Recently I have started enjoying directing plays. It’s so much fun writing the script for a play. The school that organises an Inter school event plans strange combinations and the competing schools have to script and put up the play. I thoroughly enjoy the challenge.

I guess I have always put up skits and plays for my class assemblies and school Annual days but of late I have started getting addicted to it. The addiction began with the win at an inter school competition. It was a Hindi play for Rochak organised by Christ Church School. Our school had the State Uttar Pradesh as our School State. The theme for the play was ‘an NGO that works for a social cause’. I quickly jumped to the opportunity because I knew of the National Science and Environmental Camp at Dudhwa Forest in Lucknow, UP. I wrote the script involving animal characters like a swamp deer, a tiger, a great pied hornbill, an NGO official, a tourist and a hunter as there were maximum 6 characters to be cast and with students from standard six only.

The play introduced the NGO official and the tourist admiring the animals living in harmony with each other in the forest reserve when suddenly a hunter shoots at the swamp deer. But the tiger saved the deer by attacking the hunter. The main idea of the play was to preserve the eco system of the swamps and the animals. We won a prize for the student’s acting, their stage presence, their dialogue delivery and the wonderful costumes.

I cannot forget the practices, the enthusiasm of the actors, it really gets me high. I’m very happy when I’m creating new dramas with the children.

For yet another story of this passion, I’ll continue another day. That’s all for today.

From my experience, I have learned that discovering a new passion can be invigorating and rewarding. As I delve deeper into directing plays, I find myself getting addicted to the challenge of creating something new with the children. The key takeaway from my experience is that it's never too late to try something new and to pursue a passion. You never know where it might lead or what you might discover about yourself.