'Bollywood Dreams' - the FoD Annual Charity Ball

My last post painted a dreary picture of our life here in China - but it's most certainly not all gloom and doom over here! I, for one, have a great deal of fun - weekend parties with friends, shopping trips to Shanghai, activities in school, and always, the exotic vacations to look forward to! Just last month, we were at a fabulous soiree - the Friends of Dulwich Annual Charity Ball!

A little background about the Friends of Dulwich - this society has been created mainly to bring Dulwich parents together - if you have a child at Dulwich College Suzhou, you're automatically a member! The goal is to increase parent involvement in the school, and also through various fund raising activities, give back a little to the local community! There is an elected committee - all the members are parents who are serving in a purely voluntary capacity. Volunteers are, of course, always welcome to help out with the myriad activities happening all-year round. The 2 main events organized at the school - the first, International Day and the second, the reason for this post - The Annual Charity Ball!

The word 'Ball' always brings to mind images of glass slippers and elaborate masks, champagne and caviar, waltzing under the stars - all very romantic, true, but definitely something that I would steer far, far away from! Last year, by the time I found out about the Ball, it was too late to get tickets - so we didn't go. Everyone we know went, however - and there was plenty of excitement about getting gowns made, tuxedos being ordered - just listening to all the talk was a bit intimidating, I have to admit I was secretly relieved about not going!!

This year, I knew we would go - so it was with some trepidation that I waited for the announcement - and somehow, just like that, all my fears were gone! The theme was announced - and it was, wait for it - Bollywood!!! Talk of comfort zones, I was smack dab in the middle of mine!!! I knew exactly what I was going to wear, I had the jewellery to match - never before had dressing for a party been that easy!!! What made it better is that I was able to offer some of my non-Indian friends 'costumes' to wear - my sarees, collected over the last dozen years, finally being put to good use! We had a try-a-saree afternoon - for me, a great kick-off to what I knew was going to be a great event!!!

Next in line was Bollywood dancing - we have a very talented lady here in Suzhou, well versed in both Bharatnatyam and Kathak, and she ran a dance workshop intended to familiarize people with Bollywood song and dance. She was also going to put on a number of dance items at the Ball, and was planning to train a few women for that purpose too! I'm certainly no dancer - and by the way, just for the record - being Indian does not necessarily mean that you are an expert on Bollywood dance - or yoga! Anyway, I still showed up at the first session - and I found out that I was actually capable of gracefully moving my hands, or my feet - just not together at the same time!! I'm definitely no dancer!!! 

While most of us were having so much fun, the committee members had their noses to the grindstone - the amount of work that goes into putting on a event like this is unimaginable! I'm sure the logistics were mind boggling - selecting the venue, deciding the entrance fee, printing and selling tickets, food, decorations, entertainment - and these are just the things that are visible!! My friends were part of the decoration team, and I got a chance to see them at work - and their efforts were nothing short of genius! The creativity and ingenuity - ordering ordinary items from taobao, and then transforming them into flashy centerpieces, yards and yards of fabric to be use as chair bows and drapes, tons of flowers and votives, Bollywood posters - gold stickers, glitter, lace, glue guns, and a lot of manpower (or should it be womanpower?!). There was also archways to be made - one for the entrance, one for the photo booth - and this involved sawing and nailing wood, mixing concrete, lot of foam board for the decoration - what a tremendous job!!

The entrance archway

Baby elephant masterpiece - created from wire and flowers!

The decorated and ready ballroom

After all the hard work and anxieties - will there be enough centerpieces, will the archway hold up, to name a few - the Day of the Ball! I had a few anxieties of mine - I certainly had offered to dress my friends, but was I up to the task? Thankfully, the sarees all co-operated, and we were ready to leave by 6pm. The venue was the Hotel Kempinski - not too far from us! I had initially thought I was a bit too blingy, but as we walked into the ballroom, it was obvious that tonight there was no such thing as too much bling!! The photo booth was the first stop after registration - and I was glad to see my Chennai brass lamps add just the right touch of authenticity! Cocktail hour with much oohing and aahing followed - and then finally it was time to find our seats in the beautiful ballroom!!

The 'official' photo!

The dance show that kicked off the evening was amazing - it was quite a revelation to see the performers going all out with all the jhatkas and matkas! Free flowing beer and wine at the table - surprisingly, the wine was terrible, more vinegar than wine! The buffet soon opened - there was a large selection of entrees, both Indian and Western - like the wine, the food was nothing to write home about! They did have quite a few vegetarian options, so at least, it wasn't just salad and dessert! Then of course, there were sponsors to be thanked, and raffle tickets to be drawn, a few party games - and one last dance number, the current favorite - 1,2,3,4, Get on the dance floor! With that everyone was on the dance floor - the DJ was from Shanghai, and he played a lot of our favorite Hindi songs, so we danced the night away!

