Here and Now: Hanuman and the Girl Prince

Took the kids to see a theatrical play this Sunday, ‘Hanuman and the Girl Prince’. It was choreographed by my dance teacher ‘Rita Mustaphi’ so it was especially important for me but I also wanted my kids to see it. It was meant for younger audience and was presented by stepping stone theatre. The reason that it appealed to me was that the moral of the story was to be comfortable in your own skin.
It was about a girl who was raised as a prince so that she could rule the kingdom and she was totally fine with that until she falls in love and then her monkey friend ‘Hanuman’ helps her embrace own feminity without turning into a sissy princess. I think it was important for my girls to see it cause of course their mother doesn’t let them fall into the usual patterns of 'what is expected of a girl'. And because they are raised in an environment that is a fine mixture of various cultures and I want them to realize that they don’t have to follow any patterns but be comfortable with the person they are shaping into.

The kids gave a marvelous performance, the play had conviction and they wonderfully performed chanting of the Sanskrit shlokas and moving rhythmically on kathak steps.
Both girls loved it. Actually it was funny that in the middle of the play, Divi was so inspired that she started singing her ‘spaghetti song’ that they are learning at school for performing at the annual spaghetti dinner.

To add to the charm, the costumes were colorful and the stage theme of Royal Diwali celebration, well executed. Plus, the performances were at the newly renovated 100-year-old architectural gem of a theatre in the St. Paul. I wasn’t carrying my camera and the pictures were taken with my cellphone.

This weekend we were blessed with beautiful weather which I couldn’t make full use of because of my flu like symptoms but on Saturday we did manage to go out for a walk by the river in Stillwater.