Reminiscing the Past

I was watching “Just Dance” Mumbai auditions and was left absolutely mesmerized by Ashish Patil’s impeccable performance to the song Breathless. Delivering such a graceful performance with perfect expressions and that too without any formal training is definitely commendable.


Reality shows have certainly changed the way dance is looked upon now. It has emerged as a passion not only in youngsters and children but also in housewives and businessmen alike. Earlier, learning dance used to mean a hobby course for kids in summer vacation. But now, parents no longer mind their children learning different forms of dance and opting dancing as a career. As a matter of fact, in the last decade or so, dance classes have mushroomed overnight which was not the case when I was a kid. I remember when I used to learn Kathak, there was no good dance school in vicinity and my father used to drive me all the way to Connaught Place which is approximately six miles from my residence.


Since childhood, I have been extremely passionate about dancing. There was a time when I could feel dance in my veins. Considering my passion and my talent at that age (I was barely six by the way) my parents enrolled me in a dance school to learn Kathak. Honestly, learning Kathak was the most boring thing at that time because I always enjoyed contemporary, western and other forms but later I realized it was easier to adapt to other forms when you know classical. It also gives you an edge if you are able to mix classical with contemporary.


With time, my passion for dancing grew to an extent that I wanted to pursue it as a career. I delivered various stage performances not only in my school but also at district level and won almost all of them. My parents were very proud of my dancing until…


It was 12^th year of my stage performance. I was standing on the stage amidst thunderous applause after rendering my last performance to the song “Satyam Shivam Sundram”. I vividly remember how deeply absorbed I was while performing that piece. It was one of my best performances and why would it not be, I spent countless hours perfecting my faltering steps. It was no cakewalk. When I try to replicate the steps, I can’t do so now. Perhaps because I have been out of touch or I have lost the flexibility but hey no! I am not aging!


When we got home, I was told to take my mind off dancing and focus on studies. Not that I wasn’t doing justice to my studies, I was doing fairly well and I always thought that my parents adored my dancing but I couldn’t figure out what made my father utter such a statement right after an out-of-the-world performance. It was more of a command than a request or a suggestion. It felt the world was crashing down on me. I inquired about the reason. I also stated my ambition to pursue dancing as a career. With all the love, he sat next to me and said that dancing may not earn me as much respect. I argued that dancing is an art and God blesses only a few people with this art. Should it not be respected? I do talk stupid sometimes. He replied that the world doesn’t share the same perspective on dance and it will take some time for this art to be respected in this part of the world so I should look for a something else for a career and pursue dancing as a hobby. Thereafter I was strictly prohibited from any public performances.


A couple of years later, I learned from my brother how a stray guy was trounced over a comment passed by him. I recalled overhearing an affray outside the auditorium that evening but I didn’t realize it had anything to do with me. Of course such an incident will make any father take such a decision. That evening I hugged my father and silently told him that I love him and respect his decision.

My Million Dollar Princess

“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.” Pablo Casals

My five-year old niece is here in India with us for a few days. Though every child is unique but I have never seen a child as different as she is. She started to show the signs of her individuality when she was as small as three. She knows what she wants, why she wants and how she wants. She is brilliant at whatever she does.

She is sitting next to me in a chair talking incessantly as I get ready to a party. She is quite fond of me that ways. It surprises me how a small kid like her can remember every detail of the time we spent together when she was only three. She often talks about those times whenever she calls from the US. Her little sister doesn’t know much about me. As a matter of fact, she is far too shy to pick up a conversation with anyone outside the bounds of her close family members.

She minutely observes every detail of my wardrobe and verbally makes a note of the changes it has gone through over the years. She is also fascinated by my stash of accessories. Her greenish purplish eyes sparkle as I take out a turquoise blue beaded necklace and put this around my neck. “This is so pretty!! May I please try this on once?” She exclaims. Since this is too big and a little heavy for her, I promise to get her a smaller one.

But she replies innocently, "Bua (father’s sister), how do I know whether it will look as good on me without trying it on?"

I said, "Hmmm! Makes sense honey, but be a little careful. Okay?"

She says, “Okay."

She puts on the turquoise blue beaded necklace, slips on her shimmery Cinderella shoes and catwalks around the house; I mean, literally placing one foot in front of the other like you see those models strutting the runway. Picture a waxen complexioned five-year cute little girl draped in an emerald green dress, her left hand is on her waist, her little handbag is dangling from her right forearm, she is looking straight ahead carrying the expression and the unfaltering attitude of a supermodel, of course with a naughty smile dancing around the corner of her lips, isn’t it too much for a five-year old?

“From where did you learn walking like this?”

“Duh! What’s there to learn about it?”

“Yea! that's your signature walk, huh?”

And she coyly scampers away.

*  *  *

She likes my strawberry pink lip balm, the one that resembles a red lipstick. She looks for it in my drawer but can’t find it so she gives in and finally asks me if I could let her see my lipstick once.

