❤︎ Anjali ❤︎
The same week I break up with Amit, Ananda asks me for a big favor. She tells me to take Bollywood dance lessons with her because it has been her dream since she was little to become a Bollywood dancer. She gave up on that dream since India is so far away from here. At least, she wants to become good at it whenever she has a chance to dance.
I have no interest in learning how to dance. Instead, I want to ride that mechanical bull. So I try to strike a deal with Ananda.
"If you are willing to come with me to ride a mechanical bull, I will take dance lessons with you."
She thinks I am out of my mind. She doesn't get why in the hell an Indian girl could be interested in doing such an un-Indian thing.
"What are you thinking, Anjali? Are you on drugs? I am not going to ride that bull! Are you crazy?"
I look at her cold. "Then I'm not going to Bollywood, either."
Ananda sees that I am firm with my decision. She finally gives in.
"You can't do that to me. You know how much it means to me! OK, Anjali. I will go with you. But please don't tell me to wear a sari with it! That will be a disgrace to our entire culture!"
Our first lesson starts this evening. The dance studio is near the subway station. It was so surprising to see that many of the students are non-Indians.
Our instructor arrives, and, oddly, he is a flamboyant chubby Indian drag queen. He is dressed perfectly in one of the costumes from Bollywood films. He has a light brown wig with two red ostrich feathers attached, a golden bra that dangles with metal sequences, and a long red chiffon skirt with two splits in front. I don't know where he found them, but he wears a pair of gold sequent ballet slippers.
I could see that he is imitating Deepika Padukone in Om Shanti Om. I love that film. It is one of my all-time favorite Bollywood films. I hate to say; he looks nothing like Deepika.
Ananda is standing right next to me, and she is overly excited. We are at the end of the row and are observing his every step. He screeches to the students with his high-pitched voice.
"Girls! I hope you have already stretched. I will show you a simple step first! Follow what I do!"
"Go, girls! Un, Deux, Trois!"
The dance lessons are more fun than I expected. We are going to the studio twice a week. I feel that both of us are so into it and are improving rather quickly. We even practice together at home when we are tired of studying.
We stand right in front of the mirror, turn on loud music, and start to dance, synchronized just like in Bollywood films. One evening, Ananda tells me how she feels about herself.
"Anjali, I wish I was tall and slim like you. So my moves would appear to be more elegant."
I hug her around the shoulders while looking at us in the mirror.
"Ananda, you are so cute and cuddly because you are small and round. I wish I were like you."
She smiles at me while watching our reflection in the mirror.
She whispers.
"We are best friends!"
As she promised, Ananda comes with me to the bar called Lone Star in East Village. When we walk in, all of a sudden, the entire space becomes silent for a few seconds before going back to a loud bar again. It's clear that they aren't used to seeing Indians in this bar.
I smile at everyone and walk toward the mechanical bull. One guy is already riding on it, and he has been thrown off its back in less than ten seconds. I patiently wait for my turn while sipping my alcohol.
Finally, when my turn arrives, I get on and clamp the bull gently between my legs. When the machine starts to move, my body instinctively moves with it as if I have ridden so many times.
Ananda doesn't believe what she is seeing. Her mouth is wide open, and she even forgets to close it. After more than a minute on the bull, I am finally thrown off its back. When I walk back to Ananda to get my glass, she screams at me.
"I don't believe this. You were so great out there. How did you do it? How were you able to ride that bull for such a long time? You have never done it before—have you?"
She looks at me suspiciously. There is no explanation for what I just did. My body moved as if I have always known how to ride it. All I know is that I feel so natural about riding the bull and am so at ease with it. Ananda tells me.
"Anjali, you ride it again. I want to make sure that it wasn't beginner's luck."
So I ride on the bull and wait for it to move. It quickly moves left and right. It stops for a moment and quickly turns around. I can intuitively predict all its moves, and my body naturally knows how to respond. The machine stops twisting and turning after two and a half minutes, and I get off the back of the bull. As everyone is clapping their hands feverishly, Ananda whoops.
"I don't believe this! I think you are a genius!"
"You will be the first Indian-American neurosurgeon who is a famous rodeo champion!"
"That's so cool!"
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