A special place

The tunes of “Bajne de dhadak dhadak….Malhari” followed a few minutes later by “Badtameez dil, badtameez dil….” came wafting in through the open door accompanied by peals of laughter. It was like every winter break, a cheerful troupe practicing their Bollywood dance steps. In the early years, I would be with them playing the music, counting the beats, and performing the steps as the little ones tried to imitate. There were breaks for water, pre-teen girl gossip, a few basketball dribbles and passes by the boys, and everyone had to be shepherded back to dance practice. Many of the Moms would instruct and interfere lovingly. They would also make the most creative stage props, pout, pick costumes, smirk disapprovingly and give pep-talks! The Dads were chauffeurs, photographers, videographers and most importantly our cheerleaders. My own shortcomings became very apparent to me and the lessons I learnt in communication and project management were invaluable.

As time went on, our Chinese neighbors also knew to expect dance practice in winter break and would stop by to watch. Over the years, the awkward middle schoolers blossomed into thoughtful, confident high-schoolers. I gladly shared with them the task of choreography and stepped back. They were much better dancers, there was great chemistry within the group and tons of energy! We all had made fond memories thanks to MMLA (Maharashtra Mandal Los Angles) and eventually it was time to move on. The teens were making waves in the South Asian Cultural Associations at high school and college.  

A few months back in the fall of 2018, my high school senior pondered for a college application essay, over what “place” has shaped her in her teenage years. It prompted me as well to think about what place I would choose as having influenced me in this past decade. Was it Irvine, which is now the city where I have lived the longest or was it my workplace that positively impacts thousands of lives every year?

It is ten winters now since the first dance practice for MMLA in our garage. This winter break and weekends in January, the dance practice on “Malhari” and “Badtameez dil, badtameez dil….” is for the upcoming ‘Indian Culture Show’ my high-schooler is organizing with clubs from six other local high schools. They all are having a gala time planning, budgeting, marketing, choreographing, dancing and hanging out with friends. And I am typing away this piece at the dining table, listening to the music, watching the camaraderie from a distance and knowing that I would have picked our bright, open, happy garage as my “special place”.