Put on Your Dancing Shoes

Put On Your Dancing Shoes…

By 

Vivek Hande

 

Shoe( Noun); Etymology : Schoen(Dutch); Schuh(Old Germanic); Sko( Norwegian/ Danish)

Definition/ Description:  Footwear to protect and comfort the human foot. Has acquired status of being occasionally decorative or symbol of fashion.  Has potential to evoke frenzy and obsessive thoughts, more seen with female gender. Capable of triggering intense possessive feelings and desire to shop madly.

Shoes, in various forms have been around for a very long time. Oldest known footwear has been around from the period 7000-8000 BC and made of sagebrush bark. Armenian excavations from the period 3500 BC revealed footwear made of cowhide laced with leather cord. Thong sandals have existed in various civilizations and have been made from materials such as rawhide, papyrus and palm leaves. Wooden thongs have several references in literature from India. 

Wooden Paadukas

 

Shoes- Roman Warrior

 

The Greeks largely regarded footwear as ugly and unnecessary and probably self indulgent. The athletes in Greek Olympics ran bare feet and very often naked! Pheidippides ran bare feet from the Battle of Marathon to Athens over 36 hours to convey the news of Greek victory and was possibly the first Marathoner. Well, at least that is regarded as the origin of the word. The Romans changed it all and they believed that footwear was necessary and fashionable and the more powerful wore more elaborate footwear. The slaves remained bare feet. Probably around the mid 16^th Century, the royalty started wearing high heels with their footwear- a sign of affluence and power. Hence the term “well heeled” to signify wealth! By the end of 19^th Century the mass production of factory made shoes had started and yet handcrafted and individually stitched shoes remain a symbol of style and fashion till today. As an aside, mass produced shoes take about 1000 years to degrade in a landfill!!

 

Well Heeled

Well, shoes do signify many things about a person. It is often more than a style statement. How well polished and scuffed your shoes are, still goes a long way in establishing first impressions. While, shoes could be regarded as symbols of fashion and one can be finicky about what one picks up – I just buy whatever size 11plus/44 shoes I get – fashion be damned!  The woes of big feet run among the men in my family. When my father joined the Military Academy, they could not provide Boots his size for the first two months of training and when they finally did, he was told, “Wear your Boats and get on to the Drill Square”. For many years, I used to go to a small little shop in Karol Bagh to buy shoes-they used to make shoes for Russian Diplomats in New Delhi – my feet looked dainty compared to them!!

 

Boot/ Boat?

Not so Dainty

Shoes can be of specific types. Sports shoes : specific for Athletics; Golf; Baseball, Hiking, walking and so on. Dancing or Ballet Shoes. The Military man lives and swears by his boots and spends a lifetime in them and when he retires - he does hang up his boots!!Boots, shoes which cover the foot and ankle and extend up the leg. Boots are often made of different leathers- Cowhide, Ostrich, Annaconda and even Elephant hide have been used for making boots across the world. Different kinds of shoes have been made as newer material have come into use- rubber, plastic, petrochemicals, wood, canvas and so on. Sneakers came to be called thus because you could sneak up on another person wearing them. Barefoot running is back in vogue and there are shoes available which mimic the experience of running barefeet and provide protection and maximum flexibility. 

Vibram -almost barefeet

Flexible; Protective

There is no end to variety when it comes to Men’s shoes either. Oxfords, Balmorals, Derby, Slip Ons/ Mocassins and Brogues and one could go on. Wellington Boots, initially popularized by the First Duke of Wellington and made in leather gave way to boots in rubber and have remained perennially popular as practical footwear for rain and slush. The Basset Hound Jason is as famous and well known as the shoes - the globally popular Hush Puppies!!When it comes to the ladies shoes, 2 inch heels would qualify as High Heels; 1.5 to 2 inches are for some reason labeled as Kitten Heels and heels with a very narrow heel are the Stilettos- good to kill someone! Then there are the Wedge heels if you want to club someone and not stab ..