 

 

Going crazy on the dance floor!

What a night! I guess this was my first Ball and I literally had a ball!!! Honestly speaking, I think Ajey and I probably enjoyed it a lot more than some of the other guests - Indian dress, Indian food, Indian dance - this party was tailor made for us!! Now if only they would do this same theme every year....I know, I know - wishful thinking!! Nevertheless, one thing is certain - we'll be back, no matter what the theme!!! Until later, signing off!

A 'Hardship' Assignment

Our company sends its employees to far-flung places on the globe - these international assignments (ISEs) are a great stepping stone for careers, and also bring with them the opportunity to experience different cultures, to explore beyond comfort zones. I, personally, have enjoyed all our ISEs - China is our third - and frankly, the prospect of 'settling down', being a 'regular' person rather than an expat, is not something I'm looking forward to!

It is always a challenge to settle in a new place - some places maybe be a tad more challenging than others, and China and India have the dubious honour of falling into this latter category! Assignments to these countries are known as 'hardship' assignments - there's certainly no sugarcoating there, you know what you're getting into. Greater hardship also brings with it bigger perks, of course - more vacation, lavish homes, maids and drivers - you name it! When we accepted our India assignment, I was almost bubbling over with the irony - I would have given my right hand and foot to be able to live in India, and here I was being offered extra incentives because of the 'hardship'!!

Realistically speaking, though, India is certainly a difficult country to move to. Even for me, the first few months were really hard - the extremes of poverty, the resigned, lackadaisical attitudes of people, the rampant corruption - every day brings a new challenge! Even worse, living in India forces you to change, and not in a nice way. The first time you see a child begging at a street light, it hits hard in the gut - after a few months, that child has faded away, blended into the scenery. And this is just the beginning. As much as I hate to admit it, the indifference and callousness bleeds into the soul - and it made me a harder person, less sympathetic, more likely to turn a blind eye. Yes, the infrastructure is terrible, the heat is unbearable, nobody seems to work without a bribe - but the real hardship in India is the struggle to keep the conscience alive, to be kind, and above all, to be grateful. Simple things - but the most difficult! Would I do it again? In a heartbeat - in spite of what I've said, India is and will always remain, Home! And even for the other expats - India, with all its contradictions, invariably makes a lasting impression!

At first sight, China is so very much like a Western country - the huge freeways, the skyscrapers, the shopping malls, everything clean and shiny and new! Of course, behind the veneer is a communist regime, but that doesn't really impact my day-to-day life here! The language is a bit of a problem, but it's fairly easy to learn rudimentary Mandarin. The people are friendly, hardworking and eager to please. Sometimes, it seems like the biggest hardship is not having a car to get around every day! And yet, 'hardship' assignment! Of course, we were always being warned about washing fruits and vegetables carefully, and there was the big avian flu scare just a few months ago - but overall, things didn't seem to be too bad!

Until about a couple of weeks ago, when I revised all my opinions about China being a 'hardship country'. The air quality has never been the best here, and a combination of the winter cold and increase in coal burning caused a deadly smog to descend on the entire Jiangsu province. The Air Quality Index (AQI) hovered at over 450 for more than 10 days - to put this in perspective, the WHO recommends that 0 to 50 is the acceptable range of AQI - we were being forced to breathe in 10 times as many pollutants!! Most of us expats have our air purifiers running around the clock at home - but that is hardly any consolation when I have to let Manasi walk out to the school bus, and then spend the whole day at school! The students are not let outside to play, of course, but Dulwich College is taking a step further and having purifiers installed in all the classrooms!

The very idea of the air you breathe being 'hazardous' is preposterous - but it is the harsh reality here in China. This goes beyond any imaginable 'hardship', and what makes it worse is the knowledge that we are here voluntarily! I don't even pretend to understand the damage this is causing to our environment - the planet is literally choking, and there doesn't seem to be any respite coming! On a personal front, I dare not think of the long-term effects of this pollution on my family's health, and can only hope that once we leave, our respiratory systems will slowly recover! For now, the only solution is to stay indoors as much as possible - we're even considering buying masks if the situation does not improve. It is difficult to understand the high spikes in AQI - the number fluctuates quite a bit. This is the first time since we got here that it has stayed so high for so long - and I don't know if it's going to ever so bad again! The most we can hope for is a 'Unhealthy' AQI, numbers less than 200 - and I'll count myself lucky if it stays in that range as long as we are here!

Today, after 2 weeks, Suzhou has sunshine, and almost-blue skies. The AQI is getting better, the smog dissipating slowly! Fresh air is on the way - until then, stay indoors, breathe safe, all my China friends!