Thursday, September 15, 2005

Curtain Call

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,

And just when you think you have perfected a role, strings are pulled, scene changes and you're left stranded with new characters and newer masks. When do we stop wearing these masks?
Of a loving daughter? An obedient student? A friend in need? A bitchy teen in the second row? A ruthless competitor in hop-scotch?

Face paints and fancy dresses rule our lives. We walk in and out of stages; varying performances to kinder reviews and scathy critiques and show business makes us forget ourselves. Or maybe we never were meant to remember much.

And at some point as we shuffle between roles, the mask falls and in the new light creeping in through a crack in the curtain someone notices you…the plain face devoid of all paint…the little girl behind the daughter, student and friend.

But you can’t stop to relish that moment.

You bend and pick up your mask and with one last look at those eyes you disappear into the darkness. The little girl will soon be wife, mother and daughter. And the meeting - nothing but an unseen dream. There is no longer any 'Me' left...just the 'You' already defined. I am the 'You', you want to see.

I'm your dream, make you real
I'm your eyes when you must steal
I'm your pain when you can't feel
Sad but true

I'm your truth, telling lies
I'm your reasoned alibis
I'm inside open your eyes
I'm you
Sad but true


(Metallica, Sad but True)

11 Comments:

Blogger Vignesh said...

a. I never took you for a Metallica fan. Never.

b. You never stop. Its always one mask over the other, under the other, over the other... I used to believe that there will be ONE person who you can take them all off for, but I've completely lost faith in that now. The masks will remain forever and ever.

c. If they do remain forever, would you still call them a mask ?

2:23 AM  
Blogger RT said...

So true..!! Masks rule our life so much that you do not realize that there is probably someone for whom you can shed the mask. Probably not even to yourself. Sad but true!
Lovely post ..!

2:35 AM  
Blogger Archster said...

Wonderful post! Sometimes I think its ok to wear a mask though. Im a better person with one.

5:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That is so true...my class put up a play on masks when we were in the 5th called 'menticle masks"(konjam sadass name..we were 10 yr olds!)was abt wearin diff masks...hiding diff things.
Its like..ur fakin it differently to different ppl...n ur so busy livin upto that image that sumtimes that quality actually becomes part of u...
ammukuttz

7:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lovely post!

8:52 AM  
Blogger Kumari said...

@Vignesh:
a. I am. Just as i am an Ozzy, Apocalyptica and Jethro Tull fan. Look under the mask of film duets :)
b. Keep the faith. There is definitely ONE person but it might not be the one who is with you :)
c. Yes. A role which deserves Lifetime achievement award :)

@rt: Thank you :) We are never true to ourselves.

@archster: Thanks :) It is ok to wear it but not to love it and live with it.

@Ammai: Sad ass names are okay for kickass plays :p I think that is one quality one wouldn't really need :) So no egg-jams?

@Anu: Thank you :)

9:58 AM  
Blogger M (tread softly upon) said...

well it is one mask under the other. I guess the only time you are without a mask is when you are a baby which is why a baby's face is so beautiful and innocent. There is nothing to hide, and nothing to portray. But once you hit the stage where people start expecting you to play a role, comes on the masks and there is no turning back. Wonderful post!

11:14 AM  
Blogger littlecow said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

1:17 PM  
Blogger littlecow said...

Nice post and good comments by Vignesh and M (TSU) on my pet peeve! If A dislikes B, does A frown and run to settle it once and for all (old west style) or is it better for A to put up a polite face and hope that things will become better. Is that a mask or not? Is it a good habit or bad?

Many other instances exist, where one's behavior is not commensurate with one's actual feelings. While masking seems to be necessary for a normal civilized society to function, there exist a few people with whom you can remove the mask off and yet they love the face beneath it -- ugly or not. And they become parents, best friends and sometimes lovers. Isn't it like finding diamond in a dirty swamp? Thats what makes life click, restores beauty and balance and keeps people content.

1:19 PM  
Blogger Primalsoup said...

That was really well-written. And thank god for masks I say, imagine letting people see one's real face! :)

9:56 PM  
Blogger Kumari said...

@M(TSU): Thanks and oh yeah, ia gree. There is just no turning back.

@Lc: :) Yes, that's life...with paint and all that jazz :)

@Soups: Thanks but imagine them not knowing who you are at all and settling for a Caroline Bingley just coz she wore the mask of Lizzy? :)

2:14 PM  

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