Irony of Change

Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 2:45pm

Irony is sarcasm, paradox or a quirk of fate, but when the iron is too strong its credence creates a 3:16 still image in your sensors for a lifetime. Ironically the irony I experienced has a similar parody of thoughts.
Dusts, moist, irritation, were surrounded by the rahmanically-disabled honks of cars in the middle of a busy Mumbai road junction light. The argument begins.
“Damn, is it so important to go to the temple now, can I drop you after I finish all the clutter in the studio office?” Sasha,” It’s very important for me, you won’t understand.” “Don’t you think, work is equally important for me?” “Yes Sumeet, don’t get so hyper and make me your punching bag for all the pressures you have on your head. You know it’s important to take Super to the Vet as well, so I thought the temple is nearby and I could just do my prayers out there. You know I have a lot of faith in that temple.”
By now Rahman would have also donated his Oscar, if he had to witness the clamor on the road. The pressure just grew on the nerves by the second. Insanity is much calmer on human minds compared to the heat of that hour.
22 minutes past no movement in the locomotives around, technically sitting and warming your hips without a motive. Oh the tremor of sympathetic yet arrogant thoughts on whether to oblige the beggars on the door. One small kiddo naked and a teenaged girl with a doped child were calling for help very professionally, and were completely masked in their trained avatar.
With no hope for serenity, I had laid down in the head that this has to be one hell of a bad day. God the only thing that struck me which usually strikes us (nothing new) that why doesn’t the system change… this traffic, the clamor, the dirt, the beggars, the needy children, I mean is it so difficult to change this.
You know we keep searching for answers and again the irony is that the answer is in the question it self. So cheesed off with things around I kept wondering why are people not changing things around me. The answer was just 25 meters away from me. White stubble, white pajama, white kurta, white attitude, whitish teeth, a saffron napkin around the neck, bare feet, right below the red light, balancing act on the rock below to make him taller and stand out. Not a politician, not a star, not nobody too… He was the answer.
This young old fellow… I still feel was an illusion. Bearing the heat he definitely changed things around in a second. The beggars removed their mask instantly and started playing with superman and his tail went wagging like a roller coaster. I smiled at Sasha and she smiled back at me. I decided to not blame the system, as it was me who was in it. I went to the vet with Sasha and then to the temple too. There wasn’t any clamor in the studio office and there was cheer and loads of love as usual.
I just couldn’t believe that, that man had changed so much around me so easily… To check whether it was an illusion I went through that same light next week. This time intentionally and emotively. The same scenario, same time, same heat, again the music of the honks was just too off-sync & again I spot the guy below the same light doing the same thing and GOD he did the same thing to me again. I smiled and this time I took my car next to him.
“Arey Bhai, Aap Kahan Se Ho?”(Brother, where are you from?)
No Reply, just a smile; pressure from behind to move the car ahead. I had to move.
Maybe he was an illusion, maybe not. I mean I feel the change within now. And ironically the change was within me (unrealized), though what that fellow tried telling everyone I should have just told myself.
You know the Irony of Change is just too ironically strange
The Guy was holding a poster with a broad smile
The Poster Read in Hindi & English
“Apne Dharam pe Chalo Sabse Prem Karo.”
“Follow Your Religion, Love Everyone.”

Change is not an illusion
Change is not an irony
Change is not a metaphor
Ironically, Change is you, me & us

