Taking Stock

Here I am, on the brink of 2008, trying to reflect on my progress over the last 12 months: It has been good year in general for me personally; and except for some disturbing incidents here and there, it has not been terribly bad for us all. It was productive creatively, though if I had more time on my hand and the will to push myself to get more results, I could have done better. But what I could do given my drawbacks, it was not bad. All this is said, of course, in comparison to earlier year or two, which were less productive creatively. Two plays were produced this year: Hamlet and The King Stag; a certain definition was found to my painting activity, I managed to make contacts with several of my friends who I had lost contact with over all these years. That has been satisfying. In July I visited the place of my birth, met surviving members of family-that again has given me focus-and that has cleared certain long nursed conflicts within. On the home front my spouse has been the ever wonderful woman that she is, very understanding and supportive. (Towards the fag end of this year though, we did have some issues, but one hopes that this too will pass and things will be mended). My son, Mir has grown by yet another year ! He has been a source of wonder, the fundamental reason why I feel this satisfaction on a deeper, a more immediate level, although I admit that on that level reason is hardly necessary. January 2007, from the day Mr & Mrs Thomas Chase came calling, things have looked up. Considering that a bumpkin like me should deserve much less, all in all, powers that govern our lives have been benevolent , kind and generous this year. In deep gratitude then, I turn from this little time spent in reflecting on the year just gone by and look towards the future - Welcome 2009!

The King Stag contd

Meanwhile the hunt is on... Having entered Deramo's body Tartaglia orders all hunting party to find a stag with white mark(one Deramo entered in)and kill it.An old man is questioned by Deramo about the whereabouts of the stag with a white mark. Old man has not seen any such stag. On hearing this Deramo kills the old man and goes looking for the stag with the hunting party. The white stag(Deramo in stag's body) comes to where old man's corpse lay and enters the old man's body. Then he meets Angela, who initially does not believe him. But a gut feeling tells her that the old man is Deramo. She learns of the whole treacherous plot of Tartaglia, and waits for her opportunity. Tartaglia sees her alone and is overcome with desire. Taking advantage of his weakness Angela makes him release her brother and father, whom Tartaglia has locked up in the meanwhile. She demands many things off Tartaglia. Tartaglia's patience dries and he tries to take Angela by force. Just then, the old man in Deramo's body fights Tartaglia. But Tartaglia is too strong and so overcomes the old man. Just as he is about to kill the old man, Durandarte appears from thin air. He then makes Deramo and Tartaglia exchange bodies thus giving Deramo his own. But Tartaglia's body is no more in picture. he gets the old srivelled body of the old man. He is taught a lesson. But Clarissa his daughter comes and says comforting words to him. So before he dies, Tartaglia realises that above all justice there is love that redeems. End of the plot

The King Stag

THe King Stag. It is a play by Carlo Gozzy. King Deramo has interviewed 2748 princesses and noble ladies to be his queen. But he is unable to find a sincere, truthful girl. All have told him one lie or another( which he finds out through a magical bust that laughs whenever a woman tells a lie). But Angela, the beautiful daughter of Pentaloon, is the only woman who really loves Deramo for his human qualities and not his crown.The ambitious prime minister Tarlaglia usurps king Deramo's crown by treacherous means. His almost wife Angela, the daughter of second minister (Pentaloon), whom Tartaglia secretly desires, is almost his, when magician Durandarte's last minute intervention saves the situation. Tartaglia is slain.Peace is restored in the kingdom of Serendip. It is a complex plot. The king receives ladies who desire to be queen in privy chamber. There he asks them simple questions in presence of the magic bust. He has interviewed 2747 of them so far. Three more are to be interviewed as the pay opens. These three remaining ladies are Clarisa, Smeraldina and Angela. Clarisa is prime minister Tartaglia's daughter. She is in love with Pentaloon's son Leander. Tartaglia imposes his will on young Clarisa and forces her to present herself before king Deramo. Scared of her father, the poor girl presents herself before the king. She tells him a lie, and as a result gets rejected. Smeraldina is Brighella's (king Deramo's butler) niece. She too is rejected as a result of lying to the king. Angela follows Smeraldina. Angela is beautiful and noble. She can not tell Deramo a lie. On the contrary, she tells him to let her go because she genuinely feels that she is unworthy of the king. Her sincerity wins king Deramo's heart and since the bust does not( first time after 2749 cases)laugh,is chosen. Deramo announces a festive hunt in the forest in order to celebrate his choosing of a wife. During the hunt Tartaglia treacherously cons Deramo to divulge a secret magic charm. The charm is taught to Deramo by Durandarte. It has the power to make the chanter enter any dead body. Tartaglia and Deramo kill two stags. Tartaglia makes Deramo enter one stag's dead body, and by chanting the newly acquired chant, enters himself into Deramo's body. (What happens next? Wait for my next post, only on "my grey fog")