Monday, April 19, 2010

P for Passion, ... and Pharaohs

My friend, Meera, is a dancer. She’s not a professional dancer, in the sense that she doesn’t make a livelihood through dance, but she is as serious about her dance as any professional dancer.
Unfortunately, I haven’t see her dancing live, but I but am constantly amazed at the depth of emotion she manages to convey through her posture and her facial expressions. She is better than many ‘professional dancers’.
Not without reason. On the right side of 35, she is an anachronism in the world of dance, which is dominated by pretty young things in their early 20s. And yet, it is her increased years that make her such a good dancer.
She’s a wife and mother, she has experienced most of the emotions conveys through her dance. It is her emotional maturity that makes her a much better dancer than she herself must have been when she was younger and fitter.

Dance is a demanding mistress, and few women are able to make time for her after marriage and kids. They stop dancing, not because they want to, but because they are just not able to do so. Balancing work and family is hard enough, how do you fit in daily practice and group rehersals?
Meera has two kids under the age of seven. She edits and writes features for a living, and has four “yet to be published” novels on her desk. And yet, she manages to give public performances, both solo, and with her troupe.How does she manage, when so many others give up? Simply because dance is her passion, and she is willing to make any sacrifices necessary to be able to keep up with her passion.

Passion is something very close to my heart. I have often blogged about how it is almost pointless to do something unless you are passionate about it. And when you are truly passionate about something, with a little bit of determination, you can make time for it.
Most of us already know it. My friend proves it. With Passion, anything is possible. Without passion, most things are pointless.

__________________
Kid - "Papa, do you know who was the father of all Pharaohs?"
Father - "Must be Papa Pharaoh."
Kid - "You are hopeless, you don't know anything."
Father - "Of course it was Papa Pharaoh. Who else could it be?"
Kid- "Khepri was the father of all Pharaohs. He was an Egyptian God, and had the head of a scarab beetle."
Father- "Capri? I thought you wore capris."
Kid - "Papa, you are hopeless, you don't know anything at all."


[All photographs courtesy my friend, S. Meera]

The last photograph is my favourite. She'd depicting Lord Kama (the embodiment of pleasure and sexual gratification) shooting five arrows. Each arrow is tipped with different flowers, and causes a different agony- from the heart, to the lips, to the eyes, the body and the head.

20 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Your friend coveys a person who has expereienced life, that is why she is so expressive with her dancing, Many of the younger dancers can only imagine what life is all about. The pictures are excellent, An exremelya wonderful blog to read.

Have a nice, day,
Yvonne.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos. I love the indian clothing.
On one of our TV programmes there was an indian actress playing a nurse called Shanti and she wanted to marry the kiwi male nursing supervisor. Her family was against it because she was meant to marry an indian man they had chosen for her. Anyway she got her way and married the supervisor and had a beautiful indian wedding. It was wonderful to see what you do in your culture with weddings. Unfortunately Shanti has been killed off in the programme now!

Meera said...

LOL, Nutty, is that me! You make me feel proud of myself. thanks...

Sueann said...

Wow! She is fabulous and this kind of dance is so exacting and strenuous. She is amazing!!!
Papa Pharaoh!! HA!
Hugs
SueAnn

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

If it's something you really want to do with your life, you find the time. Passionate people get things done.

Natasha said...

@ Yvonne - precisely. She is the dancer she is because she has seen more of life than a much younger person could have.

@ Niki - never heard about the serial, but yes, Indian costumes and culture is fantastic. And not just to people not in India.

@ Meera - yes, Meera, it is you. And you have to be proud of yourself. We are all very proud of you.

@ SueAnn - yes, it is physically and emotionally very demanding.

@ Alex - precisely!

Jaydee Morgan said...

Passion is everything - and it's true, people will sacrifice a lot to follow their passion in life. Awesome pics - the facial expressions tell a story all in themselves.

dipali said...

Awesome photographs! She must be a wonderful dancer.
My sympathies lie with the son's Papa- I know even less about pharaohs:(

Lisa said...

Your friend is gorgeous and indeed very expressive!

Survivormama said...

Very beautiful lady, love the bright colors and you can see the passion in her expressions...wonderful post!

Stephanie Faris said...

I LOVE those beautiful costumes! She seems like an amazing person.

Marjorie said...

There are few things more enjoyable to watch than Indian dance. You can tell she is passionate about it. Wives and mothers have just as much right to experience their passions as younger women, and perhaps deserve it more, in my opinion.

Hart Johnson said...

What fabulous pictures, and Meera is so gorgeous. I love that the dances are story-telling too, and her passion is indeed very clear. Nice post, Natasha!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

What arresting eyes! I'd love to see her dance in person!

Wanda said...

I love these lines, "With Passion, anything is possible. Without passion, most things are pointless". Beautiful pictures too.

Raquel Byrnes said...

You are right about passion. I don't see any point in attempting a difficult endeavor if there is no passion for it...

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

Your friend looks like a talented dancer. I think you are correct, if the passion is there, you’ll find the time whether it's writing, dancing, cooking, etc.

Ella said...

Well done, You are so right, without passion the fire and drive is missing! Your friend is so beautiful and you can see the emotions in her face! She makes the time for those she loves, we have to make time for our passion, hobby that we love. When we do, we are a better person. We have found a way to balance our souls!

Patricia Stoltey said...

Meera is beautiful -- I would love to see her dance. Again, a wonderful post and beautiful photos. Well done, Rayna.

Natasha said...

Life running away with me again :-(
Sorry about being so late in responding.

@ Jaydee - the pictures do tell their own story, don't they. And if you do have real passion, everything else just falls into place.

@ dipali - if she performs in Calcutta, I'll be sure to let you know in advance.

@ Lisa - she is, isn't she?

@ Shannon - thank you. Meera is one my my favourite friends, because she knows just how to get the balance right.

@ Stephanie - they are gorgeous, aren't they? When I was younger, I wanted to learn dancing only for the costumes!!

@ Marjorie - so true, it is only after you have been a wife and a mother that you know what certain emotions mean.

@ Tami - all our dance is actually storytelling. Must get Meera to do a guest blog on her dance someday.

@ Debra She Who Seeks - yes, it is her eyes that draw you in first!

@ Wanda - thank you. It wasn't a wise person who said them, it was just plain old me.

@ Raquel - why do we write? Because we have passion.

@ Jane - she is- has even danced in the Vatican. Absolutely. The time is there- you have to grab it

@ Ellie - I know how hard it must be for her, but she chooses to do it because she loves it, and those choices make her a better dancer.

@ Patricia - I am trying to get her to upload a video- not quite the real thing, but close enough.

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