Diwali

This week I attended a Diwali party thrown by the Indians at work. I got a great meal and saw three nice dance performances. Each dance was performed by a woman, and each was a different style.

The first looked like a typical folk dance, designed strictly to entertain. It was particularly great when the dancer would momentarily forget her shyness about dancing in front of her co-workers and let a smile cross her face.

The second dance looked like an older, classical dance, and was obviously telling a story. There were hand movements and gestures, facial expressions, and stompings of the feet that made me think the dancer was rejecting a long string of suitors. I didn't have anyone who could 'translate' the dance for me, beyond telling me that Ganesh was involved.

The last dance was a collection and melange of several popular Bollywood style dances, and I even recognized one the the songs, Chaiyya Chaiyya (Shadow Shadow), made famous in a movie where the cast sings it and dances to it on top of a moving train. I was glad to have recognized the song, and it surprised the Indian woman across from me that I was able to make the 'train' reference.