Jason -the Basset Hound

“Religion is like a pair of shoes- find one that fits you but don’t make me wear your shoes”- George Carlisle. In Indian mythology, Bharat ruled Ayodhya on behalf of Lord Rama by symbolically keeping his sandals(Paadukas) on the throne.  Hindus leave footwear outside the temple. In most South Indian homes, shoes are kept outside before one enters. The idea being to keep ones’ negative and evil thoughts outside and accept ones’ humility. Among the Arabs, showing ones’ shoes or sole of the footwear is considered unclean. Mosques don’t permit shoes either. For the Jews, the Talmud( Shabbat 129a) says “ A person should sell the roof beans of his house to buy shoes for his feet”. The code of Jewish Law( Shulchan Aruch) even specifies that one must wear the right shoe first and take off the left shoe first- the primacy of the right side…

Shoes have found mention in literature, music and poetry since time immemorial. Cliff Richards urges you to Put on Your Dancin Shoes.Who can forget Elvis Presley crooning Blue Suede Shoes or Bob Dylan making you swing to Boots of Spanish Leather. Iron Maiden would have you Die with your Boots On and Paul Simon singing about Diamonds on the Sole of the Shoes. Closer home, one knows about Joota Hai Japani.It goes on and on..

One of the classic tales revolves around Cinderella’s shoes. And as women may have you believe, it ended well because a shoe was involved. Puss in Boots is another classic and then you have Dorothy and her Red Ruby Shoes in the Wizard of Oz.

And look at our language. You are tough as old boots and may have to rough it out on your trip which is on a shoestring budget. It is never easy to be in someone else’s shoes and we all know that for want of a nail the shoe was lost and it ultimately lead to the loss of a kingdom! We all know some Miss Goody Two Shoes and it is only the wearer who knows where the shoe pinches!!

Well, shoes do evoke some kind of neuronal burst in most women and sparks a release of neurotransmitters which compels them to buy, possess and hoard shoes and more shoes!! Imelda Marcos , the former First Lady of Philippines was infamous for her 3000 pair shoe collection and a large number of them are now housed in a museum in Marikina. Closer home, I do know a lady with very Imeldasque traits. But I will leave it that – there are some stilettos in the collection! Shoes can be expensive business- a Manolo Blahnik( immortalized in the serial Sex and the City) could set you back by 4600 USD – Blixa Alligator Pumps are expensive.  A pair of handmade Manhattan Richelieu Men’s Shoes made of handmade Crocodile Waxed Cowhide from Louis Vuitton  can burn a 10000 USD hole in the pocket!! And there is a timeless quality and appeal of handmade Jimmy Choo(originally Chow- wrongly spelled on Birth certificate as Choo!) shoes and women have been known to give up on husbands and family when it comes to these beauties..

Manolo Blahnik -Alligator Skin

Luis Vuitton : only 10,000USD!

 Hurling shoes ( called Shoeing)at someone  has been regarded as a sign of insult traditionally. It finds mention in the Old Testament as well. One of the most infamous incidents being journalist Al Zaidi shoeing George Bush in 2008 and proclaiming it a farewell kiss from the Iraqis. Condoleeza Rice was called , “ Kundara” , Gulf Arabic Slang for shoes by her Middle East detractors as an insult.

 

Shoeing: December 2008

As Woody Allen is said to have famously remarked, “Comfortable shoes and the freedom to speak are the most important things in life!” And you definitely know you are very very old when someone compliments you on your alligator shoes and you are actually barefeet!!

                                                                               

Music: Fiddling While Rome Burns...

Music – Fiddling While Rome Burns!!

 By

Vivek Hande 

                      

  

Music, I daresay, is not mere sound, strung by notes. It is a sentiment. It is an emotion, a feeling, an appeal to the highest senses. Music has the power to unite. It has the power to heal, communicate and provide a sense of hope. Music is pure and real. It is perhaps, the world’s most famous and popular language. A medium which slashes through preconceived boundaries of ethnicity and language. Music truly does wash away the soul - the grime, grit and dust of everyday life…

There are hundreds of genres of music. What appeals to your senses is music for you. There is nothing, in my mind, that you need to call trendy, current or contemporary- when it comes to music. My boys enjoy Beatles as much as I do. I enjoy listening to MS Subbalakshmi or Harry Belafonte as much as my Dad does. And that is the beauty of music. I can enjoy ten different genres though the day; my choice can change with my mood - the music and the musician will not begrudge me! And that is the beauty of music..

