Of Mills and Boon and TDHs!

I picked a Mills and Boon off the shelf today -out of curiosity to see what had become of the books that fired my imagination when I was a young girl. 

Nishna was horrified - that her mother, who reads (sort of ) good books - would read something on a bought bride, whose new man wants her mind , body and soul - all willing and pliant!!!! I think she was ready to disown me!!!

But the M& B bought back old forgotten memories...of dusty circulating libraries in the GK M Block market  that were packed with these books. Of authors like Penny Jordan, Charlotte Lamb, Anne Mather , Carole Mortimer and Emma Darcy.  Of titles like ‘The Billionaire takes a Bride’, ‘ Bought Bride’, ‘Dark Dominion’, ‘Forbidden Fire’ and ‘Cruel Legacy’. 

Of TDH -Tall Dark Handsome men, generally super rich, with set jaws, unsmiling eyes, a rough manner with the heroine and sarcasm laden sentences .These TDHs were the ones most of us fantasised about...we wanted to be swept off our feet by dishy , brooding, men of less words such as these! Thankfully the fantasies were not disturbed yet by adulthood..when the TDH was replaced by a gentle loving person who would take care of us and demonstrate his love too!!!

The stories were predictable. The book would be a max of 196 pages. The first chapter would introduce the heroine, her sorry financial predicament , her beautiful eyes and lovely mouth , but there would be something of the plain Jane in her. By the second chapter you met the TDH - a business tycoon, with an arrogant manner, without the conventional good looks but an animal aura about him. The drama would continue till chapter 9 -  the heroine would feel all flustered around the TDH, the TDH may have had another girl, usually a glam doll, the heroine would feel that all was lost to her, coz she had the hots (oops, they called it love then) for the TDH who paid her scant attention, or hated her or felt nothing for her at all. Sometimes, there would be TDH’s mother too, who hated/loved the heroine. And then, when the heroine decided to walk away from it all, in Chapter 10, the TDH would confess his love for her, sweep her into his arms, run his fingers through her lustrous hair and kiss her with all his passion ....ask her to be his....and they would be together - after all!!

This predictability made the books so appealing!!! During exam times, I would be a frequent visitor to the circulating library. I would get atleast four books everyday. And in between the breaks I took, I would curl into bed with a M&B. I did not have to pay attention to the story, I could skip pages, go off to sleep, and come to the end of the book in 45 minutes flat. The book would clean up the clutter in my mind and refresh me for another marathon session of studying!! The best palate cleanser!!!

I am not ashamed to confess that  I loved my M&Bs. They were my first introduction to the world of romance, of intense feelings described in words, of men that you could dream about, of the way my own romance could potentially play out! It was a world so removed from my reality - of school/college , books, exams and the lack of interesting boys/men that I could dream of!!

The influence of M&Bs stayed on in my subconscious...So when I had to co-write a YA romantic novel with one of India’s leading novelists, I divided my story into plot, chapters,  crisis and denouement in the manner of the M&B novels! I wanted my young readers to feel the same feelings I had when I read M&Bs!!

And one day - I intend to write my own M&B!!! With my own TDH dude! 

The April Project

A six week break for 13 year olds coming into grade 8 at DAIS,  an enthu mother who thinks up a plan to occupy them , an even more enthu drama teacher who agrees to guide them and a bunch of hard working mothers - and you had the April Project that culminated into amazing drama performances yesterday.

A disclaimer - I was not one of the enthu moms - even though one of my darling friends saved  a front row seat for me!!

What seemed madness and daunting in the initial days had a method to it. Kids divided into groups and some of them took charge of writing the scripts. Some went out getting permissions for staging the play in a theatre and came up against inane bureaucratic red tapism; a bunch designed the look and feel and translated it into merchandise including flyers, invites, tickets, cupcakes, book marks, notebooks, magnets, key chains and t-shirts. Then there were production managers, directors and the cast. The crew that comprised of backstage people, on cue assistants, lighting and sound guys!! The final performance was the hard work put in by all the children. 

And the plays themselves were quite a revelation - on what thirteen year olds think about. So there was one play on finding clues to get to the killer, one that discussed church vs science, one that portrayed the blend of medicine and superstition in treating disease in Africa, another that was coming of age for both the father and son who had divergent professional views and a clever take off  on the School itself. 

