Women’s Web is saying Goodbye! Please make sure you read this important notification.
I realized that when you engage yourself in something that you are passionate about, you simply lose sight of time, pain or discomfort.
It was in the year 2015, my younger son was four years old and I had taken a career break from Corporate life to spend more time with my kids. Dandiya was (and still continues to be) celebrated in our complex with great fervour. There was an opening dance by the apartment ladies on the occasion of Dandiya Nite. My close friends and I decided to take part. The idea was to have fun and masti together.
A choreographer was arranged to teach steps to all the ladies and to give a professional touch to our efforts 😊 That had kind of put a little pressure on us to give our best. After all we had to look good and perform even better. Since it was a mixed group of working and non -working ladies, we decided to keep the practice sessions post dinner. This way, we all could concentrate on the dance practice, undisturbed.
During the practice sessions, I realised we are ready to put our heart and soul into anything that interests us. We used to really look forward to the practice session at night. Taking part in the dandiya was a total stress buster for me and am sure for the rest of the group.
We all know that practice makes a man perfect, here it was making us “women” perfect 😊
We would keep practicing a step till we were perfect, and the choreographer was satisfied. Besides teaching dandiya steps, he had an additional herculean task of managing 28 ladies. Yes, that was the total group strength!
A night before the final performance, we practiced till 11:30 p.m. and were told to report next day early morning at 6:30 a.m. for a final practice session. I realized that when you engage yourself in something that you are passionate about, you simply lose sight of time, pain or discomfort.
The D Day (I mean Dandiya night) finally came and we were all set to perform. The big stage, elaborate sound and lighting setup, huge crowd comprising of not only residents but their invitees as well, were enough to give us even more performance anxiety. What if we forget the steps, what if the sound system goes bonkers, what if … were the constant nagging questions in our minds. Thankfully by the grace of “Maa Durga” the performance went off well and the crowd cheered “Once More…Once More” in chorus.
We felt elated and victorious. The feeling was akin to that of a child who has passed her exam with flying colors. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every step of the journey-as much as the final performance. Those late-night practice sessions, managing multiple priorities, selecting new outfits and matching it with that of our partner, deciding what accessories & jewellery to accentuate our looks, how to tie the hair were burning questions in our mind….and the list went on and on.
Those memories are still fresh in my mind. I will always cherish those moments as they are so close to my heart. Really, those were the days…!!!
First published here.
The image has been provided by the author
Gunjan is a certified Mindfulness Coach. She attempts to help individuals and groups bring mindfulness practice into their daily life. She is a passionate blogger and has also published two books. She is a happy read more...
This post has published with none or minimal editorial intervention. Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Please enter your email address