Saturday, November 26, 2005

Maybe this is crap.

There comes a stage in life when you finally realise that the mistakes you are committing over and over again become too blaring to ignore. The realisation sees a literal and symbolic transformation embarked upon by several ink-blot tests that would among themselves elicit and defeat attempts at conclusive explanations of the mistakes.
It can be just about anything. It can be screwing up an interview. It can be flunking an exam. It can be yet another bad date. It can be crashing your bike into the bumper of a car. Anything.

There are several things in your mind that are so deeply ingrained that going back and doing it differently requires mental courage and the ability to think laterally. For example, you can support a local clean air initiative and see to it your garden is fresh and green and yet still own two cars, drive 100 miles a day and live in houses that leak energy like sieves.
You focus on solving problems in a book so intently that you fail in switching to creating what matters the most.
You picture yourself in a loving, mutually respectful relationship with someone so pretty that coversations with unpretty people seem famliarly unfulfilling.
You cannot, for the life of you be at the right place at the right time.

I am not aspiring to have been at Mozart's Vienna, the Italian Renaissance or even the beneath the magnolia on a typical twilight. I just want to shed my inhibitions and go do something on stage. Anything.
For how surprising it is, I've hardly ever been on stage.
The biggest crowd I've performed in front of would be back in sixth grade when I won a Whats-the-good-word contest. The whole of sixth grade turned up, teachers et al. My partner kept thrusting a hanky into my sweaty palms every now and then!
The medals and certificates won at sport meets, essay, word-building, drawing or poetry contests kept Mom and Dad from complaining.
This apart, no stage acts for me. No debates, no elocutions, no comperes, nothing. Throughout school I expertly shadowed myself from being involuntarily selected for skits, dramas, dance programs and the like too. It is positively staggering that the stage-fear self-actualisation is affecting me only now.
My mistake was enjoying the view from the audience seat way too much. Resigning to an idea that it is a life off the spotlight that I can glimpse in for my most perfect moments. I realise I'm wrong.

I blew a chance one time, to get into the school cricket team. A month later, the team flew to Singapore to play in a tournament. I've never been on an aeroplane as yet.
The only fun in this is seeing rocket science fly past me periodically. (Yes, puns galore!). Sigh!
The mistake here is procrastination. An overdose of it. It still visits me very often.

There it is: I'm tongue-tied on stage, I was twisted to realise it so late. I feel like an earth-bound misfit. And I simply have to learn to fly!

Bless Pink Floyd!

P.S: The sequel to this post should hopefully see a less hurried ending. I'm way too caught up with work for my liking.

13 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

"coversations with unpretty people seem famliarly unfulfilling."

What's the deal with you and unpretty people? Remember the convo at "The Gowrav" the other day about flamees et al?

Heh. So typically you. ;-)

Meybe when we learn to fly, we might see that everything has it's own innate beauty. Peace.

1:31 am, November 28, 2005  
Blogger Murali said...

Yenaadaru sariye modalu maanavanaagu !

Err

Sumne talege bantu odrbitte kshamisu...

Different ppl consider different things as achievements and different as failures... The key which u will never find urself is to consider what u already have in ur life as achievements. Ashte. Periods.

6:46 pm, November 28, 2005  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Stage fright, never been on an airplane, wanting to fly... just what I felt till a few days ago...and posted too ha ha... nothing's constant though except change (how cliched!)

Btw, I liked your football wala post... simple and smashing :)

3:15 pm, November 29, 2005  
Blogger Manu said...

SF: :). I've had such lil time that whatever time i do manage is highlighted primarily by winamp. Yes, even blogging becomes secondary. But I guess the post still points out some of my mistakes.

AC: Heh. By unpretty ppl, i also referred to ppl unpretty in the mind too..if ya get my drift. But yeah, we MUST learn to fly!

Murali: you said it! I can never consider whatever i've already achieved as a key thing. maybe contentment is a bad thing...and maybe i shud continue ruing my failures. Time(period) shall tell!

Seema: First off, BIG HUG (u know why!). Stage fright I overcame too...yey! Glad u liked the fubby post.

7:38 pm, November 29, 2005  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The stage is a happy place...at least in my head it is. I have spent 18 glorious years in theatre and done everything I have ever wanted to do with it -including appearing nude on stage :)

I can see how the bug for hogging the spotlight can make you restless. In my experience...just go for it. If you dont mind what you are doing, there is always space for you in a production. Start with the backstage and work your way up I say...Sometimes just being behind the lights can be an equal hight!

2:26 pm, November 30, 2005  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Manu, believe me when I say...
I know exactly what you mean, and how you feel...
:-)

1:46 pm, December 01, 2005  
Blogger Manu said...

SF: u seem to be morally against meets lately. so u have ONLY urself to blame!

nishant: I agree. I've had lots of ppl tellin me how the stage can be a very addictive place once you go out on it a couple of times. I'm just waitin to be done with the couple of times is all!

NS: :-). Glad u do..!

10:35 pm, December 01, 2005  
Blogger J said...

talented boy eh?

4:20 pm, December 02, 2005  
Blogger Manu said...

J: U can say that again...;)!

SF: thika..i dont have any less issues with u-know-WHAT. yella gaanchali ashte! :P.

7:01 pm, December 03, 2005  
Blogger arvindiyer said...

How come finch and U seem to be makin all the plans and here me workin me butt off *thoo*

Bout the post...Never felt that way..hehehe.. Done all the things that u had jotted down. Also was the captain of the cricket team.. *u hate me no?* :) Barley water to the rescue da!!

9:52 am, December 07, 2005  
Blogger Manu said...

SF: :-D

AI: barley water all the way! Bitch!

12:56 am, December 08, 2005  
Blogger Sita said...

point noted.
you don't hafta be afaid od your blog audience sir!
POST!!!

6:11 pm, December 19, 2005  
Blogger Manu said...

SF, Seeda: The kick in the ass is appreciated..tanks!

1:36 pm, December 24, 2005  

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