Painted Faces - II

Did you think I would wait a week before i posted the next instalment? Sigh, when will you learn?

Now having a name that needed more than 4 syllables is a crime and like any Good Samaritan with World Peace in mind, Jing decided to kill it. After a few permutations and combinations on the black board, we finally settled on PonC.

Digression 2: Over the years, PonC had various deaths and reincarnations as Ponchi, Pouncy, Pony-C, PonS and the naming ceremony continues.

First Play : MugamoodikaLai Thaandi
Diro: Ganja
Stage Managers(SMs): Kothi Mama & Gayg

I do remember the date of this play. Sep 5, 1998. My first role was that of 55 year old Dr.Sharada. Don't you dare snigger. For a 17 year old, that was indeed a wonderful moment. Finally I was mature :p

There is something about the stage and the way it plays with your senses. You know what is going to happen in the next scene and yet you stand there oblivious to it, in someone else's skin, feeling their pain and celebrating their happiness.

It's hard to describe that moment , that long and silent moment on stage, enveloped in darkness and waiting for the velvet curtains to open; being deaf to the boos and catcalls of the audience and hearing just your heartbeat, the butterflies in your stomach and the slow 'Zzzzzzzz" sound of the curtains, the moment when you cease to be PonC, when you no longer remember the dreams of a little girl and all that matters to you is the character you've been asked to give life to.
One long para and I still doubt if I have done justice to that moment.

Anyways, coming back to my pampered lifestyle. Now the play-making process is often regarded as a penance. There were many strict unwritten rules that we followed. Though there was not much of a guy-girl stand off, some of the seniors did like to be known as the 'Big Guys' with whom one shouldn't converse much. Especially not if one has a sharp tongue like yours truly :)

One day when we were standing by the balcony of FD-II much before the session, Jai came running to make up for lost time. The enthu-cutlet that I was/am, I screamed his name out loud from the first floor. Now there is this a huge wild jasmine plant right in front of FD-II and when Jai came up, he gave me two small jasmine flowers. It was more to make a newbie feel at home than anything but it felt good nevertheless. Till that day, no one had ever given me flowers. Even for a joke. And for a second year senior, to humour me with flowers, made me feel special. I held onto those flowers throughout the session, ran back to the hostel and pressed them into my diary. And they have been with me ever since. Here is picture of My first flower :) Thanks Jai!


Of course during orientation, I had been tutored on how to behave when in the company of 'Big Minds' like W, Jing, Ganja. But little did I remember any of what they said. Coz contrary to popular perception of 'guys who screamed at you when you didn't do your work or fooled around too much', W & Jing were always nice to me. In fact, I will never forget that day in the Audi. Ganja was caught in one of his 'Jokes apart' speeches screaming at all of us for our dismal performance during practice and how he wanted us to better that evening during run thorugh. W & Jing walked in and W said "Hey Kutti Ponne, here" and threw me a Five Star bar.

Of course the others laughed and said how unfair it was that I got a chocolate when none of them had ever got one. Much less from W. Hehehe! Made me realize that 17 years or not, I had not grown up at all but hey I wasn't complaining:)

Digression 3: At my tallest point, I measured only upto W's waist.(Yes, i call that an achievement. So stop laughing!) And after play, while we were dismantling the stage, W walked to the stage and asked me to stand on his palms. With Gayg's help, I did eventually stand on his palms and he lifted me in air, without any help from anyone. Guess I was indeed feather-light thanks to not flexing my brains :) He passed out that year but when he came to visit in my second year, he managed to lift me again on his palms though I had put on a few kilos. Some men will always be strong i suppose.