Dying to Dance!

we have the 20 or more year old short film at the back of our minds. The time when everything  was upfront and nothing without a bang. Bought a new dress, run to show it to everyone, a new book in the bag, announce it in the class, Got a haircut from the barber at the corner of the lane, compare with your dad to see whose is better. And we did this without being judged.

The Ganpati days when we danced till dead and everybody danced and none we thought knows nothing about dance. We wore those fluorescents without an inch of what will people think! I still miss my flourescent green kurti with a churidar that was inspired by kajol:)

I remember styling my hair a certain way which I mastered over a period of time. We had our 12th Tuition classes at 6 in the morning and I never skipped tying my hair in style only to be faced by a rhetorical question by my Science tutor, “What time do you get up to do all this?” Now the young me with zero inhibitions and lots of confidence took it as a compliment. And continued my effort to look like Kajol of “Jab pyar kiya to darna kya”! But today I feel a little embarrassed to think about that question. There were so many students who heard it after all ;p

As a child, I had this huge gang of friends who were there always. We thought ourselves like the vanar sena of the colony. There was a marriage hall nearby and winters meant we are not eating at home. We used to get dressed and attend the weddings to directly head towards the dining section. On one such free food weddings occasion,  there was this friend who brought a bright yellow birthday card with an elephant holding a cake.His mom bought the card as she did not like the idea of her son going empty handed to his friend’s birthday. So, we all decided that the card should reach its recipient. After a nice meal, we walked up to the stage and handed that card to the groom and gave a nice “Say cheese” smile to the cameraman.

All this and more made up my childhood. But today, looking back I dread myself. Did I really do all this? Today I do not even go to someone’s house uninvited. And try to be dressed and styled in par with the occasion. what is wrong with me?

We have all lived our childhood in similar ways. Lots of mischiefs and hundreds of stories to share. What happens to everyone on turning 20, 30 or 40? Why are we scared of being judged, that too while judging others? As we grow up we become negligent in our happiness. We no longer want to walk in those weddings uninvited and we are least bothered about the new dress. Everyone carries a sophistication around but craves for one day sans makeup in PJs running around with a candy floss or our favourite parle G biscuit with a cup of ‘Chai'(read tea). And no one else can get those days for us but we. It is about time we live our childhoods at least some days and keep the souls alive 🙂

Dance if you are dying to dance!