The scripts were brilliantly written - there was clarity on what needed to be revealed, excellent usage of vocabulary, engaging arguments and tightness in the story. What amazed me was the thought that went into the plays - these were not frivolous plays - there was meaning at many levels. Kids pick up nuances of behaviour and interaction that we think they are not capable of! And I know for sure that the kids took no adult help for this - that made it so awesome. 

I wonder how the kids  had thought up these things! Science vs religion? At 13, I had not even begun to think of these things - I was only happy going to the gurudwara or mandir for prasad and thought JC was cool. The arguments supporting both - the church and science-  were logical. I learnt the difference between atheism and agnosticism yesterday!!

Playing on superstition to drive medicine?  The play on Africa and treatment of diseases was interesting -how well meaning doctors and medical professionals can use superstition and local rituals to actually make people adopt medicine! 

Ofcourse, my son wrote the play on the conflict between the father and son on the career the son wants to take. The son leaves home and i

s successful, the father is distraught and eventually commits suicide. I think the hidden message there for us was that we must agree to what Udai wants, else, we will lose him and our lives!!!

The take off on the School was outstanding. And the way it played out was brilliant....it was done tongue in cheek, blatantly, but in such a manner that you could not hold them to ransom!!!! This was one play totally for the audience that comprised of parents and other school kids, and there was laughter all around. 

At the end of the show, when all the kids came to take a bow, I was really awed....these are 13 year olds who had done such a brilliant job! And while we think this generation is not hard working and spoilt, the fact is that they are intensely competitive, argumentative and know where they want to go!  They are well read and aware, and sensitive to what ails the world. They dream of making a difference to the lives of others. The Cool, It factor is not about good looks, but includes intelligence, spunk and humor!!! 

Like my friend says -if i was 13 again, I would crush on all these kids!!! 

Happy Birthday!

‘You want a big party or a big gift?,’ asked Praneet  and a small part of me said ,‘Both’.

Seriously, I don’t get people when they say they don’t like to celebrate their birthday. Excuses range from - ‘I am too old for this’, ‘It’s just another day’ , ‘I am getting old, what’s the fun in that’ to ‘It’s my kids time to celebrate their birthdays’. And the biggest cliche, ‘I have everything I could ask for , so I don’t want gifts’! 

No matter what my age, and the fact that I grow older every year, I love my birthday. I still feel the excitement that I felt as a young girl. Being woken up at 12  to a cake and flowers by the family, hugs and kisses from all of them. Phone calls , messages and emails from people who remember my birthday, meeting family and friends for dinner or a party, and of course receiving all the gifts! And yes, wearing something new. 

Weeks before my birthday at the hostel, there would be anxiety on who would accompany me on distributing candy. (That candy is ofcourse no longer available. It was Parle’s multi-coloured , hard boiled candy and my fav used to be the purple one). It used to be difficult to decide on which special friend to choose because the others would feel cut up. And you could tell who was friendly with you at that time - friends would dig into the bag and take a handful (or many handfuls) while the current foes would either turn away or take one! It was a day the teachers would smile a lot more at me and I would get out of trouble with less stress. Later, back home , it became a day when my friends and I would go to Nirula’s for pizza and chocolate milkshakes or ice-cream and a dinner with my big extended family.

Birthdays are something to be cherished. This is my only life as Preeti Bakshi Singh and I love every bit of it. If every day has to be a celebration, then this is the Bada-Din. The day I was born to touch people’s lives (for better or for worse) and to experience life in the manner I am supposed to. 

And every year, I thank the year gone by - because even the worst years brought something good and valuable to me. And when I look back, no year has been particularly horrendous even if I thought it was at that time. Last year was my apocalyptic year of sorts -my sister was diagnosed with cancer and there was turmoil all around. But the year was brilliant too - it strengthened my relationships with my family , I rediscovered my best friend in my sister, enjoyed the onset of teenage years of my kids and I wrote and wrote!! I found more friends than I lost and I found my peace. 

More importantly, my birthday is the one that makes me feel alive, happy, special ,loved , wanted and above all - blessed - that I have been given so much in my life. It helps me get a perspective on what I still want to do and what I need to do to achieve it. Above all, this is all I know - I want to live a life that is happy, healthy and fulfilling, surrounded by people who love me and who I love. 

So that when I am older, with a happy wrinkled face, I can look back on all these years with fondness and say - I LIVED!