Going through a roller coaster of emotions

I have read countless books and I have never reviewed one. I don’t intend to start doing so here. However, recently, I read a book that was recommended to me by my mum and OMG…it was one of the most difficult books I’ve read thus far. Not that it was long or that it had many chapters. But the emotions that were invoked in me as I read page after page, chapter after chapter…I felt as though my soul was being slowly chipped away as I turned the pages, while at the same time, hope, inspiration and gratitude was threatening to burst out of my heart. Never have I felt such a roller coaster of emotions while reading a book. And that is why I have to write this.

I’m the type of reader who prefers to read within my genre of comfort. Reading a book that is not in my comfort zone is a rarity, something that I have just began to venture out into. And so, when I decided to take up my mother’s recommendation about the book, both my sis and mum were surprised! Surprise soon turned to regret (I think), because I kept complaining the whole time I was reading the book, much to their chagrin!

The book: The City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre

“What irony, that one of Calcutta's most devastating slums should be known as Anand Nagar, ``the City of Joy.'' By interweaving impressionistic glimpses from the lives of a Polish Catholic priest, a rickshaw driver, and an American doctor, Lapierre creates a searing vision of the struggle for survival, the flashing violence, and the social and cultural practices of the slum. His theme that from human misery can emerge joy might seem to some readers as a bogus acceptance of a terrible evil. Yet Lapierre's narrative slides skillfully in and out of both history and fiction to create an effective but horrible montage of disease, death, and destruction amid elements of charity, hope, and love.” – adapted (and edited) from Barnes and Noble.

The book was written based on interviews, immersions and visits to the City of Joy. In a way, it was sort of like a consolidated diary of various people. I took that review/synopsis from the Net as I just could not find the right words to describe the premise of the book. To me, whatever I say will not live up to quality of the book.

As I read the book (which was later turned into a movie starring Patrick Swayze), a whole range of emotions went through me. There were times when I wanted to cry, when I actually laughed out loud, when I actually closed my nose when reading a scene. The book really hit me simply because, I have, to an extent, experienced some of the scenarios from the book - the lack of (or no) water and electricity; mingling with the children (not slum children but rural children who are underprivileged); the poor men and women being so generous with their food and whatever else they had. I’ve been to India twice and reading this book brought me right back.

I’ve not been to Calcutta, but I guess the extent of poverty, disease and destruction is somewhat similar all over India. Lapierre’s use of words and description of places were so vivid that I did not even have to imagine it in my mind; but rather, I could SEE it so clearly, as though I was a fly on a wall, watching every move, everything that was happening. This was an old book, written in 1982 (if I’m not mistaken). While my copy of the book looks like it has been chewed by a dog, the issues detailed in the book, sadly, have not changed in the 30-odd years since it was first published. That is just so sad.

The good thing is: the book is a great read! No regrets! And while I was forced to delve into emotions that really shook me, I’m happy to have “survived” and come out stronger, more inspired, more thankful. The book also delves into religion and there were times when I had to stop reading, close the book and pray, thanking God for all that I have. I’m not a strictly religious person but the people in this book served as a reminder to me that, even when everything is going wrong, faith and hope (in God) can carry us through anything.

This book is going to stick to me for quite awhile. It’s just hard to forget or erase what I have “seen.”--

Short and Sweet Malaysia Dance 2014 - Winners

So I attended the final day of the Short and Sweet Malaysia Dance 2014 competition last Saturday, and considering the meagre crowd that were present on the first day, this time it was packed. Probably because it was the last day and that the winners were going to be announced that night!

Unlike what my choreographer friend told me that "in the performing world, the second day is usually the worst" because the crowd is usually the least and that the performers would see a drop in their performance, this year apparently, the numbers in the audience increased daily and my friend's group actually performed better as the days went by!

Just like the first day, I managed to coax my mum and sis to accompany me; but this time, we added Nicole (one of my sister's bffs) to the group. It was also her birthday and since she had no plans, we "dragged" her willingly to the competition. :-) And of course, she was instructed to vote for only one team. Hehe! She confessed later that she was getting a little bored until the young Indian girls came on stage and spiced things up. (We believe that Nicole was an Indian in her previous life).

This time, we sat at a different place; choosing to sit in the middle column, almost right at the top, thinking that we'd get a good view of the stage. Alas, we were wrong. As it was a full house, everyone seemed to be on the edge of their seats, elongating their necks to get a better view of the performances.

Performances:

As expected, ALMOST all the performers had 'upped their game' so to speak, performing even better than they did on the first day. I believe there are two reasons for this: 1) It was after all the final day and much were at stake(!); 2) as I mentioned before, I believe the crowd had something to do with the improved performances. The energy was amazing; you could feel the tension and excitement; the nerves and enthusiasm.

There's really no point reviewing the performances again; suffice to say, ALMOST everyone improved. Of course, I was left still pondering about the meaning of certain performances (even after I'd watched it a second time) while some had improved, like the prayer-themed performance (at least there were less stumbling) and the group ballet dance (it was quite a captivating performance).

One performance that I just HAVE to mention is the last solo performance. In my review, I had said that I found the sounds disruptive and that I did not really get the point. This time, the dancer/choreographer actually dedicated the last part of his dance to one of his friends who was on the ill-fated MH370. This I found wrong and an immediately dislike crept into me. He even made a mistake with the airline, saying it was MH470 and I actually spoke out loud saying (Huh???!!). I'm not sure if people heard me but my sis elbowed me to keep quiet!!

To me (and my mum), it was like an act of desperation to win the judges hearts and audience votes. He even had his friends in the audience throw white paper planes from their seats! Sorry to say, this did not go down well with me. I rolled my eyes!

Other than this performance, I really enjoyed my second time. Probably because I knew what to expect and that I didn't have to worry about trying to understand what was being projected/performed.

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After all the performances, the judges and organisers left the hall to count the votes, while the performers and audience had an impromptu dance concert.

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Winners:

The complete list of winners including photos can be found here: http://shortandsweetmalaysia.blogspot.com/

I'm happy (and perasan enough!) to say that my votes (and that of my sis, mum and Nicole) helped my friend's group win not one but TWO awards at the competition!! Yup....they (of course) won the Audience Choice Award and one of the disabled dancers (the one who did the handstand) won Best Supporting Dancer - Male! Of course, as every category was read out, I was praying and hoping that they would win; but I think TWO awards is fantastic in itself! 

Special Mention:
Dance Title: The Only Disability in Life is A Bad Attitude

 

Since I know one of the choreographers (the other coincidentally turned out to be my sis's ex-classmate!), I sort of know the background to this group's participation in this competition. In fact, I had thought that I could help them by writing about this group BEFORE the competition, hoping to garner a new audience and get them to come watch the competition and vote for them. Unfortunately, things did not work out; but hey...they still won two awards without my help (not that I would have been of any help anyway).

I'm sure the group invited a lot of people to come and support them and I'm happy to see that whatever publicity they did, worked out well for them. But apart from that, one cannot dismiss the hard work that was put into it. The choreography, the time put into practice, the costumes - everything played a role. Despite having less than a month to perfect their routine, it was a very admirable effort. Their performance was one of two lively performances, which manage to make people tap their feet and cheer while they performed. One word: fun!

But excitement aside, I must say that the title of the dance could easily be the name of the group; for I did not see any disability in any of them. In fact, in my opinion, besides winning the awards, the group had in fact GIVEN an award, and that is......The Inspiration Award - for showing us that indeed... "The Only Disability in Life is A Bad Attitude." :-) 



(Hopefully they come up with an emotional routine next year, one that will tug at my heart and make me cry! Haha! :p)