"I am inaugurating a new dance studio " announced the dance maser. "I will be very happy if you come."
I agreed. I love to dance. I wanted to see the performance. Secretly, I wanted to see where I stood after a year of lessons.
It was his fourth studio. I expected a professional inauguration.
When I reached the venue, a huge banner was placed in front advertising some sort of brain improvement math program. 20 steps were leading to the entrance. There were no side railings. (Not a disabled friendly place.). I looked at the steps in consternation.
A man was leaving. "Is this the J--- mandapam?" I asked
The man started to speak in broken Hindi. " Go up," He said, the program is there." Why he thought aI only knew Hindi I don't know.
I replied in Tamil. "What program?"
"Whatever you are looking for."
That was not much help. How did he know what I was looking for? I went up the stairs balancing precariously one set at a time. A lipsticked silk sareed vision greeted me.
"Come in," she said. Write down your name and cell number."
"I think I am in the wrong place" I protested.
"Your children will benefit from this maths program. Everyone benefits. Come in." she said.
"My children are in their forties. Your program says it is for 4-14-year-olds. I am in the wrong place."
I looked at the steps with foreboding. How was I going
Just then the dance teacher turned up.
"Come in," he said, "this is the right place."
"There is no banner for dance " I protested.
" I didn't put up a banner. I share the place with the maths people. We just have different timings."
The maths people had brought a franchisee manager from Chennai. He seemed to believe that auditory systems and microphones were defunct decorations. He yelled and screeched into the mike about how he was going to make his students geniuses in mental mathematics.
He brought three of them forward for a demo.
He gave a long list of double-digit numbers. Even I managed to add them mentally but the third s demo student did not. He did not answer a single question. He had one hand behind his back and was looking with a fixed gaze at the upper left corner of the auditorium. It was fast deteriorating into a fiasco. The Chennai manager abruptly stopped the proceedings. As the demo students turned to leave the stage one the one who did not answer any questions turned out to have a Rubiks cube in his
hand with which he was fidgeting all the while!
Then the dance demo started.
The children were small but good. They seemed to have the same problems I had, remembering steps, following the sequence and keeping the beat!
One of them stopped abruptly and just swayed. The master moved to a corner off stage and danced. She kept her eyes fixed on him, turned her body sideways and imitated his movements . If he stopped, she stopped.
I am pretty much the same. Once the teacher initiates the movement, I follow. Unfortunately, I keep going beyond the "8 count)" unless he indicates change of movement.
The youngsters were doing the same. Perhaps I am not so bad after all!
I agreed. I love to dance. I wanted to see the performance. Secretly, I wanted to see where I stood after a year of lessons.
It was his fourth studio. I expected a professional inauguration.
When I reached the venue, a huge banner was placed in front advertising some sort of brain improvement math program. 20 steps were leading to the entrance. There were no side railings. (Not a disabled friendly place.). I looked at the steps in consternation.
A man was leaving. "Is this the J--- mandapam?" I asked
The man started to speak in broken Hindi. " Go up," He said, the program is there." Why he thought aI only knew Hindi I don't know.
I replied in Tamil. "What program?"
"Whatever you are looking for."
That was not much help. How did he know what I was looking for? I went up the stairs balancing precariously one set at a time. A lipsticked silk sareed vision greeted me.
"Come in," she said. Write down your name and cell number."
"I think I am in the wrong place" I protested.
"Your children will benefit from this maths program. Everyone benefits. Come in." she said.
"My children are in their forties. Your program says it is for 4-14-year-olds. I am in the wrong place."
I looked at the steps with foreboding. How was I going
Just then the dance teacher turned up.
"Come in," he said, "this is the right place."
"There is no banner for dance " I protested.
" I didn't put up a banner. I share the place with the maths people. We just have different timings."
The maths people had brought a franchisee manager from Chennai. He seemed to believe that auditory systems and microphones were defunct decorations. He yelled and screeched into the mike about how he was going to make his students geniuses in mental mathematics.
He brought three of them forward for a demo.
He gave a long list of double-digit numbers. Even I managed to add them mentally but the third s demo student did not. He did not answer a single question. He had one hand behind his back and was looking with a fixed gaze at the upper left corner of the auditorium. It was fast deteriorating into a fiasco. The Chennai manager abruptly stopped the proceedings. As the demo students turned to leave the stage one the one who did not answer any questions turned out to have a Rubiks cube in his
hand with which he was fidgeting all the while!
Then the dance demo started.
The children were small but good. They seemed to have the same problems I had, remembering steps, following the sequence and keeping the beat!
One of them stopped abruptly and just swayed. The master moved to a corner off stage and danced. She kept her eyes fixed on him, turned her body sideways and imitated his movements . If he stopped, she stopped.
I am pretty much the same. Once the teacher initiates the movement, I follow. Unfortunately, I keep going beyond the "8 count)" unless he indicates change of movement.
The youngsters were doing the same. Perhaps I am not so bad after all!
