Names I have...

Name...

What does it mean?

"A name is a label for a noun, normally used to distinguish one from the other. Names can identify a class of category or things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or withing a given context. A personal name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual person, and may or may on include a middle name."

We know this, do we not?

Of course, we do. A man gets his name right from his birth. Same is with a female as well. Who embedded such a tradition in humans, we'd never know. We do not intend to know. But what people really tend to know is how do they get their names. As there are people, there are traditions. Different locations, different ideologies, different culture, leads in naming every individual. 


Like I've seen around in India, various communities have various rituals for naming a new born baby. 


In Hindus: People note the time, date, gender and location of the birth. All the statistics put together a Kundli (Birth Chart) is prepared and based on the horoscope a name is suggested.


In Muslims: A similar trend is observed where even religious gurus also bless the new born. They prepare a chart based on the details of time, date, gender and location. 


In Christianity : The outline : - Preparation, Opening, Welcoming the new soul, Family Lineage, Naming, life song and presentation to the four directions, Godparents pledge, Bitter and Sweet experiences, Family and friends blessings, Final blessing and closing

So various communities, cultures have various traditions. The names are kept in significance to their lineage and more to follow. However, sometimes each name doesn't signify the actual reasoning of birth chart or pledges. Like in Native Americans, many tribes named their children based on events that occurred or perhaps animals seen on or near the day of the birth. Also, if a parent had a vision that they felt was a sign for the child, they would get the name from the events they witnessed in their vision. A name, Zhaawaabanokwe, translated means "Southern Morning Woman", or other translated names like Flying Eagle, Walking Bear, Two Horses, etc., 

Now that's a funny tradition is it not. Well, then just take a look at some unconventional methods of naming an individual. In our community, people are named out of the traditions as well. Many people have nicknames which are given to them by their friends, family members and others. 

I'm sure we all would have our own, personal, private and sometime public nicknames. Gabidas,(That's not a brand name, but that's my nickname) is what my uncle calls me since I was a kid. Gabo - means a fool, Das is a suffix (just as in Kalidas, Surdas). If I compare it with Native American tradition, when he would have seen me for the first time, I would have looked like a fool. In that case, if I understand the meaning literally its quite an offensive name. But this is how he calls me lovingly. Another uncle of mine calls me by the name of Chakalal (Chaka - means male sparrow). You are laughing aren't you? 

Not just the family even friends name you. Like school friends call me JB (Jay Bhatt). Short and sweet isn't it. Aha ! not just JB, there are funny points to it as well. There are few stalls in Bhavnagar with the name of JB Golawala ( Ice Candy) and JB Manjawala ( Kite Strings). And many of my friends do not call me just JB, but they also suffix Golawala or Manjawala. I've observed a tradition of tweaking my name such as Jayla, Bhattudi and even JBda... Few other names like Fatehsinh (when we went to Ranthambore) and sometimes Lavaara (The blabbermouth) and what not.. 

 Even after getting all these names, it also means how close I was, am, or would be to a person who tends to tweak my name. At times some people who doesn't like you may change your name, but who cares. All in all, getting a name apart from a registered one adds to the memories attached to the naamkaran. I am happy to have all these names and u're all welcome to give me few more... 


Rgds,
Bhattya

Falling in Love - All over again

Falling in love, Falling in love,

Falling in love, All over again,

Is she the one? for her, I am the one?
These questions I ask, All over again
I like her smile, I like her laugh,
Is what I feel, All over again

Falling in love, Falling in love,
Falling in love, All over again,

I saw her I felt, She's not so naive
I met & felt it, All over again
She has bright eyes, She has her locks
She looks so fine, All over again

Falling in love, Falling in love,

Falling in love, All over again,

We had some fun, We had some laugh,

We strolled around, All over again,

She looked at me, I looked at her,

I felt serene, All over again

Falling in love, Falling in love,

Falling in love, All over again,

Heart says yes, Mind says no,

What should I do?, Oh not again!

I want to tell, and her to know,

What do I feel, All over again.

