DRAMEBAAZ 2018- From the winners

I remember promising to myself last year after Dramebaaz 2017 that come what may I shall not be completely involved in Dramebaaz 2018. Little did I know that promises are utterly meant to be broken and uncannily enough, given the panic, the stress, the uncertainty, Dramebaaz is one event I do not wish to be disassociated from either. The happiness that surges through you when you see your kids up in the stage battling it out, improvising, enacting, acting cannot be captured in words alone. The months of preparing, panicking, giving it all up boils down to the ten minutes on stage. As guardians we always want the best for our kids. Certainly I am no different. I did want our kids to ace. This was the first time the kids would be performing on stage, against so many other schools, in front of so many people and this would boost their confidence. All I wanted was for them to remember it with fondness, remember with pleasure on how confident they were. Winning did not matter and if they did it would be a cherry on the cake!

It was September that we began at the Nellarupuram school with our usual methodology, asking the kids to sing or dance on enact and then make a list of potential kids who would probably perform. And then came the unwelcome bolt from the blue. The HM demanded us of a permission letter from the BEO! Soumya, tanned, tired, troubled, made sure we get the permission letter; and then came the last nail on the coffin, the HM refused us altogether lest their academics be hampered. Uncertain we approached the HM at the HAL school and to our utter surprise she was positively receptive to us conducting Dramebaaz. Then emerged the next predicament, dearth of volunteers to take this forward. The kids, zealous and brimming with excitement, would enquire week after week, when would we start! End of November I posted in all possible social media platforms the need for volunteers to help us out with Dramebaaz. Two came on board and priorities took them away soon after. Christmas and New Year holidays made practice zilch. We had no script, no volunteers, no time and it felt like a lost cause until Soumya intervened making it possible, although apprehensions galore. A script that Saood had penned long back re-emerged, underwent several modifications, changes, shortening! Interns were engaged to help the kids practice on weekdays and all of this was two week before the final competition.

Truth be told I felt as though I was aboard a sinking ship only kept buoyant by the enthusiasm of the kids and the support Soumya extended. Until one week before the competition we were modifying the script, sitting under the Banyan tree at school debating, correcting, translating. Terrified, unsure, we reached school the last day before we were to be up on the stage and it dawned upon us that the stage set-up was never explained, the scenes had never been enacted with props, the alignment with music that Shravani painfully prepared was never done. It was an absolute hullaballoo at the school that day. Our saving grace was that the kids did memorize the dialogues and their excitement knew no bounds, and so many volunteers, old and new turned up! I do not think so we practiced at a stretch even once! I was petrified and the kids came up to me and told me not to be scared for they would be amazing on stage.
Was I optimistic? I knew not. Was I terrified? I shall ask others to answer that for me! Were we ready? I rather not answer that.
And came the final day! I could barely sleep that night and waking up at 3 am I kept staring at nothingness, waiting, pondering, calling the rest of the troupe. The kids, excitement would be an understatement! There was no hint of fear in them while I was visibly shaking. I wanted them to have the time of their lives, be appreciated for what they were about to present in front of a large gathering and above all cherish this for a long time to come. The microphones were not placed as we had imaged them to be, tables were less than what we assumed would be there and the performances before our kids sure made me nervous but putting all of that aside, as much as I could, we asked the kids to have the time of their lives on the stage. And what the universe has conspired blew us all away. They put up an amazing show, they missed nothing, delivered with finesse and had the entire auditorium applauding thunderously. Later in the evening we got to know we had won the 3rd prize! Panicking, jumping, I called up everyone I could possibly think of! Our kids had won but more than that they had a gala time. I have seen the video of their performance umpteen times and every time I see it I smile to myself, and am amazed at the potential that these kids possess and that having fun and loving what you do is the sole mantra!