Moonlight Bliss

Far, Far away, in the kingdom of Oden lies a village called Po. Surrounded by green pasture, good food, and unique architecture, Po is certainly the place to be. During the day, the less than 1000 adult members of the village go about their farming duties while the children attend  school. As a tourist on a 1 week vacation, I found this place intriguing. First, I noticed livestock (Chicken, Goats, Sheep, Cows and Pig) living among the inhabitants and running the streets and then there were young children walking home from school without adult supervision. They knew just where to go and what to do. What is this place, I thought to myself? Everything seems to function seamlessly and people look content.  Where I come from, the only place I see a semblance of a chicken is at the grocery store where they lie frozen.

I turned to my tour guide and  asked “is what I’m witnessing a fluke or does this place always look and feel this way”?  Wait till the evening time and you will love this place more he responded. What happens in the evening, I asked. Just wait my friend, just wait, you will soon find out, said the tour guide. In the evening when the laborers were back home and all the children had been fed, I kept wondering if there was more to come.  Suddenly,  there was this rapturous noise coming from a distance and the young and old gravitated towards that sound.  Time to go now the tour guide said, this is the moment. As we got closer, I understood what he meant. That peculiar sound was coming from 3 big drums. Like a war cry, the noise gathered the village for what would be a wonderful moment. Twice a week the people of Po would dance under the moonlight. Young and old, weak and strong, rich or poor, slim or fat, everyone joined in the freestyle dancing. There were no protocols, just 3 hours of fun and dance to be had by all. I have 2 left feet and I’ve always been scared to dance even in private but here I was dancing under the moonlight in  a strange place with people I barely know and I didn’t want to stop.  It felt so freeing. In that moment, I learnt that one is never too old to have fun and to learn a few new tricks in the process. So whatever you do, and no matter how busy your schedule, do take time to rest and have fun. You will be amazed at what you will discover about yourself.