Thursday 15 October 2015

Prose,Dance aur India

If you are an Indian born in or after the 90’s, you would sure have joined some kind of a dance

class as a child, or would have definitely been forced by your parents to get into one. We

happen to be writers cum part time old school philosophers, or  ‘typers’ as to what the world

and its ways have made us, but we do realize that these two lovable expressions of the mind;

dance and writing- have a lot in common, to start a boastful all so ingenious (or rather,

INDIgenous *pun intended*) living room discussion. With fingers dancing on our keyboards,

here we go.

The moment the most patriotic word of all times; INDIAN, finds its way to your introduction,

you ought to have dance coded into your genome. As biology students, we learn about two

kinds of reflexes – conditioned and unconditioned. Conditioned is what we learn to do in

response to a particular stimulus, unconditioned is the one that comes, well, unconditionally;

from the heart. To those whom dance comes as an unconditioned reflex, it is the best feeling in

the world. The profound pumping of the heart, the jaunty feeling that it gives you - dance is a

heart-warming experience.  For the others, who need some coaxing to get on the floor (but

then dance like they haven't danced in a millennium), it’s like they were birds trapped in cages.

Dance helps you vent out all that you have suppressed, be it happiness or despondence.

Of course, most Indians are to dance, what Karan Johar is to heterosexuality. And so as to not

let Bharat Maata down, the superstars of our country have coined up moves - thus impeding

the non-dancers from shaming themselves, and helping the moderate ones impress some girls

on the floor. Hrithik’s Ek Pal Ka Jeena; the pump and clean, or Salman Khan’s innumerable and

unforgettable steps, ranging from Jeene Ke Hain Chaar Din pelvic massage to Hud Hud Dabangg

belt flexing steps have got the whole population hooked on. And is nothing works, you always

have the ultimate weapon – The Naagin Dance.

Sometimes the congested dance floors do become a stage for Body Shake competitions, with

most men fighting  for the coveted titles of ‘Who does the best pelvic thrust’, and the damsels

in distress pining for ‘Who has it better with elegantly managing the tight dress’ and  ahh, their

Eiffel Towers of stilettos.

Garba to Bihu, Kathak to Kathakali. Hip-Hop to Ballet, B-boying to Contemporary. Dance is

always equal to happiness.

Be it the mini jig you do when you're happy or the unabashed thumkas under the shower

(singing Thande Thande Panni Se Nahana Chahiye), when it comes to dancing, all of India agrees

with Prabhu Deva on one thing – Any Body Can Dance. All you have to do is put up some beats,

and your crazy friends, or rather your ever ready set of back ground dancers, would always be

there with the perfect steps, born with the just right expressions; dazzling, in their great old

school overalls.

Everybody wants to tap a foot when Madhuri says Aaja Nachle, mimic the graceful lines of her

steps, watch her sculpting the aura around her. However, the ultimate truth of everything

between and beyond the Earth and Sky, is this harsh reality -sweaty armpits ho ya ho pair mein

dard, bhangra karne aatein hain sab desi mard xD

Though c’mon, who can resist the charm of a Dhinda Dhin Dha, or a buttering Bachchan step on

Jumma Chumma? How CAN anyone resist, we ask, if they have even ek chutki of Indian genes in

their DNA, dear reader baabu.

Jokes apart, now as our fingers slow down to finish their dance smoothly, we realize really how

connected writing and dancing are.  The dancers enfold themselves on the stage as the first

beat of the song rushes in. They mix and match their steps to the steady rhythm, expressing

what the song couldn't, telling a story, which a normal conversation couldn't. Dance and its

numerous forms are nothing but the evolution of the human mind and its various turmoils,

synchronizing the hand and the leg to the order and chaos of the throbbing heart and the

resilient brain. Just like writing - where we start building up a story, convey to the readers our

deepest thoughts, and make order out of bizarre alphabets to share with the world what we

couldn’t do through speech. When writing combines with dance, the lovely metaphors of a

writer’s imagination adore the tapping dancer's chorus, as they engulf admiration in ecstasies

of euphoria. Authors WRITE to connect with the readers. Dancers have a better way of

accomplishing that - they DANCE to connect.

-Author: Isha Anand ( Visit blog at www.ishaanand.blogspot.in)
Co-author : Richa das ( Visit blog at www.hasuric.blogspot.in )

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