Junior's day out

Wifey has enrolled Junior in a group called Bala Muktas. That group is run by a dedicated bunch of ladies who teach slokas and stories on our Puranas to kids for free. They conduct bajans and special performances at their homes and whomever is graceful enough to give them space. It is such a positive group that kids relish going to their sessions. What started as an online class during Covid times is now a thriving weekly session attended by at least a dozen kids along with their parents. Last week they had arranged for a recital cum drama kind of a presentation on Ramayana (till Paaduka pattabishekam part), where in each kid was given a short speech on the character they play. They have to narrate their part as a character sketch and the filler portions where supported by the teachers and rest of the kids into making it a mini drama with small acts. Each kid aced their role and the way they spoke without stage fear, the eldest of the kid being from sixth standard with majority of the lot being from primary section, was amazing to say the least. They hardly had any trouble in speaking about their role with proper intonation and modulation and even performed their part on the mini acts perfectly. The venue was a primary school and the session happened during their post lunch periods and was attended by about 50 kids from that school. Since parents were allowed, we all accompanied the kids and of course all the cell phones were busy filming the same event from multiple angles. When they said primary school as the venue, i thought probably the session will happen on the assembly stage, basically on an open ground. But the school was a remodeled apartment at best and considering that the session happened on motta maadi which was on the fifth floor (no lift), it was literally a (very) high school performance!!!

To me the best part was the kids, obviously, both the ones performing on stage and those who did their best off stage as well. Right from the first "Goooooddddd afternoooooon missssss" chorus till the end "thaaaannnnkk yoouuuu missss" it was real fun watching the antics of those kids sitting on the floor as much as those performing on stage. I was standing in a corner and every time i picked the phone to take a video or click a picture, the kids sitting before me will all sit straight and pose erect. The moment the phone went back to pocket, it will all be yawning and yacking all gossip. There was a mini musical chair event happening with 2 kids fighting for one chair. The way they went in pairs asking for rest room break with the teacher allowing only one of them at a time was fun to watch. When kids are around and i am being present, bulbu vaangarathu is mandatory. One of the parents whose kid was performing on stage asked me to take the video in her phone and went to the stage to support her kid as a tree. I zoomed in and out and took all kinds of shots that would've made the pre-wedding photographers to shame. The kid looking at the way i was covering him was talking directly to me from the mike and even smiled as prompted by his mom who was standing as a tree behind him. When the performance got over, i stopped the video and handed the phone to her. She thanked me a lot and the moment she saw her phone her face was upset. Oru vela lighting seria ilio, shutter speed, frame resolution, aperture, pixels apdinu pala questions was running through my mind when she showed that the video was still on! Idhuku en ivlo pheel pannuthu intha ladynu paatha, the video had been switched on only when she got down from the stage!! adhu varaikum naan poatta performance to capture their performance ellam video on pannama eduthurukken!! When she gave me the phone the camera was already on. Seri setup panni vachitu phone kuduthurkanga pola nu naanum valachu valachu video edutha...hmm...Ithana nerama naan thaan maram pola stagela ninnen paatha neeyum apdi thaan inga ninniya nu she looked at me. Decenta (!!@@??) antha edathulenthu i the escaped. Nalla vela, there were several other copies across several other mobiles which saved me from an earful! 

The highlights of the performance being, the kid who played Rama was supposed to hug Guha before leaving the stage. While Guha was standing with open arms ala Sharukh khan, Rama didn't notice and stepped down. But the faithful Guha remained standing, with open arms, till Rama returned to complete the hug, much to the laughter of everyone but a very angry Guha!! Like its early ancestor who actually helped Rama in building the bridge, a squirrel decided to join the party and screeched happily throughout the performance!! Junior was the last to wrap up the speech and his was about the qualities of Rama. He forgot the last point and was literally rolling his eyes standing on the stage, with the teacher pointing for the script paper. He remembered the lines just in time and wrapped the session. The way the kids chorused on "Jai Sriram" reverberated across the hall and even though they would've felt sleepy and were busy playing within themselves they enjoyed a break from their daily routine of classes. It was a fantastic break for us too, having been given a chance to spend time with kids. Onnu maranten. One of the kids who were fighting for chair, called me in as madhyastham in their panjayathu. Next minute i was handed several cases of complaints ranging from pinching to tickling to pouring sand on shoes by several kids!! Mobile court judge nu nenachutanga pola!! I gallantly gave my chair to settle their issue. The kid who took my chair, literally took it away with him, wherever he moved. Payapullainga ellam semma vevarama thaan iruku!!!