Quick, Quick, Slooow…
By: Supriya Shakya
Weekend evening...
Quick, Quick, Slooow… N …Quick, Quick, Slooow…goes on in my mind, like some unnoticed background music in a dramatic bollywood movie. I rush to make it on time. Once I’ve spotted the “Babar Mahal Revisited” epitaph from a distance, I am barely walking. In fact, I am running. I haven’t really figured out if it’s my intense desire to reach my destination or is it just that… I am late.
On entering this revisited Mahal or rather the “revitalized” Mahal, I somehow slow down as if my running around was going to awaken the possible resting royal souls. The ambience has such serenity and pleasant majestic air, that it would actually look inappropriate if I was hustling and bustling through such grandeur. Passing through two “bahals” (courtyards), a number of shops with antiques, pashmina and whatever (I hardly ever took time to look through them) and the irresistibly fresh smelling restaurant, Chez Caroline, I reach the Latin Quarters. As I climb the flight of stairs, I can hear the soft Latin music coming from the room upstairs. I head towards it. The room is spacious and probably because of its wooden flooring, it’s rather warm. Simply, yet stylishly arranged set of tables and chairs on one side, a well equipped bar at one corner and a huge wall of mirror facing the dance floor, with just a perfect glow of lights over it. My fellow mates are already on the dance floor swaying to the Latino tune. A quick sorry to my dance partner for being late, and I am salsa-ying to the Latin beat. Quick, Quick, Slooow… N …Quick, Quick, Slooow
During that hour…
Binayak,our dance trainer (also a DJ and a former programmer), reminds us, “Gentlemen, you always lead your ladies. And ladies, you follow the lead.". We’ve been doing this for the last five weeks and by now, we already have the basic “know how” of salsa. However, the fact is, technically, we ARE doing salsa but I doubt if we actually look so. But once you see Binayak dancing, you instantly feel the vibe and then it hardly matters that you look like marching soldiers while getting your steps correct because you want to dance like he does. There is so much energy and yet such grace!. I’ve felt the importance of parallel processing in salsa (I guess it’s the same in other “formal” dance forms as well). Listen to the music, follow the beat, and remember which foot and which arm to place where and when, to make the right swirl on the correct foot, to make a graceful fall and equally graceful comeback. The most important of them all is to understand the moves of your dance partner. And mind it, if you are a salsa dancer you should be able to dance with any other salsa dancer, not just your own dance partner. So if you want to salsa and say your girlfriend doesn’t want to join you then just go ahead anyway. You will find your partner on the dance floor, provided your girlfriend doesn’t dump you later. I barely knew my partner before we teamed up for this crazy idea. But on the dance floor, we are…good? Am I sure about that? Yes, why not. Except for the “occasional - frequent stops” when one of us misses a beat and we go “O-O, lets start from beginning” or we step the wrong foot and pause to apologize, “Ouch, sorry” or more than often where we are dumbfounded, trying to figure out “Wait a sec..,what was I supposed to do next?”. Then there is the so-called “death drop”, where he leads me to make a graceful fall but I fail miserably to even help myself up from the ground. Not to forget, the hopeless attempt to do the sexy “caressa”. But the point is, it doesn’t matter how well we fair, as long as we are giving it our best and having fun along the way.
Few months back…
Whenever I met an alma mater buddy, or a college mate, we would share a gist of all the good things that happened since “then”. The scenario would usually start with our over enthusiastic hello and then she would go, “Ooo, you still look the same, except for the weight you gained”. As if it were a compliment and I was to be grateful for it. And then “So..whats new and happening?”. To which I reply, “O ya, lotssa things” (stressing on the “lotssa” for reasons unknown). She would be happy for her old chum and say “O that’s great! So what about it?”. To that, with a very “matter of fact” nod, I say,” I am working at..”. (Then I think..Well of course, by now, everyone else from my school will have been working. What a faux pas!). I look at my friend and the anticipation of what I am going to say next is clearly visible, so things are rambling through my mind. I continue, “Aaannnnnd..(a very long “and” so that she doesn’t get the impression that I’ve run out of goodies to list, while I am still trying to figure out the interesting stuffs to relay)..yea..we had a party and it was awesome”. My friend, still carrying the supposedly “interested” look, inquires further, “Really?? Wow what kindda party was it..?”. Very unprepared for such inquisitive queries, I tone down a bit, as honesty takes over, “It wasn’t a party exactly, just a get together at a restaurant” and I add misery to my sentence saying..”..it was a month ago”. I sense the anticipation drop from her face (as if she was feeling sorry for me), so I quickly add up, “Hey, you know what, I went hiking”. I make sure that I didn’t let her know it happened about three months back and is already history. Later, while I listen to her unending description of her very adventurous life, I am actually wondering if I had anything going on except work, home and some weekend get-togethers with friends. Basically I was losing interest in everything else. I needed a change.
