365 DAYS 365 TALES

Lights! Camera! Action....

There are some days where you just know that you have lost a golden oppotunity. Mine luckily(?) happened when I was in seven.

The whole lot of us in the locality decided that we had to do something in favour of the patriotic spirit as part of the freedom day celebrations. As a natural choice, we chose to do a drama on the life of a freedom fighter. I was one of the few persons who had mastered the language and so I was the chosen one...I was the hero of the drama.

The story was painstakingly put on by one of our neighbours. In between our homeworks, we even managed to do practice the play. We watched the neighbour who had written the play, enact the scenes very emotionally. We tried to look very serious as she rolled her eyes with so much 'emotion'. But there was a time when me and Rupa (my best friend, in case you are wondering) unable to help ourselves started giggling. (We were forced to convert the giggle into a cough, which even by my standards looked very lame)

Anyway the big day arrived. And I must say, we all carried out most of our parts almost well. (I said most of us and almost well....I am definitely not telling about the boy who looked at the entire crowd, who just happened to be nothing more than the people he saw everyday, and broke down crying. And I am definitely not telling you about the girl who tripped and fell face down when she was supposed to come running to announce that someone was coming....)

With all these event, mercifully we were towards the very end of the drama. In the end, there was a scene when the freedom fighter was captured by certain people. So my best friend Rupa being the guard, she was supposed to catch my hand and try to stop me.

We were all set and I trooped inside the stage with my completely uncomfortable dress and my false mustache which was irritating me to no end.

Rupa jumped over from the backstage and stood before me looking all angry and mean looking.

I am not kidding, she actually looked like she was going to pounce on me. All that seemed missing were two fangs. Unfortunately, my brain latched on the image of Rupa-turning-into-Dracula, pretty well. I tried, I really tried, but I could not stop myself giggling, Naturally I forgot my lines.

Our neighbour who was backstage, slammed her hand hard on her head muttering 'Idiot!' loud enough for the audience in the last bench to hear.

The audience decided to let that go too.

Deciding that I was never going to remember my lines Rupa came close and clutched my hand (which is what she was supposed to do in the play) and I watching our neighbour mime me from backstage appropriately. I was supposed to look like I was struggling (My friends tell me that at that time, they all thought Rupa and me had giving up on the drama and started dancing....)

The heavens opened up suddenly and I suddenly remembered my lines. I also remembered that I had to push Rupa back right then.

Probably it was the sudden realization....whatever it was I pushed Rupa and turned to the audience. 'The prison is but a bed of roses....' (It was a very lengthy dialogue, which mercifully I do not remember now..).

However this time, I was interrupted.

Standing beside me was Rupa and to my horror, she was crying and looking angry. (An impossible combination and she carried it out with perfect ease) 'Why did you push me so hard?' She demanded angrily as she came up to me on the stage. I do not normally get scared, but trust me, Rupa really looked ferocious.

'I have to push you now!' I squeaked hastily stepping back...Honestly, the dialogues for the play, or the play itself did not seem very important. Rupa really looked homicidal.

'I hurt my head!' Rupa shouted and mercifully, our neighbour dropped the curtain. Not that it prevented the audience from hearing the rest of the dialogue between me and Rupa. (There was no dialogue. Rupa was yelling and I was looking apologetically...)

I admit the rest of the evening was a little hazy with lots of adults surrounding us and laughing loudly and generally bugging us with continuous questions which just seemed variations of 'whether we were well'.

I very studiously avoided the neighbour...and for a few day, even avoided Rupa. (Rupa, I made up with,eventually)

However the worst part was that our play was recorded and....the recording still exists and played a lot of times. Atleast it is played a lot of times in my home...

So that was the day, the theatre lost a really good would-have-been-actor....

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(24/04)