Lulu mall ice skating and happy new year

                                               

       Today being new years eve i took my cousins to the lulu mall for ice skating . Its the only ice skating rink in kerala and being a good calorie burner and also a good entertainment ( i had done it once in mumbai ) i was eager to do it . We went to lulu mall in kochi one of largest malls in asia . Before entering the skating rink i had vision of a place where we could skate in peace probably in a larger rink than  in mumbai . Though my cousin was an expert in ice skating i was a beginner .

What i was not expecting was the crowd around the ice skating rink . Being circular and with around 500 + people crowded around with jeering and occasional howling i suddenly felt i was in a roman collosseum . If it were gladiators whose fights were judged by the crowd here it was us who was potential gladiators . Most of the ice skating participants were beginners and many of them were falling as soon as they started walking on ice balanced on a very thin blade of ice skating shoe . To tell the truth though the stage of stage fear was gone for me this was a tricky situation were a large crowd was commenting and shouting when people fell down .Me and my cousin 2 (who was also a beginner ) was in half  mind to turn back while cousin 1 was already rushing in to show his skills . ( maybe he was a reincarnated gladiator )  .

But generally not a person who turns back (cousin 2 also of similar mindset ) we went in put on the gear and went inside the arena . Ice was more slippery today and the rink was large . Crowd was passing comments and howling when people fell but suddenly the focus changed . The focus was on the ice , the terrain for which we had come . Of course the distracting crowd with comments like "award film motion " for my slow moving cousin 2 and "chetta when is the next stop " to me were audible but still the focus changed to the ice and the skating . Especially in the latter part we even started enjoying the comments still a little self conscious to prevent a major fall .

Thinking of the new year ahead i can only think of the ice skating rink . Before any experience we have our own visions about the coming new year but even minutes away from it we do not know how it will be for us the actual experience of the coming year . But as any dedicated ice skater knows its not the falls or the crowd that matters but only the "experience" . For that we have to put our ice skating shoes and with a whistle take off into the ice ....... and enjoy both the positives and the negatives .. Happy new year 2014 ...

PS : Thank you 2013 for giving me so many beautiful and challenging experiences . Looking forward to 2014 ...