Falling in love, Falling in love,

Falling in love, All over again,

Salsa... Lets SPIN.... Bar 2

(4)

15th Jan2010

I had decided to join SALSA. All determined, all set to go ahead. I reached the place 30 minutes before the time, although the class was scheduled from 09:30PM to 10:30PM. I was having goose bumps, don't know why. I met Mr Taral, and had a small chat regarding why I wanted to join the class. He explained me how do they operate and what have they done till date. Every information passed on was getting me in. I wanted to start the class as soon as I can. 

"Since you are early and you have missed the previous two sessions, I would suggest you go to the next room, where BABITA is revising previous two classes." said TARAL.

"OK, I'll do that." and I moved towards the room. 

I knocked at the door as it was closed.

"YES?". 

"May I come in?"

"Oh yes, please come in."

 I entered the room, it was almost empty. They were three. 

"Mr. Taral has asked me to meet Babita."

"Hey, Hi I am BABITA, and you are?", she asked.

"Jay." I replied. Suddenly I recognized her as one of the instructor who came to our office two years back. I was still remembering the previous session at our office when...

"Are you dancing for the first time?"

"No.. I mean Yes. I have joined a dance class for the first time."

"Oh. So just small moves here and there in the parties right?"

"Yeah. Sort of"

"Alright, come, join the class."

I stood besides the other two in the class, who also seemed to have missed the previous two sessions like me. 

"Listen. Since Jay has just joined us we'll revise a bit of basics, ok? When your legs are apart, it is known as Jazz 2, when they are near, it is known as Jazz 1 and when both the legs are kept parallel, it is known as Convenient Jazz. Alright?

"Yes, I got it"

And we moved along with the steps. The counting of steps was the same as 2 years back. Every bar was divided into set of 8 steps and then the next. 

"Alright lets get into the class. Its almost 9:30"

We moved to the next room where few others were present. 

(5)

"Alright everyone, lets get along with the exercise. We'll stretch a bit and then we'll dance", said Babita. 


I was a bit curious. I had seen many exercises, right from stretching to aerobics. How on earth these people will have a different set of exercise. Why would they need to exercise before dancing? Dancing itself is a form of exercise. I guess I was wrong. The exercise which I did was entirely different. Never in my life I had been through one which I experienced. The music started and we went ahead with the exercise.


The exercise consisted dance steps that would loosen up the muscles. It would stretch our muscles to a level where body would feel the flexibility. 


"Ok, so now we'll get down on the floor and join our legs in a V shape."


"Everyone, hold your ankles and lean towards it. Try and touch your forehead to the ankle. I guess it would be stiff for few of us but, we'll get used to it." 


The music started again and did few more pulling and pushing. Finally we were asked to lie down flat on the floor, as we were supposed to do the crunches. Cruching exercise is good for those who have a jelly belly. I was one of those jelly bellies.


"It is going to get hard on me. But nevertheless i'll have to give it a shot." I thought.


"Remember few basics while doing crunches. 
  1. Make sure that you are lying straight and your back is touching the ground.
  2. Look up towards the ceiling and feel as if you are trying to kiss it. In this way your neck will remain straight. 
  3. Do not pull your neck when going up. Instead, pull your body from the torso. This will create a better impact on      the body and not the neck. 
  4. Also when we are going up for a crunch, we'll go 50% to 100% and not from 0% to 100%.
  5. Finally, do not look through your crotch, as it will create a load on your neck, which is wrong.


So remember these five rules, OK?"


"OK"


The music started again and we did 2 sets of 20 counts with a pause of 10 between each set. The first set went very well. But when the second one started, we felt the stiffness in our stomach and it was getting harder to go ahead with the counts. But the music helped us to get through those tiring counts.


"Alright everyone, roll from any one side and get up. We'll start dancing."

(6)

"Since there are few new joinees here, we'll start with the basics." and then Babita narrated the same Jazz positions which I got introduced few minutes back. 


"Today, we'll start with Latin American Moves and... ..........." 


My mind didn't go blank. I recalled the same words which I heard two years back. LATIN AMERICAN MOVES. 


"So lets do it"


"Lets go ahead with the counts first.. 5 , 6 , 7 YOU GO ! 1, 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8........"


