Catchy and Touchy

It was a fantastic evening for a lot of reasons - children, children, children every where. It was so much of fun for the children in the apartment complex this evening, as they were to take part in the Ganesh Chathurthi special programme. There were plays, songs and dances by the children and the amazing cheer there was so contagious. I enjoyed myself thoroughly with the decked up Gujju dolls, King, Lord Shiva, Godess Parvathi, Lord Ganesha, the Moon, the Old grandma, the toddlers and tiny tots in angelic attires, the Raman of Tenali, the guards and the parents running here and there with papers, lipsticks, eye brow pencils and costume change requests!!!!

I was visiting my cousin's family today and decided to be around when all the character artists were getting ready for their stage performance, this evening. My neice was playing Lord Shiva's role in a dance-drama. I loved the costume for all the careful details it took care of. With a little bit of make-up, my little niece was quite a beautiful picture of Lord Shiva. I have only seen pictures of Lord Shiva and never really named how the picture looked, but today, I can say Lord Shiva looks very cute. With all praises for the event and the child's interest, patience and enthusiasm for this role, I was very proud to take her downstairs to where the stage was set for the show.

Then, I took a picture of her on my mobile phone camera. She smiled, but never really showed the enthusiasm that I've always known her to express. I was wondering what in the wide world went wrong. I was busy double-checking her half-a-dozen peice costume and a dozen accessories, just to be sure that nothing was making her feel uncomfortable and was trying hard to change that look on her face, which said 'nothing at all'.

We were caught in the middle of a group of people and my niece quickly asked me, Where is Appa? [ Appa is the tamil word for Dad ]. In a flash of a second, the whole puzzle fell in place... The child was only interested in her father's comment. Suddenly the whole scene became familiar. It was always Dad's opinion that mattered for children, when it came to dressing up for an occassion - More so, with girls. With a smile that was a sign of a fond recall of my childhood, I turned to search for my cousin's husband and I saw him walking towards the Lord Shiva. :) One appreciative smile, and a hand shake from the Dad and the kid bounced back to her usual enthusiastic self.

This catchy scene of the evening brought back a touchy thought to recall. I think, some things never change. 'What Dad thinks about my dress?' has been there in the past, is there in the present and will be there in the future generations too. :-) And it is a great feeling to get that appreciative smile from Appa, marking 'Approval' of what you are wearing, any day.