Dirty Dancing

Athos, Porthos and Aramis, the Three Musketeers lived in my times as well just that their names got changed to Neeraj, Ravi and Ranjiv. And of course, I was a late entrant, DÁrtagnan, the trio to complete the Four Musketeers group. They were for me the ultimate heroes for they could talk, date and dance with girls literally at the drop of a hat. As for me the long tenure of having studied in an all-boys school, these were things of fantasy and forlorn hope. Just being with them made me feel happy, listening to their tales added to their statures in my mind and watching them in action was the ultimate experience.

These pranksters tried their level best to make a ‘Complete Man’ out of me. For once there was this pretty looking girl who had joined in the first year while we were in the third year. She would travel in the same University Special DTC bus every day. Once I told the Three Musketeers about my interest in the lass, the trio got into action. Neeraj went up to the girl and started talking and then invited me to the conversation. He introduced me by saying, “Meet him, he’s the topper in History with 62%. You can take his notes.” Just then Ravi came into the scene and said, “Arrey meet my friend. He’s a topper with 68% marks.” I blushed and tried looking away before the third Musketeer could arrive and raise my marks even higher. The girl never sought for any tutorials from me.

The Three Musketeers would invite me to their dance parties which I found real cool. Boys walking up to girls and asking them for a dance. I would just sit there observe others, never to have the courage to ask anyone for a dance for fear of being rejected. By now it was the third year and I was determined to break the jinx and my friends too stood behind me in solidarity that this year, during the New Year Party at their club in the colony, they would make sure their friend danced with a pretty girl. And so on the fateful day I reached the club well in advance and sat by the bonfire watching couples walk in holding hands and looking excited for the fun filled evening. Of course there were people who had come in alone like me in the hope to find a partner at the party.

As the music began to play inside the hall, Ranjiv came out and shouted at me, “Bangali Saale, have you come just to sit by the fire and eat the snacks?” and immediately dragged me inside the hall where all the action was happening. Good thing about these dance parties is that the lights are kept dim and the strobe lights make any form of shaking your limbs and hips look fairly good. All my life, I never grew out of the dance style of Amitabh who would put one hand on his waist, one extended out in front while slowly gyrating the hips doing light thumkas with grace...remember him dancing in Don singing Khaiyke Paan Banaras Wala? Here in this party that dance had no place. So tried my hand in doing a bit of twist and danced alone in one corner of the floor. All the time my eyes were on the couples dancing freely.

Among those dancing was another colleague Prateeksha who was from my own class itself and was also the college basketball captain. Not the tall and lanky basketball player sort but plump and short, no wonder we never won any matches leave alone championships. We knew each other well having studied together for nearly three years and were reasonably good friends. She was dancing with a spectacled guy when suddenly Ravi left his partner and went to her and asked for a dance. The spectacled guy chivalrously stepped back as Ravi took over. He danced and brought Prateeksha towards where I was standing. He came close and said, “Here, dance with her.” Quite flabbergasted but seeing Prateeksha smiling gave me the courage that it was fine to dance with her. And so began my first dance with a girl and my heart went....boombadi, boombadi, boombadi boom, boom!! Don’t remember my steps but we danced normally keeping safe distance between us. We would have danced for a couple of minutes when Prateeksha’s original partner, the specky guy who had lost her to Ravi the first time came around and asked me to step aside while he took the girl away. Like an idiot, I smiled and stepped back as I saw Prithviraj taking Sanyukta away.

As I went back standing in one corner of the dance floor, Ravi came back and gave me a mouthful. “Why did you let her go? You’re an idiot. This time when I bring her back, you better not listen to anyone. Just be rude and say no if someone again asks for your permission to take her away.” Saying this he left and I could see him again pulling Prateeksha out from her partner and bringing her towards me. As he came near, he said, “Come on, now dance with her.” I again got to the dance floor with her and possibly this time more free and confident than ever. The music had shifted to rock and roll and it was to my liking and I was now beginning to enjoy the evening. The Prithviraj with specs came to me once again but I just signalled him Thamba…Stop… the way a strict traffic policeman in Mumbai would do. He went away disappointed and saw him going towards the bar. Sometimes you need to get selfish and today was the day and this time I wasn’t going to be the kind hearted and philanthropic kind.

