Wednesday 3 August 2016

MAGIC, TALKING DOLLS AND PUPPETS - IT'S PARTY TIME


As Baani’s birthday draws closer, there is considerable excitement around the impending party. The list of friends coming over is pretty daunting. Over twenty 4, 5 and 6-year olds will play, fight, cry and laugh in our little castle on that evening. Friendships will be broken and new ones will be forged. Some of the new ones will not last beyond the party. A children’s birthday party is like watching a comedy, horror, thriller, action, drama (lots of it) and sometimes, old-world platonic romance – all rolled into a 3-hour unrehearsed motion picture. I daresay if one were to shoot it and do a reasonable job of editing, it would give the regular Hollywood stuff a run for their money.
Do you feel like this too when hosting your kid’s birthday celebrations?

Carrots and sticks are being linked to the party, now almost on a daily basis. ‘If you do this, then there no party’, ‘If you don’t do this, then no party’. All of which graduate often to adding the prefix - ‘Once more..’. Of course these prove to be rather lame, and mostly ineffective, ways of disciplining. Suni and I concur that we should cease these attempts. But being a parent is becoming a harder habit to break, with each passing day!

Magicians, ventriloquists and puppeteers are becoming part of my new social circle. We want to get one of these guys to Baani’s party. I don’t know about how much the kids will really enjoy (if only they’d pay attention!) but I sure am looking forward to it J I must have seen probably couple of these as a child at the birthday celebrations of my more affluent classmates. Today, they are quite commonplace. And hence almost a must-have at a kiddie party.


I love magic. Any kind. Even the silly unbelievable stuff they show in Hollywood flicks. You can then imagine what live magic would feel like, for me! I think the reason boys grow up loving Star Wars and Superhero films, is due to the element of the unreal, the magic. It is also the same reason why girls love chick-flicks and stories of knights-in-shining-armour (shining suits in today’s times). Men like those are just as much a fantasy J

What is the kind of magic you love the most? I love the sleight-of-hand stuff!

I have always been fascinated by ventriloquists. In fact, as a child, I once tried hard to throw my voice. Literally. So, when I was alone, I would stick my neck out and say something. With practice, I convinced myself that my voice sounded like it came from the place I was trying to throw it to. Or, throw it from? Hmmm. I am not sure.
Anyway, I experimented my newly acquired talent on my younger brother. He had a bewildered look on his face, like I had gone looney. ‘Acting like a pigeon’, he said, shaking his head in resignation. That was the first and only time I threw my voice. Being a boy, I have thrown many things and some people too, after that. But never my voice again.

Have you ever seen a ventriloquist perform live? It is an amazing experience, especially if it’s got a lot of gags J
I have never actually played with puppets. But Baani’s doll collection is no less than an entire puppet cast. Which she plays with often and includes me into it. Imagine a petite doll in a cute pink skirt, blonde hair, blue eyes and a lovely shy smile, that sounds like a man in his mid-thirties! But that doesn’t deter Baani from assigning me a role and even scripting the dialogues for me (that part quite annoys me... you know, no artistic freedom and all that!).

Over the years, I have seen several types of puppet shows, ranging from rural Indian to Western to unique ones like shadow and silhouette shows and even televised ones like Fraggle Rock.  I have enjoyed each one of them thoroughly, fascinated by the dexterity with which the puppeteer moves each of his subjects. When dancers perform on stage in mimicry of a puppet show, I invariably judge them on their puppet-like resemblance.
I don’t think we will have a puppet show though, for the birthday party. It takes mature, attentive and patient minds to appreciate the beauty in such a performance. I am quite sure that is a tall ask from all the cute little hooligans who will descend on our house on the day of the party J

So, it will be one of the two – magic or ventriloquism. We shall soon zero in on one of the two.
Finally, after so many years, I will be watching a magic show, live. Or hear voices emerging from stuffed dolls around the room. It’s going to be so much fun and I am very excited about it!