Hello guys!
Merry christmas and a very happy new year, in advance. This post is a dedication to a very close friend who has completed yet another year of awesomeness.
I was dressed up as Santa yesterday and was sculpting balloons for children at a well known store. I got a picture of how much one Santa can do for so many children- create or sustain a world of fantasy which exists only in childhood.
If not that much, at least get smiles on the faces of the older kids. Yes, kids can be a pain sometimes. But, at the risk of sounding like a parent already, it all feels worth it to contribute a little bit of happiness to their lives.
It felt so good to really go out there and spread happiness and that too, was overly exaggerated for me because I never say ,"HO HO HO!" thirty times an hour. It made me realize what we really miss out on thanks to our inhibitions of being open in expressing what we feel for people, maybe at the risk of sounding stupid. Yes, I had apprehensions about being a public Santa. But I thought it to be worth the risk. And yes, it was. There was a lady who came with an infant in her hand and spoke to him saying, "Oh see! Your first Santa!". The mother clicked a photograph of the seven-odd month old in his father's arms with me. And all that I could think of was 'Wow!'. There were some six year old's who gave me one of the best responses for the balloons I sculpted for them. So much happiness.
It was a pain sometimes because there were seventy odd children and managing them, their emotions and their mother's emotions and turning them into happiness was a task. I had to build impromptu stories and manage the crowd as I simultaneously pumped air into the balloons and twisted and turned them into Christmas goodies for the children.
The experience made me realize how I am different when I was known to the world as Santa and not Avinash Shahri. The former had a huge deal of happiness to provide. The latter was tired after the event, but left fulfilled. Same person.
To think of it, this whole episode reminds of this birthday girl. Why? Because she always spreads happiness. That's it. She spreads, happiness. Happy birthday.Andwatelse?
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Float like a butterfly, Sting like a bee
I am going through a very typical 4:14 am syndrome. A syndrome which puts a lot in one's head to think and overrides sleep. To go through this syndrome is beautiful as it ceases to exist only after a blog post is put up. A blog post is expression in the form of text. I feel that one would benefit a great deal by having a habit of regularly expressing in a certain form - dancing, painting, writing and singing being the popular ways. Eventually, one does gain a certain expertise over such a form of expression, so much so, that one begins to enjoy it.
Each one of us has a different approach to forms and styles of expression. Each one of us will be different at it. Any two Bharat-Natyam dancers, with a similar body structure and training period, who train under the same guru will be unequivocally different in their stage performance. One's way of doing things is heavily influenced by one's style of expression. Taking into consideration the larger picture, one's profession and style of communication become an expression of humanity that the world remembers, even after one is dead. Then the world defines this person in a line, or maybe a few words.
I am moved by the definition (nickname) that a certain person got from humanity. He is called 'The Greatest'. His name is Muhammad Ali.
They say, that Muhammad Ali was a good fighter, but when he would attack, there could possibly not be anyone better- "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" . The following video captures the last few seconds of the famous match between the two greats - Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, popularly called as 'The Rumble in the Jungle'.
You will see in the video that he is calm and playing along as if it's the normal business that he is into. But he knows. He knows when his real game begins. He has calculated that already, but even as the planned time to begin the blitz nears, his head is as cool as a cucumber, muscles are as relaxed as they could be in a boxing match and overall performance is that of an ordinary pugilist. With the blink of an eye, in an unexpected moment, Muhammad Ali as if transforms into an angry salivating predator. And even before one cares to notice - Bam Boom Bam Dhish! K.O.
I am in so much of awe of Muhammad Ali as his approach has always worked for me. And when I consciously decided to 'Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee' it worked even better. Infact, it gave me this result of winning luxuriously with a good lead from the runner up, a feeling of being 'The Greatest' in my small little game.
So, who is your inspiration?
Each one of us has a different approach to forms and styles of expression. Each one of us will be different at it. Any two Bharat-Natyam dancers, with a similar body structure and training period, who train under the same guru will be unequivocally different in their stage performance. One's way of doing things is heavily influenced by one's style of expression. Taking into consideration the larger picture, one's profession and style of communication become an expression of humanity that the world remembers, even after one is dead. Then the world defines this person in a line, or maybe a few words.
I am moved by the definition (nickname) that a certain person got from humanity. He is called 'The Greatest'. His name is Muhammad Ali.
They say, that Muhammad Ali was a good fighter, but when he would attack, there could possibly not be anyone better- "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" . The following video captures the last few seconds of the famous match between the two greats - Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, popularly called as 'The Rumble in the Jungle'.
You will see in the video that he is calm and playing along as if it's the normal business that he is into. But he knows. He knows when his real game begins. He has calculated that already, but even as the planned time to begin the blitz nears, his head is as cool as a cucumber, muscles are as relaxed as they could be in a boxing match and overall performance is that of an ordinary pugilist. With the blink of an eye, in an unexpected moment, Muhammad Ali as if transforms into an angry salivating predator. And even before one cares to notice - Bam Boom Bam Dhish! K.O.
I am in so much of awe of Muhammad Ali as his approach has always worked for me. And when I consciously decided to 'Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee' it worked even better. Infact, it gave me this result of winning luxuriously with a good lead from the runner up, a feeling of being 'The Greatest' in my small little game.
So, who is your inspiration?
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