We moved ahead with the 1st BAR, and then repeated it till we all got it right. Well, you would have known by now that it didn't take me long to catch up with the steps. LATIN AMERICAN MOVES. I had done it before, two years back, the same steps. Gradually, we moved on to 3 more Bars and and repeated all over again. Things were looking quite easy to me. Even I was able to include my hip movement. 


"Waah, maja aave chhe", I thought. 


Till that time we were doing our steps on counts. It was time for the music. And guess what, the song that was played was quite fresh n peppy. ZOOBI DOOBI (Remix) from 3 IDIOTS. The beats made us tap our feet before we actually started our bars. 


"Balram! aage aajao and do it with us", said Babita. Balaram, is also one of the instructor at SPIN. Later on I discovered that he too was working with my organization few years back.  


"5, 6, -- 5, 6, 7 you Go......Zoobi doobi, Zoobi doobi, pampaara, Zoobi doobi, param paaa.....




We did all 4 Bars on the music and repeated it twice. I followed Balaram whenever I lost the track of the steps. But, I was thrilled at the flow which we were going. 


"Lets do it one more time and then we'll split for a break  5, 6, -- 5, 6, 7 you Go...."


We took a water break. We needed one. Almost everyone of us was sweating in spite of AC and fans. 


"You are doing nice, Jay. You have it in you", said Babita during the break. I don't know whether it was the girl or the complement, but I decided to finish what I had started. 


"I'll complete this batch. All remaining 13 sessions." I thought. I was determined. 


We moved ahead with 3 more bars, taking the total to 7 bars. I had Balaram in front of me who kept on instructing our side of the batch. Finally, we did the entire set for the last time. We were tired completely and I could feel it in my joints.  


My first day of SALSA, infact first day ever when I had joined a dance class. By the end of the session I was anticipating more thrilling experience for the days to come.  


I was all set for "5, 6, -- 5, 6, 7 you Go...."




Contd...

Salsa...Lets Spin .... Bar 1

(1)

6th March'2008


"Hello All,

We have organized a SALSA DANCE DEMONSTRATION event on 7th & 8th March. Further details are given hereunder: 

Date/Time: 7th March - 11pm (Friday) & 8th March 12 noon (Saturday)
Place : 9th floor , GNFC Infotower.
Duration 30 minutes.


Please inform your team members about the same..


Regards,

HR Manager"

"Arey this is a good initiative taken by our HR team. Shall we go there?" I asked, on reading the mailer. 

"Haan haan, sure kyu nahi. We'll go. Aur vaise bhi tujhe yea sab to pasand hai hi.", said Partho.

"Time bhi suitable hai. Chal sakte hai."

We reached there by 12:10PM in the cafeteria where the setup was made and two instructors were getting along with the counts. Although we were late, there were very few participants. Only 5 of us were in the ring, while others were watching us. 

I just joined them and started following the instructor.

Hi my name is Mayur," said one of the instructor. There was another female along with him but couldn't catch her name. After all who was interested in knowing names. All I thought was to groove and groove as much as I can.

The instructor said we'll be going ahead with Latin American Moves which gradually converts in to SALSA dance form. The steps were quite basic with step forward, step to the side, step backwards. Initially it looked easy. It got a bit stiff when the instructor asked to include the hip movement along with the steps. Graceful, it looked. They divided the entire dance steps in to 8 counts so that a proper co-ordination can be established. 

"It seems that we are quite good at these LATIN AMERICAN moves. All of us are doing good so shall we move ahead?", asked Mayur.

"YESSSSSSS", came the roar from rest of us. This time the viewers also added to the sound.

"We have seen the basic steps of SALSA, and now we would learn the basics of HIP HOP. I am sure u all know what HIP HOP is. It has got more of bouncy movements and steps are full of energy.," Mayur added.

I was all set to continue. Whether it was SALSA or HIP HOP or anything else. All I thought was "Lets do it". And we started with HIP HOP.

The modus operandi was same for the steps in HIP HOP as well. 8 counts for every bar. "BAR" that's what they called the set of 8 counts.

