Performance.

A friend of mine recently gave his first 'onstage' sitar performance. His sister recorded the video of the event. He did, indeed, play the sitar well. He modestly admitted on committing one fault, but frankly, seeing the video, I couldnt make it out. He did invite me for his performance, but I am the lazy guy who loves his sunday afternoon 40 winks and hence did not go. Later on, he described his pre-performance nervousness and the way the performance went and how the public applauded the performance thereafter and the euphoric feeling you get after a satisfactory performance. Reminded me of the way of the old karate tournaments, I participated in. I joined karate classes when I was in 5th standard, I guess. Although very mean in stature, I had quite a lot of stamina, in those days. In a few days, even if I did not become an expert 'fighter', I had build quite a reputation for being a 'kata' expert. Now, in karate, 'kata' is a sequence of movements. The movements consist of various types of punches, kicks, stances and kiais. Now, a 'kiai' is a sort of battle cry of a karate-ka. It refers to a term which can be defined as a short yell before you execute an attack, whether its a punch or a kick. If you have been to a gym, you can here people yell out when they lift weights. Its the same kind of thing.
So being a kata expert, I used to participate in tournaments in the 'kata' event. I remember the pre-performance nervousness, the cheers by our team when I used to walk into the 'kata ring'. Then the silence. Then I use to shout out the name of the kata, which was to be performed, into the silence......... it used to echo around. Then started the kata......brisk, fast, powerful and focused movements, power packed punches, hard kicks, the sound of the canvas dress rubbing against itself, sounds of my own heavy breathing. There used to be nothing my mind, except the thought that all the movements have to executed to perfection. As the kata ended, there used to be a moments silence during which I could feel the adrenaline pumping. Then the crowd used to erupt. Every person who sat as audience used to clap. Smiles everywhere. An encouraging nod from our instructor, the reassurance that everything went off well. Then, four judges lifting their boards to display marks. A 9.5 or a 9.6 on every board. And then a louder applause after announcement of final score !! If it was the final round, our team members used to pour out of the stands and carry me off on their shoulders. A medal to one in the team greatly contributed to our tally.
It seems to be a long time since I have done anything on-stage or in front of a crowd. My friend did it....and I know completely how great it feels......Wishing him many more to come his way!!!