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METRO WORKOUT

Belly belly good

In the flow Meher Malik’s belly dancing class in full swing

Just when I thought I’d seen it all…I find myself at a belly dancing class. I’ve seen men grunt through martial arts, old ladies meditate through Tai Chi — but this is the first time that I’ve seen young women gyrate with eloquence. The class is at an unlikely corner in Model Town. We drive past the Vishwavidyalaya Metro. Past Outram Lines. Finally, we spot the McDonalds in Model Town two. I feel I’ve driven half way to Panipat by the time we reach. Behind the Mother Dairy counter, I spot an incongruous sign for Salsa India on a red metal door. When I push open the door, I see a group of around 12 young girls undulating their stomach with different degrees of finesse.

Meher Malik the young and energetic, instructor is in front with a T-shirt tied above the waist. I’ve joined the class in the middle and the girls are already in the midst of their two-hour session. Meher, who has lived in the Middle East for 17 years, has learnt belly dancing from Egypt, England and Oman. Her interest started with social dancing at marriages, where the men and women would dance separately and thus with much abandon! Meher’s dance school Banjara is a centre for all women centric dances, be it the gypsy, flamenco or Oriental.

Meher takes the class through the “waves”. The “outside wave”, she explains, takes energy from the inside and ends with a movement to the outside. Whereas, an “inside wave”, takes energy from the outside and ends with a move to the “inside”. The wave is a series of “forward, tip over, exhale, bend”. The instructions are plentiful, “Hip is stiff, move only one part at a time. It has to be one swift move.”

Belly dancing is excellent for both a cardio workout and for stretching. Meher explains that using different muscles helps to isolate and thus strengthen each. She adds, “Belly dancing works on core strength. And that’s the most important for any dancer.”

The girls in the class have different degrees of grace. While some look like they could be Mallika Sherawat in “Maia Maia”, others look like soldiers in a boot camp. I feel like a robot trying to attempt grace. Next we move to the twist. “Right forward, twist. Left forward, twist,” we’re instructed. In moments when one forgets to look at the mirror, one is graceful. When one looks at the mirror, one is a disaster. But yes, this is a seductive dance, and so it certainly is fun.

Next come the floor exercises. While usually done at the start of the class, Meher decides to incorporate it towards the end this time. Lying on a cold floor doing leg stretches and raises to an interminable count, is not my idea of fun. And I do think it’s beyond the call of work as well!

Contact Meher Malik 9891257210 or www.bellydancingindia.com

( nandini@thehindu.co.in)

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