conversation.
‘Me too. What do you do, Diksha? Nice name by the way,’ he smiles.
I do not want to be drawn into a conversation with Gagan—the clammy-pawed-man (as I have named him in my head).
‘I am in between jobs,’ I lie and am surprised at how easily it comes to me.
‘Ah ha! Laid off, eh?’ he asks.
‘Between projects, actually. Thinking of switching and weighing my options.’
The lies easily roll of my tongue and I wonder where in the world they are coming from. This seems to be a new avatar of me and I barely know myself anymore.
By now, the others too have gathered around us and we all introduce ourselves to each other.
Janie and Nitya are the girls. Janie is engaged and will be getting married soon, and before she does, she wants to learn salsa. Nitya is in college and finds salsa a fun activity to pursue.
I catch only one guy’s name. He is Pavan and is a techie. He looks fit and is about five feet ten inches. Among the other two whose names I have failed to remember, one is engaged to be married. He is short and balding and has the beginnings of a potbelly. The other guy is about six feet tall and lanky.
‘I thought this would be a good place to meet singles like me,’ he says and grins at Nitya and me, revealing perfect teeth.
I shudder inwardly. I cannot make up my mind whether I like him or not. Maybe he is a nice guy but I don’t like how he has so blatantly announced that he is here scouting around for a girlfriend. Perhaps, this is the accepted norm among people who are single. I have no idea as I have never been in the ‘dating-mating’ game, having proceeded straight to matrimony and later to motherhood, all whilst in college.
I want to tell him that I am not single and I even have a child, but before I can say anything, Gaurav comes back.
He claps his hands to get our attention.
‘Welcome people. So this is our batch. Looks like we have had some last-minute cancellations, but that’s okay. Seven is a good number. Three of us are your instructors for the day—Varun, Lorraine and me. So that makes us ten in all, and all of us will have a partner. Gentlemen, since there are only four women, we will have to take turns to dance with the ladies. Initially, we will be doing only the basic steps for which you do not need partners,’ he says.
Then he arranges us in rows. There are end-to-end mirrors in the hall. It is the first time I have been in such an environment and I stare at the multiple reflections, fascinated.
‘Now, Lorraine and I will do a quick demo to let you all get a feel of salsa and what you can hope to achieve at the end of sixteen lessons,’ he says.
Lorraine turns up the volume. The Latino music is infectious and makes one want to dance. Gaurav and Lorraine dance like they are possessed. All of us watch with our jaws dropping. In deft moves and with perfect rhythm, Gaurav has spun Lorraine around, like a top. Then, just as swiftly, he pirouettes her back towards him, drops her down and pulls her back in spring motion. He does some amazing lifts and jumps. They dance as one and when it ends, all of us break into spontaneous applause.
‘So this is what you can do with practice,’ he says and we all look at each other and laugh nervously.
‘If I manage to do that, you can charge me double,’ says Gagan and everyone burst out laughing.
‘Have patience. You have sixteen lessons and also a whole lot of practice sessions. We will be teaching you step by step, but first things first. I must tell you all a few important things and I want your full attention,’ says Gaurav.
He goes on to tell us that we will be rotating partners. Salsa is a form of dance, he says, fairly new to India, where you dance closely with a partner. Given that fact, he says with a grin, everyone has to be extra careful about body odour and general hygiene. The upshot is, that guys must shave, shower and brush their teeth before class. ‘Sorry to bring this up, guys, but it is very
‘Me too. What do you do, Diksha? Nice name by the way,’ he smiles.
I do not want to be drawn into a conversation with Gagan—the clammy-pawed-man (as I have named him in my head).
‘I am in between jobs,’ I lie and am surprised at how easily it comes to me.
‘Ah ha! Laid off, eh?’ he asks.
‘Between projects, actually. Thinking of switching and weighing my options.’
The lies easily roll of my tongue and I wonder where in the world they are coming from. This seems to be a new avatar of me and I barely know myself anymore.
By now, the others too have gathered around us and we all introduce ourselves to each other.
Janie and Nitya are the girls. Janie is engaged and will be getting married soon, and before she does, she wants to learn salsa. Nitya is in college and finds salsa a fun activity to pursue.
I catch only one guy’s name. He is Pavan and is a techie. He looks fit and is about five feet ten inches. Among the other two whose names I have failed to remember, one is engaged to be married. He is short and balding and has the beginnings of a potbelly. The other guy is about six feet tall and lanky.
‘I thought this would be a good place to meet singles like me,’ he says and grins at Nitya and me, revealing perfect teeth.
I shudder inwardly. I cannot make up my mind whether I like him or not. Maybe he is a nice guy but I don’t like how he has so blatantly announced that he is here scouting around for a girlfriend. Perhaps, this is the accepted norm among people who are single. I have no idea as I have never been in the ‘dating-mating’ game, having proceeded straight to matrimony and later to motherhood, all whilst in college.
I want to tell him that I am not single and I even have a child, but before I can say anything, Gaurav comes back.
He claps his hands to get our attention.
‘Welcome people. So this is our batch. Looks like we have had some last-minute cancellations, but that’s okay. Seven is a good number. Three of us are your instructors for the day—Varun, Lorraine and me. So that makes us ten in all, and all of us will have a partner. Gentlemen, since there are only four women, we will have to take turns to dance with the ladies. Initially, we will be doing only the basic steps for which you do not need partners,’ he says.
Then he arranges us in rows. There are end-to-end mirrors in the hall. It is the first time I have been in such an environment and I stare at the multiple reflections, fascinated.
‘Now, Lorraine and I will do a quick demo to let you all get a feel of salsa and what you can hope to achieve at the end of sixteen lessons,’ he says.
Lorraine turns up the volume. The Latino music is infectious and makes one want to dance. Gaurav and Lorraine dance like they are possessed. All of us watch with our jaws dropping. In deft moves and with perfect rhythm, Gaurav has spun Lorraine around, like a top. Then, just as swiftly, he pirouettes her back towards him, drops her down and pulls her back in spring motion. He does some amazing lifts and jumps. They dance as one and when it ends, all of us break into spontaneous applause.
‘So this is what you can do with practice,’ he says and we all look at each other and laugh nervously.
‘If I manage to do that, you can charge me double,’ says Gagan and everyone burst out laughing.
‘Have patience. You have sixteen lessons and also a whole lot of practice sessions. We will be teaching you step by step, but first things first. I must tell you all a few important things and I want your full attention,’ says Gaurav.
He goes on to tell us that we will be rotating partners. Salsa is a form of dance, he says, fairly new to India, where you dance closely with a partner. Given that fact, he says with a grin, everyone has to be extra careful about body odour and general hygiene. The upshot is, that guys must shave, shower and brush their teeth before class. ‘Sorry to bring this up, guys, but it is very
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