I had seen dance shows and videos where various dance forms were presented. And here although not at an international level, I was performing, on the 9th Floor. It felt great. Not only because the steps were good, bouncy and energetic, but also because of the music that was played. Few of the sound tracks, I could recognize,  and rest although not familiar were irresistible. We moved along with the steps till the 4th BAR. 

"So now we'll revise the LATIN AMERICAN MOVES & HIP HOP from the top", said Mayur. I knew we were nearing the end of the session. The time flew very quickly. But yes, we did revise the steps and in between I got compliments too from MAYUR. Although not professional performance by us, I got quite good at it. 

We finished with both set of dance steps. We were sweating like a cotton drenched in water, but who cared we wanted to do it more. However, the time did not permit the extension. 

I liked it, the entire experience was good. Excellent. I performed good. Yes I did. Mayur started distributing the visiting cards to those who would want to join their dance academy.

(2) 

13th Jan'2010


We were downstairs for a cup of tea when a topic of fitness and regime came up. Few of us standing there suggested that gymnasium provides a better option of keeping fit while other were of the opinion that dancing too can help in shaping up. 


Suddenly we recalled the demonstration that was held in our office two years back. I thought of the participation we had at that time. Further I could realize that the dacne academy from where the tutors came was near by.


"Yaar ek baar to join karne jaisa hai kyu?" I said


"Woh to pichli baar bhi sochha tha. Join to kiya nahi." Partho re-iterated.


"Haan par phir to mein Jaipur chala gaya tha na sir. Chalo abhi inquiry karke aate hai."


"Tu Jaa, mujhe koi dance wance nahi karna. Haan par kuch exercise ka schedule ho to dekh sakhte hai. Something more substantial you know!"


"Par uske liye vaha jaana padega na. Chalo to sahi. Zyada time bhi nahi lagega"


So then, Me and Partho went along the place nearby. The name of the institute read Shashi Kunj.

"But I thought iska naam SPIN ACADEMY tha. "

"Anyways under jaake pata karte hai."

We sat there while going through some enquiries and tables where we discovered SHASHI KUNJ was the place for cultural activites. Many picutures and posts were on the wall with various renowned artists performing.

While inquiring about the batch for SALSA we came to know that the batch has already started. I felt a bit disheartened. Because by that time I was all set to join the upcoming batch, which I thought was starting in next 2 days. However, my face brightened up as the person there said I can join the ongoing batch. Only 2 sessions had passed by. I thought of joining the same immediately. The person there asked me to try the classes once and then maybe I can pay the fees and continue.

Sounded like a good deal to me. After all who in this world wants their product to be tested and then purchased and that too on an individual basis.

(3)

14th Jan2010

I was thinking of joining the session. I thought to give it a try. But the price for the session, surprised me. It was 1950 for 16 hrs, every Friday and Saturday, and I had already missed 2 sessions. Gujjus, have a tendency to calculate ROI on almost everything. But it would surprise anyone intending to join such lessons for the first time. Moreover, there were no testimonials with me regarding their proficiency.

I was driving back home, when I suddenly recalled one of my acquaintance had done a batch with SPIN. I gave a call to her. 

"Hey, Nidhi,

"Hi, kya haal hai?, came the voice from the other side of the phone.

"Arey yaar tune pehle SALSA ke classes kiye hai na?", I straightaway jumped to the topic. 

"Haan Spin se kiya hai!"

"SPIN? Great. Infact I was planning to join and thought to get a second opinion. How good are they?."

"See, If you are planning for SALSA, you'll need a partner, however that should not bother you if you like dancing. Moreover, they'll also teach other dance forms such as HIP HOP, JIVE etc.. cause it does happen at times that females are less in the sessions."

"Oh. But then how good are they? Is it worth joining SPIN?" I threw couple of questions.

"Yes, Yes. No problem. They are good besides they have their regular show batches and they have been doing this for quite a few years now."

And then she narrated her experience during her batch. The feedback was positive and I made up my mind to forge ahead. Getting a second opinion helped me take decision for which I was quite skeptical. 

Contd....