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July has always symbolized the Aha! International
Theatre festival for children and it's
almost a tradition of sorts for us to catch more than a play or two at
Rangashankara! So much so that every time we are in the vicinity of one of our
favourite places in J P Nagar, Abhay is always enquiring as when can he walk
into the theatre and hear the "Ahahahaha Ahahahaha Ahahahaha song" play ( which is normally played as an interlude just before a
feature performance at the festival). So, however busy we may be or howsoever
hectic things get or how many ever homework/test assignments Abhay may have
.... Aha! is not be missed!!
While Abhay has been a regular at Rangashankara, I
was waiting for my little one to grow up
a bit to experience the Aha! magic and was highly disappointed (and had mentioned so) that last year's Aha! festival did not feature any plays for toddlers (as
it did the year before when my little one was only just born). So imagine my delight
when I discovered this year's edition Aha! international festival of theatre
for children to be an exclusive theatre fest for toddlers!
Well, though I'd like believe that my note of
disappointment on last year's post on Aha! festival (and as such it was an but an echo of the long standing demand for more quality programs for
very young children), had anything to do
it, this year's Aha! festival is a creative product of a Theatre workshop for very young
children at Katkatha, New Delhi conducted by Barbara Kolling in December 2017.
So this year we skipped our naps and packed our
baby bag (we still carry those around!) and off we went to
"Rangshankra" ( as my little one puts it). As if mommy's enthusiasm
was not enough, her school too jumped into the theatre band wagon all the way
to Aha! festival as they gathered all their noisy toddlers into one of the
featured plays.
All the plays sought to introduce the little ones
into subtle .shades, shapes, sounds, colours and joys of life as they see
it..... just as Arundhathi' Nag put it and to rephrase Children don't need rapid movements or loud
and exaggerated sounds.....a quiet soft movement or subtly nuanced presentation
is enough to make them sit up and notice. It may be a spider shaped woolen
thread hanging from the clothing line in 'Ool"
or the exploring how seemingly mundane objects from everyday life and transform
into something striking in "Paper
Fantasy" or varied colours created out of an assortment of plastic and
refraction of light in "Plasticity" or an endearing hide and seek play between
two characters squeaking "Pattichae"
(caught you!) in "Chidiya Udd".....
children did seem fascinated! I'm not sure how much of what they see actually
sinks in or how much of what is put up is comprehended.....but the shared
experience of watching some of best toddlers' theater live and laughing with
your little one sitting on your lap is sure to be one of your most memorable
moments in the fleeting early years of his or her childhood! As I see my little
one waking up from her usual nap and saying "Rangshnkarage hoguva? (Shall
we go to Rangashankara?)... I know that she is asking for more and more of
such marvels!
While many of our Rangashankara or Aha! moments
have made their way into Onestoryaday, all of them have been related to Abhay.
This one is special as it's my little one's first Rangashankara experience and
that's why I had to put it down even though it's been more than two weeks since
the Toddler Theatre festival! Anyway, the
only person disappointed this year with the Toddlers' theatre festival was the eleven
year old older brother!:-(
So on the occasion my little one's initiation to
theatre at Rangashankara, we re-read one of her favourite board books introducing
various sounds a child might encounter
in his or her surroundings....."Cheep Cheep", a Tulika offering
for the very young, with pictures by Sowmya Menon. What are the sounds that
your little one is fascinated by? Is the sound of "Koo-koo" of Koel
or the "cheep cheep" of the sparrow or the "teep-teep-teep"
of the water dripping, or cat going surr surr while drinking milk, or the
neighbors singing "Sa Re Ga Ma"?
( or the older brother in our case) .........sounds are everywhere, from natural to man made and to machine made. Inspired
from a Marathi rhyme, this book is vivid yet simple and aided with suitable
illustrations, and is almost like a cue for taking the concept forward in guessing other
sounds subtle and loud, with your little one, from 'tick-tick-tick of the wall
clock, "whistle" of the pressure cooker or man seller greens shouting
"soppu" on the road .... the of world of sounds never fails to
fascinate our little ones! Here's to more
such lovely outings with your toddler!!!
