Ngachonmi Chamroy
Another Christmas is soon approaching and I am dreaming of fun time in my village. Last night I woke up from a dream and there were tears in my eyes. Did I cry or laugh I do not know: It was a Christmas drama in my village. Some guys dressed up as Phizo and his followers took the stage. They had wise looking glasses and goggles with heavy makeup. Some dressed in rags with toy guns, sticks and stones. Phizo spoke, “Leave us alone. We are an independent nation.” His followers shouted for independence in chorus. The aplomb of the actors and their weird dresses added to the excitement and curiousity of the spectators. The villagers were trying to figure out who were the guys with hoe and frying pans behind Phizo. One lady indentified her husband and giggled and told her friend nearby. Most could identify the fat soldier behind the leader. The audiences were roaring with laughter. Some actors made funny gestures to the audience for effect. The actors lined up and sang a patriotic song. The crowd loved it.
Suddenly some men in black dresses with caps enter the scene. They started to fight the actors who were entertaining the crowd. The laughing stopped. The men in black clothes arrested some of them and tortured them. Some ran away from the stage leaving the stage for the men in black. Leader of the men in black spoke on the microphone, “You are Indians. Those who go with these people will suffer the same fate.” Speaking thus, he and his men made one of the arrested person with his hands tied behind his back kneel down and shot at the back. Fire crackers exploded at the background. There was sadness in the audience. Some more actors dressed as women and children were brought on stage and got beaten up to aggravate the pain. There were loud noises of cries and wailing. The songs of the former actors who were scattered by the men in black were playing at the background. The scene became solemn. Some women and children in the crowd were also weeping. They were wiping away their tears secretly. Some sobbed openly.
Then still another group of people sporting flatheads like cowboys marched on stage from the left side of the stage. They started to fire their guns and fought with those villains. The men in black dresses were running hither and thither. They captured some and killed some of them. Fire crackers were bursting in the back ground. The fire crackers stopped. The stage was empty. Then some people dressed in overcoats and suits with necktie took the stage. A leading actor step up and addressed the crowd, " Fighting will not bring us solution. Let us settle the issue amicably." The audience could not agree him more. The actors spoke one after another egoing the first speaker. The crowd loved them. They also quote from the bible to drive their points home. The audience were now fully with them. They were in fact enjoying their eloquence. Some actors were even singing songs with guitar. The audience loved the song too. Another actor was emboldened to tell a story to the audience. The crowd listened.
In the middle of a speech a man who seemed to be drunk enter the stage wearing inner garments of a woman and started to dance to a funky music. Some in the audience did not like the crotch grasping act and the vulgar moves. It was in bad taste but the audience tolerated it because he was supposed to be on the side of the good guys. The actors fought to speak on the microphone. They keep on talking. The people were weary of their dialogue by now. Behind the scene, some of the actors dressed up in some fancy dresses were waiting for their time on the stage; a moment in the sun. But the actors who were enjoying the attention of the crowd had forgotten their script. Some were improvising their lines. The crowd paid half attention to them. They did not want to leave the stage. Some of the actors at the background got frustrated because of the hackneyed dialogue on the stage. Those who were dressed in skimpy dresses were feeling cold in the wintery night. Some actors took a sip or two of whiskey to keep them warm. Some of them got tipsy. Some were feeling drowsy. One actor went out on stage before his time and sang out of tune to the embarrassment of the speakers on the stage. Some actors waiting for their turn got angry and went home.
The director of the drama was trying hard to cover the mistakes and get their act together again. He didn't know how to conclude the story because it was all mixed up now. Some of his well meaning friends tried to assist him. Almost everyone in the waiting room was directing the scenes. In effect, two actors dressed as monkeys went out on stage and made a fool of themselves on the advice of a friend in the dressing room. Some kids in front were amused and laughed dryly. The audiences were tired of their trite exhortations. Someone from the crowd shouted obscene words. One helpless soldier trains his gun at him feigning his duty. Seeing the response of the crowd, the functionaries of the festival were getting impatient. Some families in the crowd started to leave. The bonfire of the festival was dying soon and was getting cold. Some kids had gone to sleep on the back of their parents. Their shoulders were feeling the weight of their children. One of the lady functionary interrupted the drama on the microphone to appeal the villagers not to leave one by one but to close the night gathering properly by saying a prayer together.
The actors who had lost their story lines were blaming each other for the mess. The audience could not tolerate the drama anymore. The stuporous actors waiting behind the scene were throwing their makeup boxes and costumes at each other. There was chaos. Something had to be done. Some social minders of the village tried to reason with the programme committee and the drama party if they could wrap up the show so that they could have a formal conclusion for the day.
I woke up and laughed at the stupid dream in the middle of the night. I stopped. I thought about the scenes for a while. Tears well up my eyes as something inside me cried. Laughter and pain are realities of life but when they come together at a time, it’s a mixed feeling. I don’t know if I should laugh or cry but my eyes were certainly wet. My wife turned sleepily and asked, “Are you alright?” I said, “ I am ok. Just a dream.” I tried to get back to sleep thinking about the villagers in my dream. A thought crossed my mind - for man it is hard to do the right thing at the right time. He cannot stop thinking when it is time to sleep, and sleep away when it is time to wake up. He walks away when it is time to stay; linger when it is time to leave. He keeps on praying when it is time to work in faith and keeps on talking when it is time to conclude. May be that wisdom to do the right thing at the right time will never dawn on him unless he becomes less of himself; not more. I felt asleep to dream of another Christmas time.
