Hula Gula

Well, tomorrow is a family friend's engagement party and as per tradition in our circle of friends...the kids (primarily guys) usually do something (read: provide entertainment for old aunties and uncles ..and ofcourse bridge/groom). Its known in pakistani as hula gula. My friends and brother are quite good at doing this; and i am obviously quite out of the loop (i suppose i dont have a hula gula gene). Basically, for those of you who don't know, it's like watching 10 monkeys in a cage. Very fascinating and entertaining for 4 hours, especially if you have a buffet and dessert in between. My bro n friends are all quite talented ... they sing, dance (bhangra ofcourse..and some hip hop), play guitar and dhol (the drum with the crooked stick)..and once in a while...impromptu acting. The aunties love it, especially. There are always a few guys that aren't extroverted enough to let down their gaurd and jump around while screaming infront of 50 year old ladies and gents, including me. And its SOOooooo weird when u think about it. Uncles, aunties and the girls..sitting around on tables in the banquet hall...staring. In the middle, a bunch of guys howling and trying to fix light bulbs to loud punjabi beats. See...if everyone was dancing..it would be less weird. Altho i have been forced to join the group once in a while..where i lose the shyness and try my best to not do anything to attract attention to me on the dance floor. The problem being..since i dont go on that often..now when or if i DO go..i get the feeling that ppl are looking at me..just cause it is a novelty! But maybe the world just doesn't revolve (damn..another word like involve..these damn vovle/volve words!) around me. So tomorrow will be the same. I will be expected to dance, otherwise it will be an insult to the groom. Altho i do not intend to insult them by showing my visually unappealing moves..but i guess its the thought-of-the-action that counts.

And then..u have the moments when
a) uncles think they are the next Muhammad Rafi
b) uncles think that their latifays can't be matched, even by Seinfeld (well, maybe they would be funny if i understood them....hm..ok no...they still wont be)
b) they feel the need to express the need for all of us to return to our religion, Islam...obviously...looking straight at the 15-25 age range of guys and ignoring everyone else. This is ofcourse, right before the bhangra scene takes place. It's the best thing to put a damper in the night. Everyone goes quiet, one uncle comes up and starts lecturing. Crickets chirp in the background. Everyone seems to nod their head and make the commitment to change. That lasts up until 5 sec. till the uncle finishes his speech. Oh, do i ever feel like debating. But its not proper etiquite.

I will be performing a piece on classical guitar called Un dia de Noviembre, which was written by Leo Brouwer. Jeff Carter, whom i found thru google, plays it quite well actually and adds a bit of flair from the original too. I would hope that my performance will redeem me from taking to the dance floor, but i doubt that i will be excused. In case there is time or request for a 2nd song..then its Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven intro. So..today i must spend countless hours prepping..so i dont make a fool of myself while playing this tune. As my last teacher said; never make a face..always pretend like you meant to play what you did. And my current teacher: sometimes, people KNOW you did not mean to play what you did..then you have to make a face.