Overcomplicating to Impress

Masterchef is back on television and it is quite addictive to watch a show about people cooking food. This show is conducted in such a beautiful and crisp manner which makes it very interesting to watch. If you've been living under a rock, Masterchef is a television reality show about amateur cooks competing against each other.

Now these guys are all home cooks. Somewhere in their daily routine, they realized that they have a passion for cooking and wondered 'why not do it professionally?'.

But when that thought of professionalism crept in, it also brought along a friend -  Mr. Insecurity. "I am only a home cook, I can't make a complicated dish, I can't make my dish look like the product of a fine restaurant", it moaned. Mr. Insecurity totally forgot about the concept of deliciousness. It only worried about impressing the judges and scoring those marks.

In the initial few weeks, almost all the contestants cooked from their hearts -  dishes that they were familiar with and their family loved to eat! Then they went through a phase of questioning if it was enough. And in the quest to push the bar, they started overcomplicating their dishes. Did it make the dish look overwhelming? Yes. Was it delicious? Hell, no.

Thanksgiving Plate#1 (from Wordpress)
Just for representation purposes :-)

One of the mentors, Marco Pierre White, kept going on like a broken record "Keep it Simple". They heard him, they understood him, but under pressure it became second nature to overcomplicate. How is it that we subconsciously think 'more is good'? Whenever we are caught in a pressure situation (with food or without!), somehow we think it's rational to put in many elements and let the audience pick up the ones that they want.

While leaving this choice to the audience, we totally ignore the negative effects that the bad elements could have on the good ones and that could completely cloud the entire situation. As they've always said, one rotten egg is all it takes...

Take a moment. Think about what you want to plate up. And go ahead and do it. If you throw in too many elements, all you're going to end up with is a mess. And frankly a mess doesn't look too appetizing, does it?

But this sure does! Beautifully plated dessert...
Courtesy: johnvalls.com

How old are you?

About two weeks ago, I had a very interesting conversation with a teenager. Her formative years were spent in Muscat, in a popular school where a lot of my other friends studied (many years ago!).

We were engrossed in comparing Muscat schools vs. the ones here in Chennai. We are roughly ten years apart in age but it didn't seem like much had changed as far as the school-scene is concerned.

When I enquired about a friend that she was mentioning in one of her stories, she was very quick to point out that the girl wasn't a "friend". How could she be? She was TWO YEARS younger than her! This was her reasoning.

That's when I realised how much of importance we give to 'age' as a 'number'  in schools and colleges. Today I work with people, some of whom are ten years older than me, some are five years younger than me,  all in the same team -  and it's a level playing field for all! After a point you don't even think about how old your teammate is. It's just the skills or talent that matters.

But when you're in school, somehow your brain maps your seniors / juniors very differently. They cannot be your 'friends' since they aren't your age. Surprising, isn't it? You would look at seniors as know-it-all's and underestimate your juniors' maturity levels. Even if they are barely months younger or older to you.

All of this doesn't really matter after you cross 20. Really! So, how old are you? You're just as old as you want others to see...

Make a Request

While I drove towards an intersection today, a small kid waved his arm requesting me to stop. His school was on the opposite side of the road. I stopped and let him cross and wondered why he didn't wait at the zebra crossing 100 metres away.

And then I wondered why I even stopped in the first place?! Shouldn't I have just kept going? This kid would've crossed when the traffic thinned down, or the traffic policeman might have asked him to go to the zebra crossing and wait for the light.

So why did I stop? When I asked myself that question, I realized that I responded to a request. This kid requested me to stop, and I obliged.

Several times I have stood at an intersection assuming that people would stop for me, because in my head I thought -  'isn't that the way to be?' . In the western countries, several people show courtesies like giving way to pedestrians, giving way to drivers who have been waiting in a no-signal zone, etc. And here in India, no one does that. Maybe that's why people try to push their way to get through.

But this little kid made a request. He didn't try to push his way through. He made a request and I stopped for him. Now this isn't a Bollywood movie - He didn't smile or wave after walking past, but somehow I felt happy. Happy that I was able to do something for someone else. And I guess that's a natural feeling. We all love to give, we all love to spread happiness.

But how would we know what makes you happy? Tell us! Make that request. It wouldn't make you a smaller person.

Dancers caged in a Studio!

Dancing. Just reading those letters makes you feel like sighing of relief. Many of us love to dance or watch someone else dance. It soothes the body and mind!

"Dance is a way to find yourself and lose yourself, all at the SAME TIME". Many dancers would relate to this quote, since dancing is one activity where you feel like everything else around you stands still. Dancing makes you feel free.

Which is why, I find it ironic when I see the plight of dancers in this generation. All of what I've observed is in the Indian subcontinent - hence my views will be heavily biased by the culture and tradition here.

I've known many types of dancers - classical, jazz, freestyle - and all of these dancers have been a part of an institution, studio, company, etc. Many kids right from the ages of 5 begin to learn dancing. Ofcourse, some would quit along the way but there is a significant population that realizes their passion for dance along the way and aspires to take it up professionally.

This latter population is unfortunately caught in some very thick soup. 

In India, your teacher is your 'Guru'. And your Guru is probably the most important person in your life (or so, our culture asks us to believe). This may have been relevant in the medieval ages where, students used to live at the Guru's home and learn in a system called Gurukul. All of their adolescence is spent at this Gurukul and the Guru teaches every student all the knowledge that he has (and imparts life's lessons along the way too!).

Today, the teaching system happens in parallel with life. You study in school, you study in college, in parallel you learn to play the Piano, dance jazz, juggling perhaps and many other skills. But yet this Guru believes that he/she is the most important part of your life.

Courtesy Pinterest; Pinned from weheartit.com

Lets take Dance Gurus for instance.

"You cannot dance with other organisations / other dancers"

"You cannot learn from other teachers"

"You want to start-up something new on your own? What will happen to this class then?"

Many Gurus do not embrace the concept of diversity these days. Our Gurus believe that this would 'dilute' the purity of the style you've learnt so far. And you might also start taking them for granted, spending lesser time in your original institution.

What about the dancer's freewill? Dreams, aspirations, goals? The Guru is an established person who has made a name for themselves in this field. When do the dancers get such an opportunity? Why should they shadow under your light for eternity while you demand for them to hold you in the highest regard?

Several institutions have signed contracts with dancers regarding the terms and conditions for their time, money, choreography copyright protection, etc. Dealing with such professionalism is actually quite refreshing to hear.

Most other Gurus 'assume' that their students will blindly follow instructions. "I have taught you all this while, now I am asking you to teach new students - how can you not oblige?". What is in it for the students? Nothing. No value for time, no value for money, no 'thank you' in return even. 

Courtesy: Flickr; Velocity Implosion

Shouldn't dancing be considered as just another profession? Write the rules of the game clearly, give people the space to evaluate what THEY want (instead of deciding for them) and keep things as simple as Black and White. 

If Gurus continue to believe that dancers will feel indebted to them for life, they are in for a lot of disappointment. And this disappointment results in questioning their loyalty, which leads to a dark vicious circle hurting everybody in the process.

Dancing is all about feeling free. Let them Go. Don't cage them in, they aren't yours to cage in the first place. Make life easy for them, without all the emotional turmoil. Be a leader, not a teacher.

Let them free...