finding rickshaw.

I danced for 5 out of the 9 nights of Navratri. October is the third hottest month of the year, so we were routinely dancing in 100 degree heat. I must have lost 5 pounds from all the sweaty dancing. Nike should make Dri-Fit Indian clothes… would be an instant hit.

My dancing scorecard:

Wednesday, October 1, 2008: Went with my cousin Parag, his wife Bhargavi and their son Hersh. Over 2,500 people were “playing” and at least 1,000 were watching. I awkwardly danced with my cousin’s friends and received many stares as I substituted grace with 2 left feet. Our night ended at 1230am. My kurtha (shirt) was soaked with sweat and it took 15 minutes to scrub the dirt off my feet.

Thursday, October 2, 2008: Went to the youth event with Ketu (Anishee’s brother who is working at Morgan Stanley in Mumbai), his cousin and Ekta. Probably 2,000 teenagers and twenty-somethings. Energetic, but very crowded – I sweated through another kurtha…

…I bought both of my kurthas at an outlet sponsored by an NGO that only sold rural artisan clothing. Very interesting business model and is relevant to one of my projects with Saath.

http://www.gramshree.org/about.html

Friday, October 3, 2008: Went to a “high-society” garba with Bhavin’s cousins, Ditti and Shaili, Ketu, Chandni, Ekta and Natassia. The venue was awesome (Desai family: It was Kamor-esque and saw Anuj’s wife Ansini there). Great music, great crowd and again, extremely sweaty.

After each garba, when I would head for the exits with the masses, I got the same feeling as leaving a late-night bar or a club – satisfied, excited and exhausted, sweaty, starving – and just like a Friday or Saturday night at home, everyone heads to get late-night food. The only difference is that I feel much better in the morning after a garba than I do after a typical night at home.

~ by findingrickshaw on October 15, 2008.

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