By now the time was getting close to midnight hour. Ranjiv while dancing with his partner came close to where I was dancing to say, “Now the lights will go dim and music will play soft numbers. This is when you need to do close dance and don’t feel shy. Just go ahead and do it.” With the girl overhearing all this, it was quite embarrassing but she showed no discomfort and stayed with me. By now my confidence had grown to follow the advice of The Learned One to the last word. And when the scene changed dramatically as forecasted by Guru Ranjiv, I saw the couples on the floor getting closer with the boys putting their hands on the waists of their partners and the girls reciprocating by putting their hands on the shoulders of boys.

Twenty years of solitude, reams of dreams over the years and I was pretty sure now my time had come. Remembered the Silsila song, “Aaj na chodenge ab humjoli, khelenge hum…” My arms went to Prateeksha’s waist in an instant. Don’t remember how I held her but surely it was the closest I had ever been to a girl in my life. I couldn’t make out if she was happy dancing with me or not but the smile on her face which gave me the confidence that what I was doing was fine. As the music got groovier and I saw the boldness others on the floor were showing, got emboldened and pressed Prateeksha closer and harder as we kept moving across the floor. I am sure I had never done this dance ever before so was simply going round and round in circles. No one was looking at us, everyone was living in their world except The Three Musketeers who gave me their thumbs up seeing me arrive in life.

This went on for how long I wouldn’t take a guess, but it was feeling absolutely wonderful and seemed as if this show must never end. Now the crowds were getting boisterous as the midnight countdown began. The music too became loud and the close dance gave way to good old disco stuff. As the clock struck twelve, some of the couples kissed their partners. It seemed quite normal in the circumstances but we just wished each other Happy New Year after which we went our ways, me going to the Musketeers with the widest grin ever and she went towards the Prithviraj who had been sulking all this while and gulping down drinks by the dozen.

The party got over and I went back home. Next when college re-opened after the winter break, I came to the class in one of my rare appearances and saw all the girls giving me dirty looks while the boys gave me a rapturous welcome. The reaction of the boys was understandable as by this time I had spoken about the night to some of my friends and had, for them, become quite a hero for having done a close dance. Prateeksha wouldn’t look at me in the eye. This went on for some days till I took the courage to ask one of the other girls.

“What’s wrong? Why isn’t any one of you talking to me and why have you been giving me such dirty looks?"

She said, “What you did with Prateeksha was in bad taste. Were you drunk that night?”

“Hello there, I don’t drink and I was completely sober that night. I just danced with her the way others were doing on the floor that night. I never did anything for which I should be ashamed of so what is this hullaballoo all about?”

She sobered down a little and said, “Do you remember there was this guy she was dancing with before you took her away? That was Ajit and Prateeksha liked him but after that night he saw you doing the close dance with her, he is refusing to see her. Prateeksha feels it is entirely your fault.”

"Why did she not say No to me. No sirf ek shabd nahin..apne aap mein ek pura vakya hai. Ise tark, spashtikaran, explanation ya vyakhya ki jaroorat nahi hoti hai. Even we boys realise that No ka matlab No hota hai. Usey bolne wali ladki koi parichit ho, friend ho, girlfriend ho, sex worker ho ya aap ki apni biwi kyu nah ho. No means No and when someone says No, we will definitely stop. Why did she not say No even once?”*

In some days, things got better and almost all the friends in the class except Prateeksha got back to old days. Thus ended my first and last foray into the world of club dancing. Thanks to it, I’ve since mastered the Amitabh style dancing and when the party is in full swing,  all I do is to drop down on my knees to do the nagin naach.

SS

PS.* Lines taken from Pink, the movie, but since they fitted in appropriately in the story, have taken the liberty to quote them.