My very own Shakespeare

Cast of Characters :

Arav - A 2 year old who thinks he rules the world.
Mamma - The 2 year old' mother who is expected to follow his every command
Mukesh - The household help and the 2 year olds best friend
Papa - mostly off-stage but featuring in a lot of conversations
Random soft-toys treated as animals
Imaginary friends

Scene 1 Act 1
Location : Bedroom
Time : Past midnight

Papa snoring away to glory.
Mamma : Arav please be quite and sleep now
Arav : NO
Mamma: If you are not quite Fairy God mother wont come in your dreams
Arav now pretends to close his eyes for 1/10th of a second
Arav : Fairy God Fairy God way are yoooo??
           Nahi shun raha hai.....


Scene 2 Act 1

 Papa snoring away again
Mamma has narrated 4 bed-time stories
Arav : Mamma one more story please
Mamma : Why dont u tell me a story now? its your turn.
Arav : Ok
Once upon time one boy and one mamma paani mein shwimming karte hai PLASH!!! finish
Mamma : one more story. 2 goats wala
Arav : Ok
Once upon time 2 goats paani mein gir jaate hai PLASH!!!! finish
Mamma : one more with monkey and crocodile.
Arav : Ok
Ek baar monkey and crocodile are friends. They both paani mein gir jaate hai PLASH!!!
Mamma thinking it is going to be a long night.

Scene 1 Act 2
Location : Drawing Room
Time : Afternoon

Mamma enters stage left and realises that the paint on one of the walls has been peeling away. There are many scratches.
Mamma gives Arav a stern look
Arav (with as much innocence as possible) : Maine kuush nahi kiya. Toy story liya (points to his woody doll) aur tuk tuk tuk kiya aur kuush nahi kiya.

Scene 2 Act 2
Location : Kitchen
Time : Morning

Arav : Mukesh mera daadhi kidhar hai
Mukesh : aap abhi chotte ho isliye aapko daadhi nahi hai
Arav (now looking at Mamma) Mamma aapka daadhi kaha hai
Mamma : Mamma girl hai na isliye no daadhi
Arav : No mamma shaving kiya isliye no daadhi.

Scene 3 Act 2
Location : Drawing room
Time : Evening

Arav (singing to himself) Jabebi bhai Jabebi bhai
Papa : Shweta what is he singing?
Mamma : Jalebi Bai
Papa : Why?
Mamma : Beats me.
Papa : Sigh it was only yesterday when he was speaking in mono sylables and we were waiting for him to speak in full sentences.
Mamma : WE....excuse me....i was never waiting i knew what was in store.
Arav (now looking at TV) Papa mujhe i-phone chahiye and i-pad chahiye
Papa and Mamma collapse.

Curtains draw upon the stage as the lights dim....

Its not who I am its what I do

Carrie Bradshaw flash back again....the episode where Carrie is giving up her career and moving to Paris for that really annoying petrowski guy...Miranda tells her u cant give up writing thats who you are and Carrie replies its not who i am its what i do....That line is so close to my heart....coz really i fail to understand why people like to be defined by what they do or what degree is gathering dust at the back of their closets.....Why does your choice of career have to depend on a degree you were naive enough to pursue when you were 18?

There are some people who have it all figured out...10 year plans what to study where to work how to retire all of it....and then there are some who go through life with an open mind or no clue depending on how you look at it.....So you can call it either luck or lack of direction but as long as you are willing to take it in your stride life can really surprise you....case in point yours truly.....I took commerce coz my sister did...i did CPA coz i wanted to escape groom hunting.....then marriage happened I moved to NY...and suddenly having a CPA looked like a great career move....then a move back home....and then Arav happened....to keep him busy joined a mother toddler activity program Musical Bonding....loved it got trained in it and now started my own centre....and all of this happened in a span of 6 years....So in 2008 I was a Senior tax analyst in Manhattan today I am a Musical Bonding teacher in New Bombay. It is amazing how things work out if you just give them a chance.

People ask me what do i plan to do with my CPA degree? do i ever plan to go back? well i dont know...i dont see myself doing a 9-6 again....I'm a mom....I can only improvise as i go....and im sure something else which will be incredibly appropriate for that phase of life will come up....and i will just take it up....why should i restrict my choices just coz of that degree i once studied for? i still remember the last mentor-mentee meeting i had with my manager in NY....he was suggesting that perhaps i should think of getting my masters in tax since i have decided to make my career in it....he ofcourse didnt know i was moving in less than 3 months....i told him im not sure if thats what i want to do....he looked at me shocked and said "what else are you going to do open a coffee shop?" and i thought "yes why not" but i said "emm let me think about it"

So if you ask me what do i do? I will tell you I'm a mum as long as my son is awake....when he naps i try to b a writer....twice a week i also become a teacher...and this reply is bound to change over the years.....and i have enjoyed every phase of my career so far....so no the degree was not wasted....those countless hours spent studying were fun too....yes i do feel that i should have studied psychology or creative writing or german.....but its never too late....once Arav starts school so can i....or not....

Thats one more amazing thing about having a child....it kind of makes you believe that anything is really possible....When you ask a child what does he want to become the answer can be anything he fancies at that time....he is free to choose....no restrictions no compromises.....Thats how we must be too.....dont you think?