So..Where am I heading?
When I first told my friends, they thought I was nuts to join some silly ballroom dancing class (my mother still thinks the same). For many of you reading this weblog, I know you hold the same thought. I don’t blame you at all for thinking so. After all, you spend a minimum of eight hours per day, five to six days a week at office and you barely have one or two days to manage time for your family, friends, some personal shopping, appointment with the dentist, date your boyfriend/girlfriend, service your vehicle and the list goes on. So why in the world would you want to add one more commitment to the list? Sometimes your every day life becomes so hectic that you fail to notice the growing monotony. While we survive through each day, we forget to live it up or embrace its charm. Life is no fun if seen as black and white. However perfect black or perfect white, nothing compares to a colorful vision towards life. Variety adds vigor to life and makes it worth living. I realized I had to make some changes to the way I was living for the past few months and I actually thought on changing my diet, meditating, getting bold hairstyle, a “weekend” vacation and even having a new pet (none of which I have done as yet). I never planned on Salsa. But when I got the opportunity, I grabbed it without a second thought. Salsa is a new learning experience for me and I feel like a kid, full of enthusiasm. A kid so keen on learning to ride the bicycle. A teenager going on a first date. Somehow, I feel recharged.
Examine your conscience and ask yourself if there is something you had wanted to do or change about yourself for a long time but never took out time for it? Clean shave or not? Take your family out for dinner? Ditch your bossy boyfriend? Turn vegetarian? Quit smoking? Social work? Hike? Join the gymnasium? Write an article? Woo that girl you had been eyeing since grade 10? Learn Malayalam? Basically, ask yourself when was the last time you did something for the first time. I say, just take the risk and do that “first time thing”. Doesn’t matter how sloppy you end up dancing, how bad you look without your beard or how you fail to stay away from your favorite butter chicken. Take a chance and discover yourself. The satisfaction you gain from giving it a try will be worth anything. For me, this new experience has been wonderful so far. Moreover, I’ve found a great friend. Having said that, and just to remove the possible misconceptions -- No, Salsa has not “revolutionized” my life and neither am I into a relationship with my dance partner. And I do not plan to change my career either. But it has certainly added the little flavor needed to spice up my world.
In fact, a phrase sums it all up,
Life is not a race. Do take it slower. Listen to the music, before the song is over.
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Comments
Hey... you finally decided to write so "other people" can read as well!! Great!!
Nice to know what started from watching a movie has turned out so great for you!! Dance on, woman!
By: heretic | January 1, 2007 10:43 PM
Interesting start of dancing lesson. Hopefully you can continue this. I had started a dancing lesson like that - I quit after a month. Dancing lesson is difficult to continue. It gets boring after a while. I am surprised Kathmandu is now going after Salsa... You will lose some weight. Dancing is better than dieting.
By: Yestai Ho | January 1, 2007 10:51 PM
didn't take me long to get hooked to it..Quick, Quick,Slooww and quick, quick, sloooww..
By: manisha | January 1, 2007 10:56 PM
How vivid and creative your writing is. Quick,Quick,Slooow just like salsa. Simply WOW!
By: Sudeep | January 1, 2007 11:36 PM
I agreed with you for your amplification about you and yours enticement towards life, Life encounters with so many different stages, sometime we manage to perform well and sometime we fail even to perform. Nevertheless “Life is Love, we need to discover it” and thanking you for being faithful. Cheers!
By: Vishnu Kshettri | January 2, 2007 12:05 AM
I normally don't participate in these type of interactive stuff as I am not that good on it . But, as the topic is on “doing a different thing” and I always fool around with my mind to come up with a new plan( or simply let’s say an idea as I am sick and tired of this word “plan” ) that is different than the regular stuffs , the topic did drive me to jot down some words. As I am stuck with one and only single quote “different stuff”, I try to involve in every stuffs that is different than the regular stuffs even if the event is organized by one whom I barely know. The recent new stuff that I tried was the “bowling “ and I really enjoyed every bit of the moment. So, I agree with what the blog suggests and request every readers to spare some time from your regular stuffs and try something different at least one in a year. So, stand up guys/gals, pick one and go for it. By the way , SALSA can be nice option.
By: Rajan Shrestha | January 2, 2007 01:16 AM
Exploring LIFE in the rhythm of SALSA. GREAT!
By: Balkrishna | January 2, 2007 01:28 AM
as you said, what was the last time when you did something for first time. Now for the first time,I am writing a comment.
By: noname | January 2, 2007 06:42 AM
Though i dont dance--i am more like a head banger--I like cha cha among those sexy latin dances. It is so beautiful to watch girl swinging their hip with cha cha. cha cha is really good for girls with very good hip line.
