POWER CUT PLAYS!!!

It is a rarity these days and I sorta dislike it this way! I still remember the days in the past (groan… I sound like an old lady!) When there used to be a power cut right in the middle of one of the endless soap operas in the night...
Initial reaction-
Me: Oh God! Now how will I know what happened next?
My sister: (matter-of-factly) they’ll retelecast it tomorrow. If not, they’ll show a recap in the next episode.
A few minutes later, after the candle has been lit and a flickering emergency lamp has been switched on (Side gap: Have you ever noticed that the emergency lamp or the torch refuse to switch on ONLY when there is a power cut?), my sister and I will huddle( er… two of them can’t but heck, I badly wanted to use the word!) together and start our numerous games.
Game 1: Savior of the jobless- ANTAKSHARI
Thankfully my sister sings really well and I too am ok. So we begin our antakshari game, much to the exasperation of our neighbours who just went to their balconies for a li’l air and quiet and end up getting the blare! Cos sadly, we chose the same zone to stage our show of vocal chords! My god, the million times we would have played the game till one of us ends up with a D-O-N-K-E-Y are still etched in my mind! And well the fights we fought over the beginning of a particular song…well sample this.
Swetha: Illaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Adhu apdi aarambikkathu Sandhya akka! Wordsku minnaadi oru humming varum.
Moi: Enna nambu! Enakku onnavida lyrics ellam theriyum!
Swetha: Alatikkatha!
Moi: Unmaya sonna en kochukira?
Swetha: Aiyo!
Moi: Idhudhan onnoda velayadavekoodathu! Podi, naan paatu kekkaporen.
Swetha: naan en walkman kudukka maaaten.
Moi: En di ipdi panra? Adhan ennodu ‘out’ ayidthunu theriyum la? Too mucha pannathe…
And thus goes on our girly fights! Jumping from one to another, the fight ends up with me yelling ‘nee ammakku help pannamatengra. Innaikku kooda naan than potato urichu kuduthen!’ Silly yes, but hey, lots of fun!
GAME 2: My super invention- FAVOURITES
Ok, this game’s a ‘my homie’ version of twenty questions. I think of someone and my sis gueses who it is. There are 4 categories- Friends, known people, famous personalities and family. My god, this is a helluva game! We’ve thought of almost everyone on the planet!(er… yes, a figment of my usual exaggeration only!) From the station master to just born- unnamed babies; from long-forgotten friends to dead people (RIP); from insignificant actors (sample this… the woman who sells buns in Kal Ho Na Ho. Now would you agree?) To my mother’s great aunts great grandson, we’ve left no person in our games!
GAME 3: Song-o-mania
Ever heard of situational songs? This is our ode to them. We give each other situations and we need to impromptu sing a song with lyrics manufactured in-situ! My sister is simply a genius in this game all thanks to the resident poet in her. Especially her starting deserves a big hand!

GAME 3: Gossip!!!
My ultimate favourite. We talk about everything- class, flat, family, famous people’s lives- gossip gossip gossip! Delicious man it is to ‘manda-urittify’ everyone. But of course, we don’t indulge in evil gossiping. None of us like it.

GAME 4: Rigmarole
This is just the normal way anyone plays the game. We rope in famous personalities into our impossible stories! We once created a story where Hermione comes to India to return Aishwarya Rai’s bindis. Crazy, eh?

GAME 5: Déjà vu!
Talks of the past… listen to amma’s stories of her childhood. Wow, it’s son nice to flip back pages in life.
GAME 6: ‘Cell’estial Rambles
Go to the terrace or balcony and spot Orion, Vrishchika (my star!) etc is sheer elation.
Ah well these days one more game has come in- messaging people in the dark. It’s so interesting to message in the dark.

Well, power cuts are times where man realizes that there is a life without all the million inventions of science (er… for a while forget I ever talked about the cell; ) ) It just comes as a breather from mundane life (full of pending portions and piling home works!) and a short full stop to the hustle-bustle to have a nice chummy family conclave.
Ah… sometimes I wouldn’t mind sweaty necks and mosquito bites if I can get the tranquility and joy that filled those times in the past when suddenly some soul in the Electricity Board decides- “Ahoy! Let’s have a power cut!”