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| Sunday, 12 January 2003 |
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So the stage was set for the belated New Year Ball and Play after much discussion and dissent. Of course, Oberon's directions had been observed to the letter and the stage had been set p in the middle of the Ballroom which was a really beautiful forest glade, open to the sky so that the moonlight could shine down on the partygoers. Man proposes, God disposes, goes a good old saying.Calamity: There would be no moon tonight said the TV Weather Report. 'Find moonshine! Find moonshine!' That was Snout and Starveling in chorus, sounding desperate. 'That's plagiarism! exclaimed Bottom. 'Pla - what?' asked the chorussing duo. 'Plagiarism. Means stealing somebody else's intellectual or artistic or whatever idea put down in writing or on sound like TV or radio,' explained Bottom. 'But we arn't stealing anybody's anything,'said the two, again in chorus. 'Of course you are. That moonshine thing belongs to the Bard himself and so we have no right to use it,' said Bot rather angrily. 'Who cares?' asked the two, again in chorus. 'Look here, you two, I shall have to report you to Oberon not only for plagiarism but disrespect,'said Bot. 'Report us to the Bard himself. He is, after all, invited to tonight's revelries, isn' he?' They asked. 'Yes, but that's another matter.' 'We are also going to put over a play within a play,'said Snout and Starveling. 'Preposterous! That's what I call preposterous insolence!'screamed Bottom.'Why should only he be allowed to write plays within plays? What about others with talent-like us>?' asked the two. 'Like you!Who said you have talent?'asked Bottom somewhat amused. 'We are saying that we have talent. You have to blow your own trumpet because nobody is going to blow it for you,' they said. 'That we shall have to clarify with conductor Rohan Joseph when he comes tonight,' said Bot. 'But you wont have time to ask him anything until he finishes the concert he is giving,' they said. 'Then we shall have to wait until those proceedings are over before we do anything like a play within a play,'said Bottom. 'Our play which we shall be doing impromptu-no script or anything like that-will be a skit on society and its bores,' said Snout who was a bellows mender by profession but liked literary activities in his spare time. 'You shall do nothing of the kind,'said Bottom,adding,'do you realise that even Oberon and Titania are part of society? And what about all those distinguished and famous invitees who will be coming as Oberon's guests tonight? Anyway, what's your skit about?' 'Oh, there will be more than one skit. There'll be one on how that Straw man tried to sling mud at the Royal Family and another on how that preposterous bore and bully, Mike Tyson thought he could defeat our Lennox and get the heavyweight crown. Now, Botty, we know that you cant bear that black American and that you love our Lenny as all of us do,' the duo said. 'Now that is one skit I shall certainly approve of, not to mention the straw skit as well,' said Bottom ,now a little less uptight. Just then Puck came rushing up out of the blues, his feet flying in the wind,saying, wildly:'Get the moonshine! Get the moonshine! There is no moon tonight.' 'Oh dear!'echoed the three blithe spirits of the night,'please get the moonshine otherwise people will not be able to see anything or even each other,' they cried in unison. 'What's all this about moonshine?'asked Quince, coming into the picture,looking very important as Master of Ceremonies. 'Don't you all know that moonshine is another name for illegally manufactured alcohol?' 'How jolly! How very jolly!' they all chorused. 'Then we shall get some bottles of it from Friar tuck and then there will be moonlight.' 'Whoever heard of such nonsense?' asked Bottom. 'We'll open the bottles and spew the stuff around like they do champagne after World Cup matches and so on, and there'll be moonshine everywhere!' I was watching all this from my perch on my tree when Titania was floating down her tree with a remarkable wand in her hand. It had a moon at the end of it which was actually giving out moonlight like a sparkling star. i had never seen anything like it in my whole life. And she looked so beautiful too, in a gown of pink acrylic paint sprayed all over her body and a golden tiara in her dark hair, which was her get-up for the bash. 'There's moonshine! There's moonshine!' chorused the forest folk who had gathered all around to receive the first guests for the evening who were to be none other than Nazeer Hussein, the England captain, Robin O' the Hood and the Maid Marian,followed by Lennox Lewis who Titania is absolutely crazy about. Quince was prancing about with the enormously long guest list when Bottom reminded him that they would all be there in a little while. 'Then why don't we have ourselves a quiet little drink or two in the meantime?'suggested Bottom, which was well received, so the blithe spirits and Puck rushed around opening bottles of bubbly and pouring them into the elegant glass flutes that had been got out for the party. Tit's bubbly was pink, to match her outfit while Puck muttered a little magic spell and turned my drink into gold to match my party gladrags. 'To moonshine! To moonshine!'they all sang as they raised their glasses to the evening. -Ob |
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