Neverland
Storyboard. Rehearsals. Locations. Camera angles. Lighting. Sound. That is my mind.
I’m not sure what goes on in his mind. It has been a long time since I was eleven. My only window to that world is trying to decipher the erratic actions of the boy and his friend before me. The boy is a talented actor to work with but like most children, he can be a pain. His boisterous self gets too much for me to handle, often leading to strict words and sterner looks.
But the rehearsals are done for the day, and I’ve come to drop him home. And in this space where he is no longer someone I need to train, I drop my guard. As if sensing the shift in my mind, he quickly drags me off to meet one of his friends. They talk about the latest fidget spinner they have as I picture myself doing a facepalm. Because perceptions are important for a kid.
Without warning, he turns to me and asks ‘Bhaiyya, do you want to play Goti?’
My knowledge of the Hindi language is rather limited, but somewhere at the back of my mind, a memory of an old DD channel whispers to me… ‘Marbles’.
I tell him I’ve never played the game. It is true. I’ve seen children play it on TV, and I’ve wished many times that there was someone who could teach me the game; But for the most part, my childhood was filled with ‘policum kallanum, lock & key, tiger, hide & seek, ludo, snake and ladders, cricket, playing with Trump cards of wrestlers etc. All of them memorable and fun, but certainly not ‘Goti’
It doesn’t faze him. ‘Come! I’ll teach you.’
Storyboarding. The voice whispers in my head.
‘I’ll tell you what! Once the shoot gets over, I’ll come by and then maybe you can teach me then. Right now I have to run!’
He gives an exasperated sigh. I always find it funny when kids are irritated with adults. Trying to mollify him, I ask ‘Where are your gotis?’
He grumbles something about losing them in a game. I am inclined to laugh but the rather serious look on his face as he, no doubt, relived the horror of losing his marbles (Couldn’t resist), put me off.
‘Wait Bhaiyya!’ He runs off.
I am beginning to get late. ‘I need to go!’ I cry out after him. He pays no heed and soon pulls along one of his friends.
‘Dikha! (Show)’ He commands.
The kid turns out his pockets and out came the Gotis — Orange, Blue, Pink, White, Green! I can only recall the dark green ones growing up. I pick up the blue one and hold it against the light in fascination.
‘Keep it Bhaiyya! We have more…’
His friend makes a face. I chuckle and let his friend have it. They proceed to have a serious discussion on how to get more marbles. The adult in me wanted to tell them that they can just buy it from a shop.
Instead I ask them if I could take a picture.
‘Why Bhaiyya? They are just gotis!’
I smile and tell him, ‘They are the currency of Neverland.’
He is confused for a second, but probably deeming it unimportant, he continues to talk about getting more of them to his friend.
I think I’ll definitely pay him a visit after the shoot to learn the game. Maybe I can find Neverland.
(This story was originally posted on Facebook Notes. It had the photo accompanying it but unfortunately that seems to be missing now)
