My plays/skits, we call it NATOK

Another Durga puja has started and as I read through my past year puja blog, I feel I have missed out a lot. And I also realize that durga puja is not something to be covered in one blog and owing to the fact that I don't see myself taking part in the durga pujas in near future, I better be a bit kanjoos about sharing all my ideas.

So this is about plays. Well let me first tell you that I am very stage shy and my tension really shows up on stage also. But still I managed to act in 4 plays during various durga pujas.

The story would be incomplete without mentioning my family background in terms of the play. All of them more stage smart than me, my mom a regular in playback singing, has done only one play in her childhood as the small girl in Rabindranath’s “Dakghor. My elder brother was lucky enough to be one of the two kids who approach a granny to tell a story where the story was the drama, so he was just for a minute. But best role award goes to my dad who acted as one of the victims in Jaliyanwala baag massacre. So four plays by me is a feat in itself.

Anyway my first play was according to the family traditions. The story was a small boy wanting to meet the sun and asking everybody on the way. He asks the ants, he asks the nilkanth or the Indian roller (a bird). I was one of the newborn little birds who hopped away and later was dragged back to the nest while the mom was talking to the kid. That was all I had to do. Hop and get pulled back. This was when I was in 1^st standard.

Second was more substantial. It was a big play about the mess the durbar creates and catches an innocent boy for a thief. I was one of the courtiers who keep cracking jokes.

The hard part came when in a scene I had to do “kaan pakadke uthak baithak” (situps holding ur ears) and show the convict his punishment. Even though I was a small kid of 10 that time, it hurt my ego too much; I planned to backoff from the play. Mom n dad scolded me a lot but when they saw that I was adamant, they finally had to accept it. But the director aunty understood my problem and twisted the role a bit. So while I said the dialogue, somebody else did the action. During the play, because of that act, the guy was an instant hit. And me a mere actor.

The third one came when I was in 7^th standard. This time I was the lead. Not because of my acting skills, because I was the so called “brainy” guy in the colony and I could memorize the loads of dialogues I had to deliver. This play was all about some mischief committed by the boy and his 2 friends. The boys sis had a crucial part too. I mention it here coz this girl was also there with me in the other 2 plays. Her nickname is tuktuki.

Anyway, people really appreciated my role this time and I was glad about it.

The fourth play was a year later and it was a real good one. It was about a woman and a man scheming of kidnapping a girl and we 5 people, dampen their plans. I was the fourth important amongst the 5. The funniest part was a birthday scene. It was the last scene itself and the last part of that was there was food served and we said three cheers and cheered our glasses and started eating! We were asked not to eat it but just to pretend until the curtain falls and later do whatever we want. But the bhukkad me had to act oversmart! I couldn’t stop putting the samosa in my mouth and as predicted I did choke and started coughing spoing the end scene. But overall it was real fun.

Again I conclude abruptly here! There were no further plays.