Happy Valentine’s Day. Lets bring in the change, let’s give, and let’s love

Love & Let Dance

Sumeet Nagdev

Why I Love Superman

Why I love Superman…
Its nothing new when you walk through V.T station and absorb the heat of the moment and then try and throw a vibe to each connect that passes by. I’ve always tried to find that one vibe that has made me stand still and absorb; have been left with a thought that whether it is in me to believe that I can connect without any adulation.
Well the drive to stand out, the rush to be 1st even if the race is run alone, the compassion of people who would want you to be cuddled like a soup dripping through the quench of soft lips, that cry inside that tells you about loneliness, distress, that friend who finds you promptness, pursuit and a position, a balance, an insight to the immaterial world and all of these similar moments, people or belief have never been a part of Superman’s life. What does he want? Or rather what does he cry for? Crave for? Ask For?
Well the 1st time I heard about superman was from my father when I was 13. He told me this small story about him and his brother. You know if a cat cuts your path through and if you would still continue walking, it signals a bad omen according to my dad’s cultural conventional thought. It so happened one day when he was 13 and his brother was 15 when they were on their way back from school. I could sense the chirp in his eyes and his significance of that moment; the recital was just too intriguing. My Father stopped as Mrs. Garfield cut his path, and wondered, whereas my dad’s brother looked at him, smiled and walked through. My Dad asked me, you know why he did it?
The second time I sensed Superman was when I was 15 I guess. I was going for a dance lesson in the suburbs of Mumbai City. And this 70 odd years old lady had placed a blackboard and went on to write ‘A B C D’ and I just wondered why would she do so. Didn’t get too bothered by it though I pondered in that moment and tried hard to locate a judicious reason and by the time I could get there it was time for my class. My next class was next week, same day, and same time. This time I tried to locate that lady but couldn’t find her. And I guess I didn’t bother too much to get into thoughts this time. 2 weeks after that I happened to spot a mid-aged lady doing the same thing. Damn, now I was curious. “Hi, if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly are you doing?” I asked, “There are a few children in this area who are from poor houses and their parents work as laborers around this area, I just teach them English in the evenings.” “Oh! So are you guys a group of an NGO or something, cause I saw an older lady last time doing the same thing”, “ Yes, That must be my mother, she just passed away 2 weeks back and handed me this responsibility, and so I’m here, I’m not a part of any group.”
Superman had been out of action for quite sometime, I was 20 now. I started my dance school Expressions & had initiated the process of focus. I landed up in Singapore one fine day sitting by a café street, and gulping down a Milo in thoughts. It’s when Naresh came up to me on my table and asked me to fill a survey form. We got going from there and I came to know that he was doing his PhD, planning to finish it off as soon as possible to make it in time to welcome an angel in his and his wife’s life who was a doctor in New York. 6 months after that I landed up getting this ostentatious opportunity to be in New York and be a part of a fantabulous dance school. An email popped in Naresh’s Inbox to just inform him, so that we could at least catch up sometime and I could get to see the newly born ‘Eesha’. My mail failed to catch his attention the way I wanted it. I was not given a choice but to land up in his house straight from the airport. 22 days I was loved by his mother who never made me miss mine. Taken care of by his wife who even cooked food for me after a job shift of 18 hours a day. The early morning hug of Eesha that enlightened my day and made it magical, and the whole day of movement would be inspired by that. Naresh’s guidance, support, caring nature, & belief never made me feel that I was not with my family and one fine day I asked him why have you done so much for me, (very casually while we were having milk), and he said,” We are having so much fun having you over, this is no favor my friend, cause we are friends”. I dint pay too much heed to the topic then, but knew exactly what he meant.
Superman was there when my Uncle walked the path, just to make my dad feel contented and confident about walking a path with no hurdles for him. Superman was there when the Old Lady dedicated her life to a job of courage and couldn’t give it up till her last breath too, in fact after her last breath too. Superman was there when My friend who had a big family and not a very big house, a newly born baby and oodles of responsibility inviting me with open arms and giving me unconditional support for my life, when he was struggling hard to establish his too.
SUPERMAN – He can fly not to please his self-worth, but to get there before long. He is strong not to prove a point but to give you strength when you need it the most. He creates magic not for pleasure but to be patient with giving you the desired conclusion. Its not easy to be superman, he won’t ask you what he needs but he gives you what you want. His desires are not his needs, whereas we never know what he wants.
Standing at V.T station, absorbing the heat of the moment and then I try to find Superman. I realize it takes a lot to be superman and I am trying.
I Love Superman and I find him in all who have given.

My Friend Bawa

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Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 6:20pm

Next to our main studio at dadar there is always a lot of cheer of dance, prayers, belief, movement and someone's distant eye. My friend, bawa, who thought he was such a waste in life as he did not make a difference to this material world or to the immaterial feelings of his family members. Weed, Hashish, Alcohol, & nicotine were his support system to sustenance.

Bawa was a drug addict who used to sit next to the Government Trash cans, which are just about 20 meters away from our studio. Used to get his living done by selling products from the waste. So not much traveling also. It was all there for him. A house, a shop and a loyal family of Lali, Kalia & their puppies. Lali & kalia who still fight & bark loud when any stranger tries to invade their area in the night. Loving fellows, they love me too as i feed them once or twice a day and Bawa used to be very particular about the rest of their meals. The puppies were his new life. He made a small kennel for them behind the trash can too. God! they were adorable. 6 of them out of which 2 were born ill. So he requested me to do something and i took them to the hospital. The doc injected them but told me they wont live long and they both eventually died. 3 of them got a house. Bawa was very instrumental in seeing to it that they get the best of life. The left out,1 of them i named Gundi (meaning gangster in hindi), oh cause she is such a brat i tell you. And now she is a part of the Kalia Lali gang too.

Ironically one fine day i sat with bawa and asked him (in hindi), " Kayko itna charas leta hai yaar?", (meaning: Why do you do drugs my friend?) to which i dint know that I was in for a shocker, as he replied,"I don't do it on purposely, Aadat pad gayi, kya karega?", Gosh! I wanted to knock myself cause it was hard for me to believe that he could speak english, and that kinda proved that he was educated and literate somewhat. And then our conversation took shape.

Well, while he was telling me that he got into drugs as his girl-friend got married to someone else and because of family problems and a lot of weird things that happened to him, I was observing his footpath-captured house where on the wall he had stuck pictures of Religious Idols from all sorts of religions. Some even which i haven't even vaguely heard of. I enquired about the same too, to which he said that (in hindi), " Bloody all these religious & fanatic people pray and then throw these pictures in the garbage, who knows where is God, but at least i should respect the sentiments of the people who value these Gods and put them up. I regularly do the pooja (prayers) also and only then i start my Booze, hahahaha...".

