The kid had her annual day celebrations last Saturday. Practices had been going on for quite a while and she was to take part in a Rajasthani dance, a LavaNi dance and also some dialogues to be said in the role of Catherine, a lady from USA on a visit to India along with her husband. Some 10 sentences in all and we rehearsed at home and thought all was going well. Then last Wednesday I get a call from her teacher saying the kid is just not opening her mouth in the practice session but just cries! She was upset all the more because it was her who recommended Anu for the role and she was kind of being blamed by the in-charge.
So I had a session with the kid that evening. She said she didn't want to be a foreigner; she wanted to be from Bangalore. I told her there was more fun in playing someone you were not; I was Alexander once! She looked somewhat mollified by my example and said fine. Next problem was that she had to sit too long; throughout the whole show and that day because of the practice she couldn't eat her snacks also. I told her that way she got to watch all the dances which was a privilege indeed! But the hardest part was yet to come - the in-charge teacher had called her a naughty girl! I told her that the teacher was being nice to her by calling her only that in the face of her own difficulties. Finally after many rounds of convincing(I thought so) it was agreed that she was going to be alright the next day.
We went on Saturday, all curious how it would turn out to be. It was half-relief and half disappointment in the end. The teacher made her husband tell all the dialogues except saying Yes occasionally and her sole job was to nod her head vigorously(it was very funny) and take photos every now and then. But she was very happy as she came home and said, "Didn't I do well? I didn't cry even once!".
So I had a session with the kid that evening. She said she didn't want to be a foreigner; she wanted to be from Bangalore. I told her there was more fun in playing someone you were not; I was Alexander once! She looked somewhat mollified by my example and said fine. Next problem was that she had to sit too long; throughout the whole show and that day because of the practice she couldn't eat her snacks also. I told her that way she got to watch all the dances which was a privilege indeed! But the hardest part was yet to come - the in-charge teacher had called her a naughty girl! I told her that the teacher was being nice to her by calling her only that in the face of her own difficulties. Finally after many rounds of convincing(I thought so) it was agreed that she was going to be alright the next day.
We went on Saturday, all curious how it would turn out to be. It was half-relief and half disappointment in the end. The teacher made her husband tell all the dialogues except saying Yes occasionally and her sole job was to nod her head vigorously(it was very funny) and take photos every now and then. But she was very happy as she came home and said, "Didn't I do well? I didn't cry even once!".
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