The Fire Within

At 6.30pm,the Madpoi boys — Maulesh Thaker,Rahul Vadnere and Aditya Dikshit — introduced themselves and their art. They explained that it is an ancient art form that originated in New Zealand where the warriors of Maori tribe would perform such exercises to improve coordination and concentration. Both the art and the equipment used,a ball with a string attached,are called poi.

The basics explained,the instructors listed the essential points — different planes (right and left,up and down and forward and reverse),importance of timing (split,together and opposite) and the need to apply full attention to the art while performing it.

We were also led to doing a couple of stretching exercises to loosen up the wrist,fingers,neck,shoulders and legs.

Finally,the action began. Practice pois,essentially long cotton socks with a ball in it,were handed out to the participants. The group at once began swinging the new toy,as soothing music gave rhythm. Gaining momentum,we also began to experiment with swinging techniques and started making random patterns in the air with the pois.

A select group,which was only interested in learning tricks with the staff — a long,aluminum stick with LED lights and bright grips in the middle — tried their act at one end of the arena. Trickier than the pois,we could see the group trying to avoid hitting their own head with the staffs.

Albeit,once in a while,the stick would fling out of their hands and land on someone. Since catching the technique of spinning the staff took longer,only poi learners graduated to the next level on the first day.

The exceptionally good poi swingers were given glow balls and fire balls,as others watched in wide-eyed excitement. The glow balls brought the geometric patterns alive and sent us into a relaxed trance. Dealing with the fire balls is another experience altogether. It requires caution,and for a first-timer,may even require a constant mumbling of prayers under your breath as you swing the hot stuff around.

Once the participants got over the initial hesitation and gained momentum,the fire ball turned into a toy they couldn’t stop playing with. By the end of the first day,more than enchanting others with the art form,we ended up enchanting ourselves with the various geometric patterns made in time with the music.