The Stage and Me -Part 1

A friend asked me if I had participated in theatre activities and this reminded me of the brushes I have had with performing on the stage. Being a victim of stage fright, these brushes have been very few.


My first distinct memory of putting up an act on the stage was in a fancy dress competition on Teacher's Day. I was about 12 years old and in the sixth standard.

The chosen attire: tribal-wear. My dress designer happened to be my sister who cut up a HUGE skirt and made the complete dress for me. Strips of the cloth were tied on my head, arms and legs. She and a close friend of hers took hold of some water colours and let their imagination lose... colouring up my face and arms and legs. Talcum powder was used to create suitable effects. My hair didn't need to be worked upon. On any given day it would have put a tribal to shame. Accessory: a multicolour feathered cleaning brush

The competition required us to put up an act too. Choreographed by my sister, I had to do the following:
Jump onto the stage from the sidewings. Look left and right with a very grim expression on my face. Jump my way to the mic, continuing this looking about routine. On reaching the mic, dance a tribal dance while saying things like hoo-la-la-hoo. On my House Captain's suggestion, I added the line "Hello teachers! How about joining me for a dance after the party?" Dance a bit more. And exit from the other side of the stage.

The performance went as planned. I was scared shit, obviously. My sister who was part of the audience didn't see my act because she was too nervous to look. (Love you sis) When I jumped onto the stage i could hear my classmates whispering my name in the silent auditorium. As I danced and said the nonsense, people laughed. When I extended my dance invitation, they laughed even more.
I shared the first prize with another person.

More experiences in the next post........

Dining Table Issues

During lunch, dad received mail from LIC Mutual Fund promoting a particular scheme using the following priceless line:

“Do not lose this opportunity to repent later”

It hurts when you laugh with a full tummy.

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Confessions:

• While eating a pizza, I end up with ketchup on my cheeks
• While eating food that is even moderately spicy, my nose starts running

These result in an abnormal number of used paper napkins. I will soon be sued by environmentalists!

Must Watch

NSD Repertory Co. presents EINSTEIN -The story till 1905.
Written and Directed by Mohan Maharishi.

Performance Dates: 19th April to 24th April 2005 at 6:30 p.m.
Additional Shows: 23rd and 24th April 2005 at 3.00 p.m.
Venue: Abhimanch Auditorium, Bhagwandas Lane, Bahawalpur House, N.Delhi. (near Mandi House, for the uninitiated)

Tickets: Rs. 100/-, 50/-, 25/- and 10/- only

Advance Booking: between 11.00 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on working days and one hour before the show.

MOHAN MAHARISHI is a well-known name in Indian theatre. Having trained at the National School of Drama, he has been working in the theatre for close to 50 years, directing more than 100 productions so far and penning to this day some outstanding plays like "Einstein", "Raja Ki Rasoi", "Joseph Ka Mukadma", "Deewar Mein Khidki Rehti Thi" and "Ho Rahega Kuch Na Kuch"

Incidentally, a few years ago, E. Alkazhi, the doyen of theatre, while summing up the theatre scene in India, said: "Mohan Maharishi's `Einstein' is one of the most remarkable productions that I have seen. If the production has taken place in London or New York, it would have been an international event."

Catch it people!

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Summer Theatre Festival of 18 Plays begins from 14th May 2005.

Yay!!!!!

Seekho Na!

On the way to a library today, my dad asked me if I had remembered to bring the library card. I answered a very tired yes thinking, "obviously!" He then asked me if I was carrying a scribbling pad and a pen to take notes. I just looked at him and smiled thinking, "Please! I am 21 years old!" A few minutes later I realized that I had forgotten to carry a tissue or a handkerchief. So much for having grown up!

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I went to Mussoorie (a hill station) recently. Lessons learnt:

• It's fun to walk on dry leaves. It is irritating when someone else does it
• Do not possess a passion for shopping AND for walking else you end up carrying ALL that you have purchased for quite a few kilometers
• If you stand in the shade and wave at your dad while he is concentrating on the mountain road, he will NOT spot you and you will have to run after your car
• Do not desert your mother on the mall without a penny on her
• Do not ask the price of something you have already bought from some other shop

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Eating an ice-lolly is like kissing a snowman

Double Dose

A film festival of Dev Anand's movies is on at Siri Fort this weekend. On Saturday, I watched the two movies that were being played: Hum Dono and Tere Ghar Ke Saamne. As is usually the case with me, I went with no expectations: neither good nor bad. I enjoyed both the movies.

Hum Dono is the story of a poor man in love with a rich girl who joins the army and meets a Major who looks exactly like him and the events that follow this happy/unhappy coincidence. The movie makes you laugh, cry, think and sing along with the Dev Anands and their respective love interests and mothers. Some of the questions raised by the movie were: why does a man join the army and go to war? What does his family go through? What is true affection?

Tere Ghar Ke Saamne is the story of a young architect who falls in love with a client's daughter, only to discover that the client is his own father's biggest enemy. To make matters worse, he is expected to design the houses of the client and his own father which are on adjacent plots with both of them trying to make houses better than the other. As luck (and the script writer) would have it, they end up choosing the same design. The movie is hilarious and the audience was laughing their heads off! It carried the message of rising above one's ego and spreading love.

The movies belonged to the early 1960s. Yet, one could easily relate to the situations. Special mention of the portrayal of the parent-child relationship in both the movies which had me and my mother exchanging glances on more than one occasion.

The music was excellent. Though the songs were a little too frequent in Tere Ghar Ke Saamne, they were very enjoyable. People were singing along. Immortal songs.

About the man himself, these movies showed a young Dev Anand whose unique mannerisms charm you. In his later movies, he looks too old to carry off that style and the mannerisms tend to look exaggerated. I guess I finally understood why I had his poster up in my room when I was a kid!