Bhangra and leadership

Bha?g?ā  is a type of traditional dance of the Indian subcontinent, associated primarily with the spring harvest festival Baisakhi. In a typical performance, several dancers execute vigorous kicks, leaps, and bends of the body to the accompaniment of short songs called boliyan and, most significantly, to the beat of a dhol (double-headed drum). ~ Source:Wikipedia

I grew up in a town of Uttar Pradesh (a north Indian state), where bhangra was not what we danced to celebrate or express joy. We swayed to the tunes of Bollywood numbers and Punjabi music had not made its way into Bollywood until then.

So, when I was given the task of teaching bhangra to the entire group of students for the annual day, I wanted to protest and tell my teachers that they had got the wrong guy. I was as far away from bhangra as I was from salsa. But I did not. I did not want them to know that I did not know. It was a matter of community pride after all.

This is what I did. I spent the next few weeks listening to as much Punjabi music as I could, watched as many Punjabi movies as I could on a borrowed VCR, made emotional appeals to my parents to take me to my cousins' place in Patiala (as if just by going there the bhangra would dawn on me). Eventually, I made that trip and took a crash course in bhangra on the weekend, wrote as many jargon I could in my notebook to impress my followers, drew the moves in my notebook, picked up more VHSes , picked up the outfit from Adalat bazaar of Patiala with the Punjabi jutti and other bells and whistles, and came back with renewed confidence. I was already beginning to transform into bhangra extraordinaire by practicing for three to fours hours a day. My thought was that this would at least keep me a few notches ahead, so it might as well be done. Neighborhood kids listened to the pulsating boombox and started pouring in at my home. Life took a complete turn for me.

We practiced at school and the teachers were happy with the prep. And we did a great job at the annual function.

The next year, the school chose me to direct a play on the life of Lala Lajpat Rai also known as Punjab Kesari- the great freedom fighter, who played a pivotal role in the Indian Independence movement- and play the character as well since the character needed to wear a turban. They automatically assumed that since I am a Sikh I knew how to tie the turban. Not only this, I was also supposed to teach a few kids to do that. But I was as far away from tying a turban as I was from wearing a tuxedo. Rest is history.

We often land in leadership positions by chance. This is due to the faith that is bestowed upon us by people and situations that deem us fit. Sometimes we do hope for a proper plan to come our way, but it might not. So what can one do? You know the answer (learning, coaching, mentoring, deliberate practice, you name it). Won’t it be wonderful if the learning ecosystem is also ready to support such endeavors?

Something to think about for all of us.

Now, time for a little learning and doing the bhangra. I will leave that to a pro(watch from 00:26; music starts at 01:20). Here you go.