BHOPAL revisited

It was not a big thing for us {the bhopal team} when we started off with the drama...we didn't even thought we will get enough ppl to do all the characters...the more than 2 and half hrs long drama "bhopal" by rahul verma was a "bali kera mala for us". but then came tina chechi with her idea of rewriting the whole drama and to add a visual personification of the" zahareeli hawa".then we started off with our practices....it was more being together and sharing than actual practices...everyday we had practice from 4 to 5.30.whene rajendran chettan sends us out of the audio visual room we had practice at JB"s car shed fearing of vegeterian and non vegetatian fevers as CHERIAN sir puts it.there were times CHERIAN sir left the rehersal as he was fed up of our performance.
on the course of our rehersals we had the previlage to visit HARIHARAN sir's house twice and have delicious lunch by sir's wife and cricket with his son and sir himself.the next week aftr the diwali we had our rehersal at the esteemed nadakakalari " sopanam".i believe every actor would wish to step in there once.we had the luck because of kalyani chechi...thanks to her.there we named our troop as "urvasi theatres".aftr the practice we celebrtaed diwali with all types of crackers that rahul chettan brought....
then came the next week whe all except for me went to aromal chettan's house...unfoprtunately i couldn't join.then came 5th of this month...the international semina started...as always the seminar was a real torture...but then the "urvasi theatres"hhad great fun...we 12 accommodated in a 2 bed room....good knows how...thanks to the good door that the maria rani centre had ...not a single word of our screams went outside...everyone had the bad time in the seminar and we enjoyed half practicing and half with all sorts of jokes.we were present at the dining hall bfore anybosy comes thr...only for that we were punctual..we had plans to practice at night on stage but it could n't come fruitful.as many of us had to leave to our homes we left but some of us stayed thr...
then came the d-day.even then we were not that prepared..thr were timess when we forgot dialogues till then.hari sir was around giving all the delegates a promise of entertainment that eve.our tension increased.we hadn't practised the drama in full with themic and lights once.when we got the stage in the atftr noon...we had to part with the only laptop we had in the seminar.
by 4.30 we went for makeup...tina chechi and kalyani chechi had a big time make uping our boys.as it says, the third bell rang on 6 of that eve ....we started our drama..aftr 1 hr15 mnts.that happened which we least expected...all the delegates liked the drma...some of them were giving us standing ovation...hari sir broke into tears...we saw a new respect for us in JGB's eyes.teachers like MEENA mam, JAYASREE mam,JAMUNA mam....came to the back stage to congragulate us...these were least expected.and one delegate from jnu was so impressed of our performance that he was going on talking abt it all the way to the dining hall.
it all happened in a way that we were left speechless....niyas chettan{jaganlal } was the star of the day. every word of the drama was so remembered by the spectaters that we just cat believe it,,,i dont know whether we were so good or not...but it all went such a way that we all were accepted as proffessional...god's grace and of course sir's guidance with tina checi;s dance, pramod's excellant music and rendering of the poem by maya chechi...last but not least the most important...our stage director cum all in all our joby ...and we the actors made it such a memorable event ..that probably the most exiting times in institute of english which i found dry and barren in the beginning and now a great experience in my life...the first drama of my life...thanks to all who helped me to find out an actor in me ...hope "BHOPAL revisited"will be a beginning of such efforts in institute.....