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Gre atest Invention of the Year

Ranganayaki Srinivas

 

Scene One

 

Shyam:          Mummy, my breakfast!

Father:          Shyam, you are still here. You should have gone to college by now.

Shyam:          But, daddy, I got up late and ….

Grandfather: Your alarm clock kept ringing and I had to switch it off. In our days we used to get up at 4 O’clock.  We never depended on a machine to wake us up.

Shyam:       Oh, grandpa, there you go again with your pet line…’In our days…’ mummy, I don’t want any breakfast, I am off to college.

Father:       Shyam wait a minute. Wait I say!  Come and have your breakfast. I’ll drop you on my way.

Mother:      Here Shyam, sit down properly and eat your breakfast.  Don’t stuff food into your mouth like that.

Shyam:       That’s your fault mum.  You could have got it ready earlier. You could have woken me up.

Mother:      Oh yes, everything is my fault. Your darling sister Kavita is still in bed. She should have got up earlier and helped me in the kitchen.  But it is not her fault. It is my fault, isn’t it? If I had twenty hands I could have got the breakfast ready, shaken you out of bed, woken up Kavita, got things ready for your father and….

Father:       Now, now, Smita. All this can wait, can’t it?  We could have some peaceful mornings, couldn’t we?

Grandfather: In our days children and mothers would never open their mouth in front of the father.

Kavita:       (Just got up) Grandpa, in our days fathers are not supposed to open their mouths at all.

Father:       Yes, How can they when they have children like you two?

Shyam:       Daddy you could have spared me…

Father:       Well, let’s be off, otherwise this will never come to an end.

 

Scene Two

 

Shyam:       Hai Priti  !

Priti:           Shyam you’re late again!

Shyam:       So what? No more advice , OK? I have had enough at home.

Priti:           Don’t tell me you created a scene at home today also.

Shyam:       I never create any scenes… It’s the adults….all of them gang up on me.

James:        (walking towards them) Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s the same in my case too.

Amin and Rose join them.

Amin:         Hi, everybody, what’s up?

Priti:           Fireworks at home.

Rose:          I might have guessed that. But I thought only girls got fireworks. Boys are lucky.

James:        Don’t give us that. You should have seen the scene at my place…this morning.

Shyam:       Same with me yar…and.. I’m sick and tired of them. They just don’t understand us.

Amin:         And all they do is criticise. You should do this..…you shouldn’t do that...

Priti:           We’ve got to do something about this.

 

 

Scene Three

 

 All are busy working in the kitchen. Appropriate music in the background.  Show the hard work put in, the disappointment and frustration midway and the final success.

 

Scene Four

 

The college is decorated and all arrangements are made for the audience. People are seen going here and there busy arranging things.  In one corner of the stage some snacks are laid out on a table for the guests and audience.  A huge drum of cold drink is kept nearby.  Shyam and others come  in with a flask of solution and when nobody is looking at them, pour the contents into the container

 

Shyam’s mother stuffs food into her mouth.  Priti’s father drops water on the floor.  Shyam’s father shouts across the room to Rose’s father who laughs loudly and shouts back.  Drinks are spilled, someone steps on the liquid, everyone laughs.  The young people watch and smile.

 

Rose says, ‘Do you think we ever behave like this?’  James replies, ‘Of course not !’

 

 

H M Patel Institute of English Training & Research, Vallabh Vidyanagar - 388120, Gujarat, India

Phone : 091-2692-230193, 091-2692-230079