Character Study

The more things change, the more they remain the same

However much we shuffle people around during the exercises (see post of May 31), certain things remain constant. Shekhawat will stand where he has always stood, directly facing the Garden gate. So would Razia Khan. And Arun Patil shall stand with his back to the Gate. So would Nahid Khan. Likewise, Ved Prakash Grover has marked his position on the side as has Teja Singh Bhambra, or say Sunita Jajodia, Geeta Sardana, Khatoon Baig… In fact, by and large, each one of us has a self-identified position in the exercising circle and no matter what, we’d be reluctant to budge from there.
This has nothing to do with individual comfort zones (or even, the compulsions of habit) but it is all about personality traits we unconsciously project. Facing the gate brings about a peculiar sense of empowerment – of being in the know of every movement in and out, and the ability to announce each late-comer’s arrival.

Hari Singh Shekhawat

Arun Patil

By extension, it betrays a subliminal desire to be in charge or assuming a position of authority, even as it may not be explicit.
In sharp contrast, a back-to-the Gate position reveals a chilled out, couldn’t-care-less yet supremely confident nature with absolutely no desire to impress – something Arun, Nahid and others around them manage to convey perfectly. Try shifting Shekhawat to Arun’s place or Razia to Nahid’s position... it's next to impossible. What’s more, neither of them can ever see eye-to-eye with those they face standing diametrically opposite. They occupy the two ends of a spectrum.
As for the nature of the rest flanking these two extremes, the degree of extroversion or otherwise would depend upon the proximity to the opposing attributes. Check the positions of Teja Singh, Srichand Arora, Jagmohan Papneja or perhaps Kiran Makharia, Santosh Tyagi, Mallika Kagzi… Dislocating them would topple their applecart. And as for those conducting the exercises – the so-called ring masters of the morning -- well, that’s a far more amusing story, deserving another blog post. Watch this space.