Bridging a very long gap
25. Gone cold
< note from the author: as the story has been picked up after a long break of 2 or 3 weeks - yes I had no choice, I would like to state that this chapter is in fact a filler, and is not a preview of things to come :) I will definitely up my game ;) get the story back on track and take you with Kit and the gang back into their remarkably interconnected lives. So for those reading, thanks :) will deliver on the next chapter...for now enjoy some light reading :) >
The autorickshaw pulled up in front of the three storeyed house in a neat , narrow -road -ridden suburban area. She got out, paid the driver and walked right in, past the gate, up the narrow stair case on the outside of the house, to the room that Manu used for initial practice sessions, while his plays took shape. The house belonged to his late grandfather and was still inhabited by some of his uncles from time to time. Manu had claimed a rather large piece of this home, especially given the vast floor space and the acoustics of this room, it was a great place to practice.
She knocked on the door, it was not completely shut, but it seemed rude to just barge in. the knocking was answered by a bald girl. Maya introduced herself to Mira and then received a round of introductions from the rest of the people in the room. Maya was Manu’s go to person for classical and semi classical music. She was also his sister.
He needed someone with training to pull this play together for him and so felt the need for reinforcements. His sister would always be ready to help.
The play and its music were slowly but surely taking shape. Kirtana was also heavily involved in designing aspects of the set, and had a great flair for it. Her eye for detail allowed her to correctly capture the exact mood of the characters and translate that into her surroundings.
A hundred kilometres away Raghav sat with Kanika in that farmhouse outside the city. The smell of fruits filled the air, and children could be heard singing film songs in an attempt to get their daily chores done. Raghav had spent about a week with Kanika by now, and she had really got a feel for his struggle, relating to it largely due to her own experiences. He was asking a lot about her work, and how she trusted everyone around her, especially people she had no connection with, with things she could not even see happening. They had talked about how he probably felt the way he did because he did not trust his own thoughts and that it was actually a great coincidence that they had been introduced.
Raghav would spend a lot more time with Kanika. He was going to help her on a few plans she had for the home.
Back at rehearsal, Manu found himself drifting off into his dream, he was watching Kirtana move around awkwardly and it was not what he had imagined… something was off? Everything and everyone had gone a bit cold? Something had changed since they had all last spoken and ideas and inspiration were aplenty. Now everyone, except Mira had a lethargy about them. No one looked to convinced with what they were doing. And for Maya who had just shown up, she was really wondering what her brother was up to!
She was one of those people who always had a solution up her sleeve, give her a problem and she would break it down in simple terms and give you a way to solve it, so what she saw here was not a problem, but a rut…everyone was overthinking and not quite delivering.
A few old school ice breaking exercises would do the trick right? She sat them all down, under the guise of feeding them her famous badam halwa…well it was worth the sit down, everyone happily ate while simultaneously complaining about how dreadfully sinful it was and how they had to watch calories…yes every calorie in every bite was watched as they fed themselves with it.
A few oily palms and several sugar rushes later, they were seated in a neat little circle, looking hopefully at Maya. What would she tell them? Manu looked at his sister, he knew what she had in mind.
“Guys I don’t really know any one of you yet, but what I do know is Manu and I know what his vision is for this play. I know you all are in it for the long haul…and I know you will work on your parts, but things are just cold, we need you to tap into your inner demons…let them all show on stage!” she said.
“let’s get you.. Kirtana…and you Max in the middle of the circle… let me give you a situation and you have to act on only emotions, how you feel about the situation and nothing else! You have to let it all out. The catch is to keep your back to each other… and let’s see where this takes us”..she said..
“it’s a dark alley.. Kirtana you are returning home, when Max springs out of thin air, swinging a knife at you asking you to give up all you valuables…what do you do?”
Max acted it out…all the while gesturing just with his voice, while Kirtana played the part of a scared girl, under attack, slowly realizing she could over power him and make a run for it if she timed herself correctly. They spent ten minutes on the exercise and soon everyone was completely engaged in what was happening.
Manu sat there watching his sister…she was unbelievable! Just then the lights went out…and the entire room was engulfed in darkness…cold and black darkness!
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