You must be aware of the concept of Fight or Flight? Yes. Standing on the stage has done that to me countless times. And then I have been an absolute wreck. I will not kid about that.

I am going to quote a personal embarrassing tale at that.

There was this time in college, my English language professor had written my name down for debate and elocution competition. I begged him to spare me the horrors. But he won’t take no for an answer. I particularly remember a week worth of sleep being sacrificed. I could see the impending doom in my sleep and would wake up with sweat and a badly delivered speech.

I was good at speaking and elocution – mind you. But I was terrible at this formal way of doing things. And boy! on D-day, I didn’t disappoint me. I was a trainwreck on the stage and I was gaping around. Can you believe it – my principal sir smiled and encouraged me to finish the speech. My feet and whole body was shaking and the dais was not big enough to hide my shivering carcass.

I was done with speech forever.

Ten years later I was back on stage for the launch of my first book. And no – I was not shaking now. The fear of unknown is a real thing, as they say. I probably didn’t know the subject matter so I was shivering. I knew my book so I was confident. And thereby, I was able to speak to strangers and give speeches and interviews and it was an amazing feeling.

Five years more later – I had joined classical dancing. And I was on stage doing a solo of Guru Vishwamitra to a packed theatre. I was the happiest. I could not have believed that fifteen years ago I was shivering and blubbering and now I had come so far off.

I have felt every drop of adrenaline course through my blood stream as I burst into a million pieces on the stage in front of a college that was going to judge you no matter what. And I have never been so conscious of my nervous system tingling under my skin than during those fateful four minutes. Four minutes looked like four decades of punishment chained to that podium. And I would’ve stood there forever.

Phew! Thank God – That’s over…