What’s Your Story?
This weekend we took the little one to the popular fairy tale adaptation that’s been taking Mumbai by storm. The play, that’s been transformed into a Bollywood-style musical, was on my mind for quite some time, ever since hubby told me about it. The fact that it was being performed at one of the famous stages in Mumbai that’s home to a lot of posh faces and international artists, was a boon too. We knew the crowd would be great and really interested in plays and stuff.
I had already read a lot about the play on various parenting blogs, and parents all over were gushing about it. So we decided to make the day a full day of fun and headed out.
We picked up our tickets and as we stood in the queue to get seated, I couldn’t but help notice that almost all the kids were with mums. Though it was a Saturday, there were hardly any dad around, one of them was my hubby and there were only 2 other dads – not a good number. In any case, the 2 dads who were present were mostly being sent around for a cola, a juice or a sandwich.
The kids were varied in age, starting from just above a year till teenagers. And as I waited in the queue, I couldn’t but help notice the body language of the mums. Almost all the mommies were yummy mommies – I don’t mean they were all decked in makeup and smoking hot, but what I mean is that they were all fit and dressed smartly, with a big smile on their face and answering all of their kids’ questions with real interest and understanding, not just a ‘hmmm.’ Some mums had their babies on their hips, some carried them in their arms while some stood together, their arms around their kids’ shoulders. There were many smiles, whispers, nods and giggles in the queue.
My daughter and I were chatting about the play, how it was going to be interpreted and what were the characters going to do – were they going to perform as the exact fairy tale story, were there going to be any changes, was the evil queen really going to harm Snow White, and would she even come over to the kids and harm them? My 5-year-old had so many questions.
As the play started, I realised it had been a good decision. From the beginning, the kids were engrossed and the live interactive idea of the play was a great way to keep the little ones interested and concentrated. There were moments when the audience would smile and laugh, there were times when we would all start clapping and cheering, there were moments when the kids grew anxious and watched with wide eyes. I enjoyed all of this, especially the expressions on the little faces.
As the play came to an end with a peppy song and dance, the narrator couldn’t help but mention something. He said that he absolutely had to mention the way he saw many grown-ups get more involved in the play than their kids, that he absolutely loved the love and relationship of the mums and kids that was being played out in front of his eyes in the audience seats. He was so touched with the amount of love present in the auditorium that he had to mention it.
One line in particular that he said made me think – “Each one of us is part of a special story. It depends on us what story we create and how we become a part of that story”. Lovely words, isn’t it?
As we came out of the show it was a lovely feeling around – mums hugging their kids, holding hands, smiling, chatting. There was an absolute feeling of love and care all around. I hugged my daughter and she hugged me back, thanking me for taking her to the play. I was touched.
It’s all about creating our story, isn’t it? What we decide to do with the precious moments we are given, how we choose to be with our little ones and how we choose to bring them up is all what creates a part of this story. At the moment, the protagonist of my story is my little one and I am her best friend. I intend to keep most of the story that way, for all of my life. To be her best friend, maybe one of many as she grows up, to be the ear she comes to as she grows up, to be the arms she wants to be hugged in as she grows up. I want to write this story my way, but I also want to give my daughter the dreams and the words that help her add to this special story in her special way.
Debolina Raja Gupta loves being a mommy and best friend to her 5-year old princess. A working mom, voracious reader, social activist, photographer, poet, travel freak, beauty writer and an everything-of-sorts. Best fun is story time and our fashionista time together. My blogs: The Book Worm, A Few Thoughts Here And There, My Little One And Me, Beauty Makeup And More.