Dance from within

I witnessed an amazing Kathak performance by the Chitresh Das Dance Company & Chhandam School of Kathak. I have my friend Gauri (also a brilliant Kathak performer) to thank for making me a small part of the wonderful journey. The performances were beautifully choreographed and students of all ages and levels of expertise showcased their talent. The beats were uplifting and the dance was invigorating.

Apart from the grace and talent , there was something else that captured my attention. The dedication and love that the whole class of students shared for Kathak.  Some of the artists had dedicated their entire life to the art form.

Something else struck a chord too..

There was a valedictorian who very eloquently described the motivation behind her pursuit.  She described an experience where she had to meet with strangers and interview them  about what made them happy. She pointed out how difficult it was to connect with strangers and most importantly how our own inhibitions and lack of confidence play such a crucial role in making this task arduous. 

She spoke about how these thoughts of diffidence and irrelevance seldom surface, when we immerse ourselves in an activity we love and believe in. For her, that love was Kathak.

I was awestruck not just by the content of the speech, but by her ability to grasp this and articulate it so perfectly.

I guess the pursuit of happiness, is the search for the one thing that makes you forget yourself, shed your inhibitions and dance from within.

Imitation game

It has been a while since I felt entirely satisfied and engrossed in a movie. Most of the times, I end up thinking the movie could have been edited better and shortened by 30 mins at the very least. This could be just my restless impatient mind, which perenially seeks an opportunity to disengage.

However "Imitation Game" kept me riveted. Apart from the crisp script and perfect dialogues that convey the sentiment precisely, the movie is thought provoking and touches on so many pertinent issues that are still equally relevant. A spoiler alert: If you haven't seen the movie, stop here and watch the movie first, because I couldn't curtail my enthusiasm to quote dialogues.

The injustice meted out to Turing and the gay community in general, is appalling. It points to the underlying problem where people are reluctant to question the social norms no matter how ridiculous they may seem. I think this problem persists in society even today and regardless of the individual's contribution to society, he/she has to pay a big price for non conformity.

Joan Clarke's character highlights the way women were treated. A very powerful scene where she is stopped by a doorman and suspiciously questioned before she can attempt the exam to get on the team of cryptanalysts, hits the nail on the head. The fact that despite being brilliant, she is not part of the team cracking the enigma and doesn't get paid equally, seems like a depiction which transcends time. Prejudices continue to taunt women and the portrayal rings true.

On a more optimistic note, there is an attempt to explain platonic love. Joan Clarke's opinion on marriage being about mental stimulation and much more than the physical relationship seemed very refreshing. Amidst a set of strict rules that crippled freedom and forced people to toe the line, the idea that she was willing to question the definition of marriage was inspiring.

The movie concludes on the depressing note of Turing suffering and dying alone. Though he was socially awkward and couldn't relate to people, watching him battle the effects of bad policy all alone was heart wrenching. I wonder if all geniuses have the same problem relating to people. As Turing puts it in the movie,"Understanding people speak, isn't too different from cracking an encrypted message".  

Though it isn't a movie that made me sanguine, it made me wonder why we seldom question the rigid and blatantly unfair social norms that harm people to the extent of driving them to suicide. 

5 words

I have on average spent 10 hours a day slogging away at  work for the past 10 years.  Not that I am complaining about it.  I really enjoy doing this,  barring a few dull days when I start questioning the purpose of it all. The contemplative mood lasts a few weeks usually, during which I pick my brains about where my life is headed and what I should be doing to steer it. I never come up with answers that are convincing enough to jolt me out of the rhythm.

An interview I heard on NPR marketplace got me thinking again. There was a simple question describe your job in 5 words. A simple but powerful thought. There were callers who described their jobs some very eloquently and some dripping with cynicism. As I started thinking about how I would describe my job, a few things occurred to me. It is really difficult to describe your job precisely and concisely if you are not convinced about how your job impacts the larger world. After dwelling over this for a while, I came up with the five words that describe my job. "Design to simplify network management."
This probably makes no sense unless you are acquainted with the networking industry.


I let it go until I heard someone else with a similar job describe her work like this "I keep facebook alive". Well certainly a perspective, considering the backend networking is what keeps facebook alive.
So, I decided to stop torturing myself trying to figure out the real impact and purpose of things in life. Its all about perception. So if I think I am the queen of the universe and no one contests it, I guess that would be a version of the truth :)