I don't find it difficult to say this but i actually started respecting him a lot. In fact i even started believing that he is my teacher in disguise. God! every week i used to sit on that footpath and have good chat with him. Sometimes where suggestions flew from him and where suggestions flew from me. I offered him the job of a watchman at Expressions but only if he quit drugs. To which he said that i am your watchman anyways, i can see your studio from here and i keep watching. I understood that this is gonna be difficult, but maybe i am meant to get his life back to this material world, i don't even know why i felt like that.

I write this on Saturday the 1st of August 2009 on the eve of friendship's day. I was on a holiday yesterday as fridays, sometimes i take an off. I entered the studio today morning and my peon told me that the watchman of the building had come to inform me that Bawa was asking for me as he was ill and the other peon tells me,"oh yes, the municipal van took his body, he died today".

Bawa, my friend, my teacher, my strength & my weakness. I will miss him and the only thing I will regret is that i never got a chance to tell him that 'He was SPECIAL'. He never asked anything from me, except love for Lali, Kalia & the puppies. Lali is still sitting at that footpath house. Her head facing the holy pictures. She is only playing with me now and i guess thats what bawa taught me.

"Its not love you have been waiting to receive, but the love you have given unconditionally and felt that it only made you richer"

Keep Loving and making friends forever

Thank You for being there. You are SPECIAL.


Sumeet Nagdev

The Journey need not have a destiny

SUMEET NAGDEV

Bio-Profile Scripted by Aneesha Khajanchi

A dynamic and magnetic talent… a young achiever with a dream to dance through life… a man of zeal and ardent fervor… vision and mission… Sumeet Nagdev believes that life is a celebration, the human body a divine endowment from God and that each individual is gifted with a unique spark having the ability to ascertain the dancer lying dormant within… that is waiting to be born.

Discovering himself through the teachings of dance maestros in varied performing art forms, Sumeet has thus acquired training in diverse schools. Mahesh Mehbubani (Contemporary Expert from London), Oscar Unger (Jazz Expert), Tony & Sweya (Hip-Hop Dancers from Germany) and Tripura Kashyap (Creative Dance Therapist), Peter Farrell (Ballet Expert from Australia), Chin Huat (Contemporary Dance artiste of Singapore) & Steve Rooks(Ex-Principal Dancer of the Martha Graham Dance Company, New York) are to name a few.

A defined step closer to living his dream was with the establishment and today the success of EXPRESSIONS Modern Dance Company (EMDC) & EXPRESSIONS Dance and Fitness Studios. Being the Founder Director of the organization which inaugurated on the 26^th of April, 2007 at Dadar, Mumbai, Sumeet affirms that Dance is taught & respected here in its purest form. Sumeet & Expressions Modern Dance Company instructors teach Hip-hop, Street Jazz, Jazz Bollywood and Modern Contemporary dance at Expressions Dance & Fitness Studios.

“Dance can cure, Dance is spiritual, Dance is love, and Dance is life-force. Hence it is the finest medium to “Express” oneself,” says the man who disbelieves in the existence of ‘two left feet.’

Testimony to Sumeet’s beliefs and love for dance without discrimination is Project “AHSAS” wherein he, his dance company and students impart Dance Education to Special Students like Hearing Impaired children, Visually challenged children, Street Children, Children from Spastic societies to name a few. Through Project AHSAS Sumeet and the entire team of Expressions want the society to believe that nobody is disabled unless you treat them so. Hence Expressions discourages the society to give sympathy to such individuals and accept them as a part of our society without any discrimination, encouraging the dancing spirits in each one of us

Sumeet’s signature style of teaching is dissimilar and unique as he delves into the details of every movement for perfection with his precise lingo, style and in-depth knowledge of the origin and development of dance forms across the world. He is the youngest member of the Indian Film Dance Director’s Association. Having started his own atypical choreography for various corporate shows and events; he has also choreographed for various musicals, bollywood promotional projects and Indian Ad Campaigns.

Currently Sumeet is working as Creative Director and Choreographer for a dance video and has also begun the process of spreading the wings of Expressions throughout Mumbai and a few other cities in India.

Sumeet, who has won accolades with his performances everywhere, has a lot in store for one and all and has the power to bring happiness even to a thirsty desert. He has conducted one off workshops & boot camps all over Mumbai & various other places like Pune, Nagpur, Hyderabad, and Jaipur. With his students shows (‘Spark’ in December & ‘Enlighten’ in June) getting standing ovations every year, Sumeet and his Dance Company are up to outdo themselves every year. He is soon going to conduct Dance workshops in Singapore, Melbourne & with the grace of the prayers of his students many more to come.

Having a vision to have the best Contemporary dance school in the World, Sumeet keeps searching for fresh new talent and nurtures them to make a career in the world of dance and walk hand in hand with the Expressions Team to spread the Joy of Dance forever. When you talk about dance, the man quotes -

“To view dance is to witness a meaning in the making, a meaning which lies in the transformation of a disciplined material body into this sublime intangible universe.”

(To get pictures of Sumeet and the Expressions team log on to www.dancewithemdc.com