Change and verity is good for life. If some of you had never smoked, try it once in a while. Go drink if you have never. I know people who never drink, never smoke, never gamble. I wonder, what the hell they are livig for.
By: pawan | January 2, 2007 10:19 AM
next time try some cha cha okay.
By: pawan | January 2, 2007 10:56 AM
Oooooooooo.. Quick Quick Sloooooooow.... Great... I loved it....
Hey Try NEW things... SALSA.................
By: Shamesh | January 2, 2007 11:15 PM
After Salsa gets too boring for u, or u get too old for Salsa, or ur partner ditches u for a Latina, or u ditch ur partner for ur trainer (and then another Latina comes along, and then ur trainer also...), or ur trainer ditches both of u for breaking his floor...
here r some other exciting things that u can do to add some extra flavor to spice up ur world:
- Cooking Classes
- Guitar Lessons
- Bungee Jumping
- Paragliding
- Rockclimbing
- White Water Rafting
- Sky Diving
- etc etc
By: Sud33p | January 3, 2007 01:59 PM
Yeah,
Listen to the music, before the song is over. Today I tried a backhand shot and for the first time it worked. :-)
By: dhilung | January 4, 2007 04:28 AM
Vishnu: "...thanking you for being faithful."
Supriya: "I want to ditch my bossy boyfriend."
Did i missed something here?
By: pawan | January 4, 2007 09:10 AM
Pawanji, that was a desperate attempt to start something fishy. But failed miserabaly. So, you havent missed out on anything unless you are hard of understanding.Where in my article did I mention "I want to ditch my bossy boyfriend". In fact, I quote myself as "Ditch your bossy boyfriend?".
Hilarious indeed!
Vishnu dai, Sorry you have been misinterpreted.
By: Supriya | January 4, 2007 11:09 PM
Vishnu 'dai' ? come on, don't tell me EU is a family chit chat forum.
By: pawan | January 5, 2007 10:15 AM
I dont understand one thing; why your writing sounds like you are talking to male reader. Could you explain this to bloggers?
"say your girlfriend doesn’t want to join you?"
"provided your girlfriend doesn’t dump you later?"
"Clean shave or not?"
"that girl you had been eyeing since grade 10?"
What is this all about? Is there everything all right?
By: pawan | January 5, 2007 11:43 AM
You are correct Mr.Pawan. EU is not a family chit chat forum. But since Vishnu dai has no problem with me referring to him as "dai",that shouldn't be a problem to anybody else either.
And I must really appreciate the amount of time you are spending on analyzing each and every sentence in my writing. The lines you quoted were certainly meant to question the male readers. I don't see a reason why I should not address them. So everything is definitely alright.
By: Supriya | January 5, 2007 12:22 PM
SALSA..I have seen films on Salsa,know different classes offered in kathmandu nepal for salsa, love salsa dances and the music,..but never could dance..as I have rigidity with my body and cannot swing and jump and bounce and reach the ecstacy of salsa... but i can be assured that If I am good at understanding and reacting with the rythm of brains between two souls involved in salsa, I can achieve greatest things in life and the ultimate pleasure. I may be wrong.
By: lpk | January 5, 2007 10:58 PM
I thought your writing was about you going to sexy salsa class, right. So where does this fit in writing? i mean male thing--"Clean shave or not?" ??? you are a girl right?
By: pawan | January 6, 2007 12:37 AM
pawan, who told you that only males shave for salsa class?
By: shaver | January 6, 2007 07:03 AM
Oh yeah, they do shave their legs. So supripa was talking about her legs huh.
By: pawan | January 6, 2007 10:47 AM
You have been misled Mr.Pawan. The main theme wasn't about Salsa. It was just about breaking the everyday monotony and trying something new. I tried out Salsa for a change. Through this writing, I was only trying to share my experiance about Salsa and NOT about my legs.
Anyways, your comments lead me to believe that either I am very bad in expressing myself or you are hard of understanding. Whatever be the reasons, you seem to have the skills of a story writer. You know..you can really add those twists and surprising turn of events.Moreover, you have a rather "extra-ordinary" analyzing capability. Have you tried writing a novel, movie script or an article? (I bet it will prove to be an interesting read.)Or do you plan to stick to commenting?
By: Supriya | January 6, 2007 01:15 PM
I like pawan.He is so sexy at making manly comments.He wants to be the best commentator. He also likes to be critical. I want to be your partner.And we can dance all night long.
By: pawanlover | January 7, 2007 12:25 PM
Pawan Ji, if you want to be my partner please dial 00036.
By: pawanlover | January 7, 2007 12:33 PM
I came across this write up, and LOL it's gr8!
