Well, yesterday was a very special day. It was my first 'public appearance' involving the book. I was excited, of course, thankful for the opportunity, and under the impression that I will be just doing the 'draw' for the participants.
I took a whole day to decide what i should wear, and settled for Indian wear considering it wa s gathering of NRIs. Got my hair done, tried my heels, and asked the hotel for directions the night before. Yesterday morning, I left the home early enough to reach the venue at least 15 minutes before. Closer to the venue, i got lost and called them repeatedly for the directions, still always missing one side street. In despair, I asked a fellow driver and he told me to take a u-turn after the 'next two signals'. But when i reached the second signal, it said, "No- u-turn'! I went out of the area and repeated the whole process, keeping the venue staff on the phone line with me all the while. When a friend called, i told him i was too lost to talk right now. Very kindly, he called me back a little later to give me directions! All in all, I barely managed to reach the venue in time.
Once there, I felt so out of place for a moment, just for a moment- all the NRi gathering was dressed in Western wear! Thank you very much!!!
My host was very gracious and introduced me to a lot of his colleagues and we were having a good chat when he asked me, "Would you like to say something about your book? 2 minutes?"
I paused before asking myself, "Would I? Why not...?"
I said, "Would they be interested? The book is not even available here...."
But it was decided i should. For rest of the morning, I wondered if I should 'prepare a script'? I decided not to- I know my book well enough...and then, how hard can it be to talk about it?
When they called me on the stage, i wondered why 'flats' cannot be as formal or dressy as 'heels'. My legs threatened to give way because I was wearing heels 1/2 size too small, squashing my foot and causing circulation problems! In my mind, I had a broad idea of how i wanted to start and end....but once up there, it just took a life of its own...reminding me that it had been over ten years since I had spoken to a gathering at all, and over 25 years since I had spoken on a stage like this. No wonder my train of thought had got muddled up, and i was not saying the things i wanted to....I was worried the audience was losing interest, but there was a saviour- the lady on the table in the front whose gentle smile was very encouraging. In the end, it was a bit awkward but a very enriching experience...
I learnt:
1. You never know where help can come from....
2. Never ever buy heels/ shoes which are even 1/2 a size small, even if the sales guy says "it is leather and will expand..."
3. Be comfortable in what you are wearing. I was....and very happy that in that sea of blacks and white and an occasional sea-green shirt, I was wearing a rich colour.
4. It does not harm to have some bullet points in front of you to control your train of thoughts- because the world does seem very different from up there!
5. Enjoy....every moment of the experience because it is worth it!
So, that how my first public appearance, and my first 'speech' about the book went. I was worried thinking i messed it up, but then thought about sharing it nevertheless...there is no laughter like laughing at myself! :)))))))))))
