My first stage performance

Technically, I am not somebody expected to have stage fright. My mothers grand parents were kathakali & drama artists and my father’s grand parents were actors too – they could smile & hide their day-long plight on the rock-hard Kamuthi soil (Kamudhi is a place in Tamil Nadu, with dry lands) while tilling their lands or grazing their cattle.

Coming from such a classy ‘performers’ family, I can assure you that I don’t have stage fright. What happened in Delhi Public School, Pre-Nursery in Gurgaon on August 10, 2010 is a totally different story.

See the video before reading further:

In the video you will notice that I am crying even as the whole of my pre-nursery class is singing a patriotic song. Let me assure you that I was as surprised as my teachers & my parents at my performance that day. And then I began to wonder – why did somebody who performed so well during practice sessions, why did somebody who would correct the rest of the kids when they went wrong….why did such a kid start crying the moment the singing began?

And then in struck me – I had wanted to sing this song onstage alone…but my teachers had included all the other students against my wishes. This was not what I wanted. And that’s why I had started crying the moment the song began.

Don’t believe me? Well, I am sticking to my story. My father has taught me…if it’s a lie, stick to it till it becomes the truth.