Heaven

"Okay, let's try one last time." my instructor Magnus said. I took a deep breath, then nodded. With all the heavy breathing equipment strapped securely on my back, I slowly sunk into the blue waters of the Andaman. It was nothing like I ever imagined. Different kinds of fish of all colours swam all around me, staring at me with their beady eyes. Corals of different sizes danced below me. And before I knew it, I was already seven metres underwater. I had only seen videos and pictures of marine life this deep, and thought it would be exactly the same when I would finally see it with my own eyes. But it wasn't. These magnificent fish were right in front of me, not in a still frame. The colours of the sparkling corals stood out, unlike their pictures on TV and in magazines. It took a minute for me to realise that all this was actually real, not a dream, not a movie. I had done it. I had finally entered this beautiful new world, a world so spectacular I didn't believe it actually existed. A world where I could stay in forever. With Magnus swimming right beside me, I slowly went further and further, and didn't want to stop. Within every few seconds, a new species of marine life would sail past me, and corals would seem to become longer as if stretching out to reach me. I was amazed to see how creatures as tiny as fishes could manage to stupefy humans more than ten times their size. After what seemed like only five minutes underwater, Magnus turned something on my jacket and I floated upwards. And I snapped back into reality as my head shot out of the water. As I was greeted by the beaming faces of my parents and my sister asking me how it was and congratulating me for my bravery, I removed my diving gear and sat down with a towel, letting the cold wind dry my face. It was like I had walked out of some world of fantasy. "We were down for forty minutes, and had gone seven metres underwater!" Magnus said. He then showed me a book with different kinds if fish, and pointed at the ones that we saw. "Was it as beautiful as everyone says it is?" my mom asked me. I nodded, still processing whatever I had just seen. "Ready for our next dive?" Magnus said. I smiled and nodded again. I strapped my gear to my back again, when everyone on the boat, including other professional divers, suddenly started murmuring excitedly and pointing to the water. Only when I looked at the direction they were pointing in did I realise why. We were surrounded by a group of jellyfish, swimming all around our boat. All at once I was scared again. "Uh, will the jellyfish do anything?" I asked Magnus nervously. "No, jellyfish are really easy to swim around. They just move with the waves. We can swim around them easily, don't worry." I gulped, and somersaulted backwards out of the boat after Magnus, hoping not to land on a jellyfish. For the first few minutes underwater, I was too scared of the jellyfish swimming next to us, and had to constantly come out of the water, either because if my fear or because of water getting into my mask. "I really don't like jellyfish," I told Magnus when I came up. "I don't like them either," he said with a smile. "They won't do anything. I will swim next to them, and you can swim on my other side, away from them." I put on my mouthpiece again, and once more we sunk into the water. I still kept on looking around for jellyfish from time to time, but soon enough, I trusted Magnus' word and started observing the marine life. We were at a different diving site this time, and there was twice the amount of sea creatures than the first. We even saw sting rays and longer fishes, and the jellyfish actually turned out to be extremely pretty. I kept on asking myself how creatures can be so beautiful that they leave you in such awe. Only then did I realise, that these blue waters with the most magnificent creatures that you can think of, was what I had always imagined heaven to be. Not water heaven, not diving heaven, just pure, magical heaven. And I loved it. Deep sea diving had to be the best experience I have ever had.

Stage

I took a deep breath. I was in Chennai, ready to perform, ready to meet my old friend, the Stage. Stage and I have been friends for quite some time now, since I started performing when I was little. The Stage was nothing to be scared of. It was with me through my worst moments, and my best moments. During my arangetram, Stage and I were the best of friends. We still are. Thats why, that day, when I was standing backstage, I wasn't nervous. I knew the Stage was going to stand beside me throughout this performance, or, more precisely, under me, and I wasn't afraid. I knew this performance was really important, because the people of Chennai can spot even the tiniest mistakes, so if it didn't go well, then I might as well have given up dancing. I kept chanting that I could do it, reassuring not only me, but also my two friends who were dancing in the same group as me. We three make a wonderful team, and we coordinate perfectly. So nothing could go wrong, could it?

Our names were finally announced. My teacher, sitting with the other musicians in one corner of the stage, gave us a smile, but I could tell that she was nervous. She knew that we could do a good job, of course, otherwise she wouldn't have chosen us. But standing there, in the middle wing, waiting for that first delicate tune of the nattuvangam, that first beautiful sound of the violin, the first breathtaking beat of the mridangam, and of course, the first word of the song which we were to dance to, that was the point where I got nervous. My hands shaking, we stepped onto the Stage. 'Hello, dear Stage. We meet again' I thought, and for the first time in my life, I saw the Stage smiling back at me.

Our first dance went very well, though I forgot one step, but I don't think anyone would have realized that one, since my face was not facing the audience at that point of time. My friends and I collapsed in the green room, but we were happy that our dance went the way we wanted it to go. After a while, we went outside, near the wing, to get ready for our second dance. We entered the Stage together, our ghungrus jingling away, a sound which every dancer loves. This time I was confident. The first half went on pretty well, but then in the second half, I forgot one step, and I'm sure everyone saw it. Obviously I become a little more conscious after that, and the rest of the dance went well. When we went backstage after the dance got over, I was really scared. My two friends assured me that it was okay, and that I made up for that mistake. But that wasn't enough. In the next dance, I had to do well. I had to make my teacher, parents, family, and most of all, myself, proud. As I stood in the wing for my last dance, I gave one nod at the Stage, and entered. The light fell on my face, illuminating it, but darkening the audience. With a smile glued to my face, I danced. I danced like Shiva, where nothing in the world could stop me, neither a hurricane, nor a storm. I was lost in my world, a world where only the Stage and I existed, nobody else. And I loved it. I loved every minute of that dance, I cherished every second of it. Only at that point of time did I realize that I had been given a golden opportunity, and I seized it. And that dance ended up being the best.

That performance taught me to learn from my mistakes, and not to get discouraged by them, but encouraged. Mistakes should motivate you, make you want to do better. Thats what my friend Stage taught me. And if you give it a chance, I'm sure it will teach you the same thing too.