Dramatic memoir

Madras Players' 'Silence! The Court is in session' is a 100 minute play, featuring internationally renowned voiceover artiste P.C.Ramakrishna, Indrani Krishnaier and others. Directed by Vinod Anand, this is Vijay Tendulkar's Marathi version of 'Shantata!..."

The Egmore Museum backdrop and an old classic air conditioned hall added its old world charm to this 1971 play by the troupe that has come together in talented parts, while the fresher faces in the role play lend their own comeback distinction.

The court comes to a mock trial as the characters are drama performers who come to a remote village to stage their play. What begins as an imaginary accusation against Ms.Benare, takes a sinister twist as the woman is hushed into silence and tears with charges of infanticide, which in real is a well kept secret by her.

As her independent and open spirit gets mocked for by the witnesses, Mr and Mrs. Kashikar, Ponkshe, Rokade and the unassuming villager Samant, her anger against such societally salacious behaviour singles her out as an innocent victim to this vicious play.

Over dramatic in certain moments and genuinely plain and fun in some others, this social satire, for me, was a  debut dramatic memoir of sorts. And the show must go on...    

Key(e)s to a school reunion

Our school (Keyes High School for Girls, Secunderabad) has been common ground for our family ladies, young and old alike to get an induction into school education, friendships, to stay together as sisters and not cousins be it at school and while getting back home, and is not merely a school where we had studied and made grades, but made memories and lived a part of our childhood.

To me, dressed in purple uniform and walking on a pair of black and white, sweating it out to buy crispy rolls, puffy corn, spicy choley from the good old canteen(s) were moments to savour. The quick stationery pick Sardarji's shop adjacent to the canteen bought for many of us from our deep uniform pockets 'pocket money' to buy the much needed pens, pencils, orange candies, chart papers, maps and map drawing books. We drew, we wrote, we made paper planes and rode on our colourful dreams, candy mouthed and orange tongued and mumbled a chorus 'Goooood Morrrrning Teacherrrr' to mark the beginning of one of the many eventful days at our school.

The class timetable looked more like keys on a keyboard. Each subject or each note that were placed one next to the other were not quite in harmony, but was music to our parents' ears when we scored higher in them (subjects) than our earlier performance.

To be a gem of a sportsperson as in belonging to a Rubies, Emeralds, Topaz and Sapphires sports team was an essential. Diamonds are now our best friends and a luck invoking gem stone for better times ahead! We had our share of good times and not so good ones at school... Books carried our burdens, our only baggage then.
We've all outgrown them.Our thirst for good life and success much bigger than the water bottles we carried, our hunger for acceptance and competition much larger than the tiffin boxes we had bought for lunch.

Each corridor from our memories of school days will echo our primary, middle and high school times. We can all agree (perhaps) that we are the proud voices recollecting where we have come from and what we have become today! Family reunions with the ladies at home is never complete without this common slice of school times that we love to feed on.😊