not decided to complete my masterpiece, yet.

Story telling is an art, which like any other kid, I tried to learn from fables. So ideally, my story should have a moral too.

Moral of the story:

Three figments of one’s lifetime melt together, only to grow out as one other big figment of one’s wildest imagination. I call it ‘Life’
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So from now on, when I say, I me myself, I actually mean – ‘The then I, the now me and the later myself’ :)

I am three-in-one!

I am not even a bit complicated, or… am I?

What made me think of something as cranky as myself as three figments, when am physically only one?

It sounds complicated. But, its not all that kkompllikaeted! Really, no!

Every human beings’ thoughts are wild, running out to capture everything around, at just the same time. Over a period of time, as a part (or should I say assumption) of growing up, we tame down that animal.

I have not decided to grow up, yet. I never narrowed down my thought animal. Its wild and running, all the time. So, my thought channels myself into three, this single moment, I me & myself, three-in-one!

It’s that simple, really!

I Sway...

Two wide monitors... Dreamy lights filled around.
'to the heart and mind.... ' goes the song in my head (Careless whisper)
I sway... The naughty little Krishna on my table smiles at me.
'Get away girl... go to where you want to belong...' he seemed to say.

Dark room....Blue lights... Ranjith in the picture (He's a friend I love to dance with). Salsa in the head... Heating the dance floor... seeing God... Going on... and on... and on.....

But, hear I am, doing what I do everyday. Every single day in the past 8 months.... I am not complaining. My head is right here. Its just the soul which keeps travelling.. past time... past distance... to where I want to belong now!

I Enter Bengaluru - Dreams and days are like fastcars here. You never know how fast they flyby!

A no-drama welcome (People please don't think that I am making a statement here. No, I am not! I am complaining. I expected an extremely dramatic entry into the city I saw in my dreams for god knows how long!)

For a reason I am not comfortable explaining, I hated Bangalore the very first day. (Yes! I hated my own dream city. Over time, i had conceived in my head, little by little, a whole big world of mine in this city only to later realize that there was no such world awaiting me)
I blended in (I had no choice actually)

Why so many brackets after every tiny sentence? wondering? Well.. another note about myself - "My 10 words reach the person I am talking to, the remaining 100 are always.. on the way". The braces contain the 'on the way' words.

Ok.. back to 'The City'

The first thing I see.... I just dint fit here. Pony-tailed, salwar-clad, plumpy, no-makeup, no hype, no excitement, no on-your-face attitude - yeah, that was me! An absolute contradiction to this forever HOT and HAPPENING city!

The next train? (But where is the railway station?)
The next bus? (Duh... find a travel agent first)
Kill? (myself or others?.. nah!)
Run? (to where?)
Cry? (No Audience! No Point!)
Throw a h-u-g-e tantrum? (Wats the use?)

A number of such question and anwer sessions went on in my anyways confused head. I knew I had screwed up my life bigtime!

Bangalore, June 2008:
Fast and Furious animals all around, vehicles and inhabitants included,
To reach where is the question nobody bothers to ask ..
Streets filled with people puking attitude.
To show whom, I wish at least they knew!
No body cares, for nobody.
One smile, one look, one help . . . Might have made it!

7 moths later.....

Jeans clad, funky handbag in hand, a new fringy-flowing hairdo, a bit of eye makeup, did i forget lipgloss?, somewhat noticeable attitude - yeah, that's me again!

Bengaluru rocks!! ;) Between me and this city, It was more like an arranged marriage I think. First, I hated it... Next, I loved it! Its common you know, at least in India.

Bangalore, March 2009:
Fast and Furious... a super entertaining roller coaster drive in a Ferrari
To reach where your dreams lie.
Its no more sound that travels faster than light!
Street smart, self sufficient smart people all around me.
I am one among them, I am proud to be me.

I....Who's Me? Read on!

At an angle, I am too simple to be thought of as special and at other angles am too special to be thought as simple.

It all depends on your angle of thought! :)

My strength is that I learn fast, act faster and reach results the fastest. Now, why so? Its simple! I like it that way and I work just my way.

I do not procrastinate for I get bored when I unnecessarily drag things for long.

I like Mock Deadlines - It gives me the urge to win against time. Now, who does not wish to conquer time?

I like positive feedback! - Makes me feel rewarded for my effort.

I hate rules! - I really have my personal discipline to worry about. So, why kill myself with RULES??

I love working! - It keeps my adrenaline rushing. And, I love the feel.

I dream - It gives me a reason for my existence.

I listen - I crave to know more.

I use a lot of I's - I love myself :)

I dance.....

The beauty in me, long forgotten,
The grace in me, never before discovered,
The love in me, once so deep hurt,
The passion in me, more passionate than ever before,
I felt all of it...in just that one moment...

The world around me, vanished for good
All eyes fixed on me, felt so good
The way i swayed.. things felt easy!
I flew like a feather so light...
I felt all of it,... in just that one moment.. the moment I saw GOD!

But Alas, To the normal human world... I was.. well... just.. Dancing! :)