“Baby I don’t wear any lipstick generally, which one are you talking about?”

“The one I saw in the morning. It’s in red and you twist the base to open it.”

“Oh! That’s my lip balm. Here you go. But what will you do with it; your lips are pink already?”

“I like it. May I open this bua?”

“Let me open this for you. You might break it.”

“I will not. I promise. I didn’t break your necklace either. Remember?”

“Okay Honey! Take it.”

She opens the lipstick-looking lip balm, scrutinizes it to her satisfaction and then puts the cap back on. When she puts the cap back on, a feeble sound comes, “Kadak!!!”

She sticks her tongue out in embarrassment but she recovers quickly and utters “Happens bua!!”

Rendezvous with a Schizophrenic

I happened to meet him at a Rotary Club Meeting. He is an ex-army officer in his late seventies. Presently, he is a Reiki grand master and has been healing people for over 25 years. The fact that he cured many schizophrenics and treated other mental disorders piqued my curiosity. Did I mention that I am a Reiki practitioner too but not a grand master and I am learning this art to help the needy, and not to make a profession out of it.

So, I inquired about the duration it takes to treat an average schizophrenic and the kind of challenges he generally faces.

He replied, “Honestly, Schizophrenia is not a mental disorder. It is a condition wherein an evil spirit possesses human body or soul to serve its purpose that it could not accomplish in its human form.”

“What!!” My jaw dropped in disbelief.

“Yes! You may not believe me but that’s the truth. In the beginning, the spirit attaches itself to one's aura and if corrective actions are not taken then the spirit takes over the body eventually.”

“Really? What are you talking about?”

I could see where this conversation was going.

“Yea, it’s my experience of 25 years. The moment the spirit is thrown out of the body, the person gets back to his normal life.”

“O.K.A.Y… And how do you do that?”

“I connect with the spirit and force it to leave the person’s body. It usually takes approximately 11 sessions. It is a risky job I must tell you because I have to risk my life, my house, my family, everything.”

“Uh huh! And the spirits listen to you? You have to be really powerful to be able to do that, isn’t it? How much do you charge for such a session, if I may ask?”

“It depends on case to case. Generally the charge is USD100 per session due to the risks involved you know.”

“I understand. What if the spirit is more powerful than you? Has that ever happened?”

“Yes! It happened once. The spirit tried to attack on me but my spirit guides helped me.”

“Oh! My God!”

“Just wondering if you watched my program on India TV?”

“Oh! No! When was that? I guess I missed it. But let me tell you, India TV is the only authentic news channel we have in India now.” I replied sarcastically.

“No worries! You can catch the video on my website. You will also find many testimonies there. Here is my card. Let me see your aura. I hope there are no evil spirits attached to you.”

(Are you demented? There is nothing wrong with me or my aura.) “Don’t bother please. I got what I was looking for. I'll take your leave now. Been a pleasure meeting you.”

“Wait. It’s no problem. It'll take only a couple of minutes.” He took out his dowsing rods.

Oh lord! Please help me. This is not what I signed up for.

He directed the dowsing rods towards me and the rods crossed.

Now, as much as I know about dowsing, the rods point ‘straight forward’ for the ready position, they ‘cross’ for a positive response and they ‘swing outward’ for a negative response. In this case, crossing of rods meant that the device found my aura. There is nothing good or bad about anyone’s aura because the vibrations keep changing. What the gentleman told me about my aura was:

“Your aura is not negative but it is significantly weak which means evil powers can impact you easily. But don’t worry, I can fix this. Give me a minute.”

“It takes a minute to fix the aura?”

“Just watch.”

He made some symbols in the air and whispered a few words which I could not comprehend. When you encounter such a situation, cross your fingers, the other person's energy will not affect you. Simple cross-legged position is an exception to this. That’s what I did. I crossed the fingers of my feet so as to keep his energy from affecting me. Since I was wearing shoes, my feet were not visible to him.

After he was through, he checked my aura with his dowsing rods again, and this time, the rods flung outward. I could clearly see him putting pressure on the rods. He said, with that magical look in his eyes, “See the difference!”

“Wow!! You’re a magician.”

“Yea! I get that a lot. But this is temporary. Your aura can be cured permanently. Why don’t you join one of my healing courses?”

“I will certainly ponder over this sir. But before that, I have a question for you. If someone has been meditating for quite a few years and is a Reiki healer too, is it possible for that person to have a weak or a negative aura? I have also heard that Reiki attunement changes the aura drastically. Isn’t that true?”

“Yes, certainly. That’s why I am asking you to join my course. I will give you Reiki attunement.”

His response made me chuckle. “But sir I am already second degree certified. Why do you think my aura will be weak? And I truly don’t think schizophrenia has anything to do with evil spirits. You know, energy healing has become a business nowadays. No one wants to help; people rob in the name of God. What a pity!”