 

I do believe music is therapeutic and cathartic. On a busy OPD, I attend to a hundred plus patients at times. What helps me get through is Beethoven or Strauss or Dire Straits or maybe Pink Floyd. That would depend on the mood of the day. But it does add to a sense of congeniality and it does allay the fears or anxieties of the patient as well. It does make the physician a normal person after all. Likewise, I see a great benefit in playing music in my Endoscopy Theatre as well. It is a different thing that many patients actually tell me to switch to something gentler than Metallica or Iron Maiden when I am about to put in the scope- it is then a quick switch to Jagjit Singh or Handel’s Water Music!! I have had patients getting into a discussion on the finer points of the music being played rather than focus on the ailment at hand. I have also had patients coming with CDs and asking me to try listening to a different genre and my music collection grows..

Music has a role to play in several facets of our life. Take Religion, for instance. Christianity has a strong tradition of the use of music in the church. Whether it is the entire congregation joining in or the choral group alone, singing is central to the religion. Contemporary Church Music encompasses virtually every genre from Gospel, Rock, Pop, Metal , Hip Hop- the idea being to reach out to a greater segment of the community. Sama Veda , in Hindu tradition is devoted to a great extent to music. Kirtans , Bhajans and Raagas are pivotal in Hinduism. Sufi music based on works of Rumi, Hafiz and many others gives a sense of great tranquility, even to those who don’t follow the religion. While music is an integral part of religion, there are many who do consider music itself, to be a religious experience..

Take Medicine. Apollo was the Greek God of Music and Medicine. Aesucalpius used music and song to cure diseases of the mind.  There are enough studies to demonstrate the Medical benefits of music. Joane Loewy of Beth Israel Medical Center believes,” There is just something about music-that excites and activates the body.” There is a growing use of music therapy by psychologists and clinicians in dealing with patients of pain, depression, Parkinson’s disease and even cases of Alzheimer. At the core of music is sound and sound is rooted in vibration and this is the basis for Vibroacoustic therapy that does contribute in enhancing the quality of life and perhaps promoting recovery. Work is focused on evaluation of  “dosable” and “prescribable” music as treatment..

    

Military and music are deeply connected. Music has always served to inspire courage and valor. Beethoven’s Battle Symphony has some of the greatest descriptive and inspirational music for military bands to celebrate victories. Military Bands are an integral component of militaries worldwide. Marches and Anthems instill courage and conformity and permits an individual to feel a part of a unified whole. The Reveille and the Retreat are important components of military tradition and use trumpets, bugles or pipes. The Tattoo has evolved into an elaborate Military ceremony but started as ‘Doe Den Tap Toe’ which was Dutch for ‘Turn off the Tap”. It got corrupted to Tap-Too and then Taptoo before it became Tattoo- primarily the band going into town and playing to ask the inn owners to stop serving Beer, so that the troops could return to the Barracks!!

 

Music helps improve our attention skills.  It does enhance learning – one learnt ones' ABCs through song and music. It taps into our memories and emotions like nothing else can. Music is important for creativity-it helps you enter what is called, ‘a mind wandering mode’. Music is linked to every important event – weddings, birthdays, graduation ceremonies and funerals. It creates strong memories and very strong feelings. I do believe that music is something out of the ordinary. It is woven into our lives and it is perhaps what makes humans human…

Freidrich Nietzche wrote,” Without music, life would be a mistake.” I tend to agree with him. Music can trigger memories – it can transport you decades; it can make you travel thousands of kilometers to another place. Different music means different things to different people. Jazz to me is smooth and cool; it is a conversation which never begins or ends. It flows like water. To someone who is not fond of Jazz, it may be something highly avoidable. But that is the sheer magic of music; the absolute wonder of music- you don’t have to understand it; you don’t have to recognize it – but if it appeals to your senses- you just feel it. As Bob Marley famously remarked , “The one good thing about music. When it hits you, you feel no pain!”