Definitely, I'm also trying to break the monotony of my life.
I'm busy trying out new softwares, videography and music- NO GIRLS? Yeah! Have had enough now- but actually I'd never thought of Salsa. Think, I sud have tried. So, how do I start?
By: Salik | January 8, 2007 12:45 AM
Supriya,
donot bother about this Pawan.
he is some idiot trying to be hero in this blog.
i guess people no longer read his comments, at least I do not..
By: dovan | January 8, 2007 02:00 AM
Well writing comments for the first time, thats a good move, isn't it? I just read the first and the last paragraph(i dont have that much of patience to read the whole article in one go). I think i will join the gym now.
And Dovan, how did u knew it if u didn't read it, right.
By: Ashish | January 8, 2007 04:37 AM
hey ashish,
I used to read pawan's comments but all was crap .
So I now skip them.
If u too r trying to be witty.. my answer is: my last comment was in reference to Supriya's comment where she was clarifying to that idiot.
By: dovan | January 8, 2007 05:00 AM
Way to go, Ashish!!
And Salik, if you want to salsa then may be you should start from http://www.salsanepal.com/.
Have fun! :)
By: Supriya | January 8, 2007 05:34 AM
Ok, writing was about salsa and killing boredom huh. Thats good for life. And you want to share your experiance about salsa but NOT your leg. That's really disappointing.
अरे दोभन, कति नखरा गर्न सकेकी भने।
By: pawan | January 8, 2007 10:58 AM
"Neither am I into a relationship with my partner" --- does he know that as well? :) Just kidding. Seriously, hope you're not leading him on though!!
Salsa is fine, but trust me -- NEVER learn tango with anyone other than someone you're romantically involved with -- TANGO is for couples only!!
By: cynic | January 9, 2007 01:35 PM
Come on tata...wasn't I enough to spice up your life that you had to go for a Salsa class.....but salsa....hummm...I like it!! Nevermind if mum thinks you have gone nuts....because I don't think so. Maybe because I have a piece you in me!!!Way to go tata and next time we meet we will definately have some "Quick Quick Slow.." :)
Cheers and love you lots!!
By: Khusu | January 10, 2007 02:22 AM
One of my friend met a foreigner and found out that he has been in a jolly good mood for a week. That white guy had jumped off a suspension bridge with a bungy cord tied to his feet. This particular act was so thrilling that his used to be pallid outlook changed and all the credit goes to breaking the Monotony and jumping off to bring some sort of flavor in life, a spicy flavor of excitement. My friend went to jump off the same place, twice!! I was reccomended to do the same and am just waiting for the moment. For me, nothing should be planned, just should be done on the spur of the moment.
Break the monotony, hail embarking on new ventures!!
By: raisin | January 11, 2007 06:40 AM
Dump Bossy boyfriends re? Come on tell us more about your 'boyfriend' exploits .... I think it will make a more interesting read than the salsa lessons ... heheh
By: Bikal | January 28, 2007 09:52 AM
Hmmm ... Hey D2 guys, Supriya is suggesting that you guys are boring. Look near the end of the article - at the list of things she is suggesting you guys do ... like "Woo that girl you had been eyeing since grade 10" ... come on what can be a more clearer hint than that. If you want me to spell it out then yeah, she is saying that one of you should woo her. She is 'the girl' someone is eyeing her since grade 10 ... Anyone up for the task?
By: Bikal | January 28, 2007 10:04 AM
Look at you idiots druelling over her... all she is is a rich brat!!! These bimbos get away with murder... I don't believe it!!
By: bret | January 28, 2007 12:42 PM
FYI Bikal, this article is independent of having any relation to D2. We aren’t discussing my work, people at work or my “boyfriend exploits”, as you call it.
By: Supriya | January 29, 2007 12:03 AM
Bret, I don’t need to dignify your opinion. Its obvious that you don’t know me well. So your weird personal judgments about me hardly makes a difference.
Your vilification hasn’t made me a less better person in anyway.
By: Supriya | January 29, 2007 12:07 AM
timro boyfriend chaina re? aaa ... ati uttam ... tyaso po ... tyasto kura haru ta article ko suru ma nai bhannu parcha ni bhanya ... maile pani mero bossy girlfriend dump gare ni timro nai sujhab liyera ... aaj kal kya monotonous vai rakheko cha bhanya life ... salsa sikna jaanu parla jasto cha ... lala chito bhani haala ta kaha jancha re salso lessons ko laagi, tu gai hale ma ...
By: SupriyaFan | January 31, 2007 03:08 PM
छैन रे। अनि के डि२ का केटाहरु सबै लाटा।? लौ कम्पुटर गिकहरु सबै साल्सा तिर लाग।
By: pawan | February 1, 2007 02:34 AM