Before The Ink Runs Dry..

Before the Ink Runs Dry…

By  

Vivek Hande

Can anything be more sublime than the flow of a nib across a sheet of good paper? A fountain pen running across the pages- it is lyrical; it is musical; it is almost magical. It is not a mundane act- it is a pathway, a channel for the musings of the heart. 

A fountain pen is a writing instrument; when the ink flows across paper, it transforms the ordinary to something special. Writing with a fountain pen is like savoring vintage wine; you could write with a Ballpoint pen but that is like having tap water. You could punch away furiously on a keyboard and write thousands of words- but that is like eating a Sandwich on the go; when you put ink to paper , you are having a Michelin Star Gourmet dinner in a fancy restaurant!

The pen and Ink have actually changed the face of humanity and are one of the greatest inventions of mankind. It allowed man to create, share, learn and preserve. It started with the Sumerians who used a stylus to write on Clay Tablets and then baked the tablets for posterity. The Romans did the same on Wax Tablets. The Egyptians, in 2000BC were the first to use Reed Pens- perhaps the first writing instrument as we know it today. The Quill (usually the feather of a Goose) came into use around 600AD. The Dead Sea Scrolls are believed to have been written with a Quill in Hebrew. It was in 1822, that John Mitchell, in Birmingham, first brought out the mass scale production of pens with metal nibs- but they still needed to be dipped like a quill in the ink pot. It was in 1827, that the French Government patented the fountain pen – invented by Petrarch Poenaru- a Romanian studying in Paris. The pen then underwent refinement in design and materials used but have largely remained the same functionally since then. And when I say pen, I do refer to the fountain pen because that is really a pen – everything else is an imitation for convenience and expense.

A fountain pen can vary in cost. It could cost less than a Dollar and it could go up to a million and more! There are custom made pens which can set you back by a convenient million Dollars and more...The Fulgor Nocturnus by Florentine Pen Maker Tibaldi costs a cool 8 Million USD and only three such have ever been made. But well , I do agree that is carrying things too far!!


 

 Each pen moulds itself to the user. one needs to go with a pen which is comfortable for the writer - the grip, the feel , the nib - what suits you and what is comfortable for you may not be the same for me.  I got my passion for the pen from a senior colleague, alas no more. He had an array of fountain pens and would use one, each week. The rest of them would be meticulously washed, dried, put in a pack and kept upright in a container on his table. Some pens would come back for use after months. He also taught me not to use any bottled ink for more than year- small sediments do form which could clog your pen.  He would never lend his pens – he would say, “My pen knows me; it is used to me. Don’t ever press the nib too hard- it is pain sensitive! Let it just glide..”. He almost treated his pen as a living, breathing creature. It inked off on me. I quite much follow the same routine and am passionately obsessive about my collection. People worry about losing expensive pens- it is the same as losing your pet or your children- you just hang onto them!!

 

A pen and your handwriting speak a lot about your character. It is as distinctive as you. A good pen just allows your thoughts to flow and speaks what you really want to say. As Mark Twain is supposed to have famously remarked, “I need only five things in life- pen, paper, food, sleep and a sane mind.” And I do agree with the writer, Charmaine Forde, who wrote, “There is no such thing as wasted moment when I have a pen and paper.”

  The pen has been described as a weapon of mass creation. The pen is often described as being stronger than the sword. But as humorist George Banister remarked rather wryly,” The pen is mightier than the sword- especially when you stick it in someone’s eye!” And somebody rather philosophically compared the flow of ink to the flow of life – the ebbs and tides and commented that “When the Ink runs dry, you are most likely writing at the wrong angle..”

So change the angle. Change the Pen. Grab another Pen and enjoy the beauty of its flow across paper..it is something to be savored before the ink indeed runs dry!!