The Drama paper in my second year of Bachelor of Arts, had some of the most interesting plays. Among them was the play ‘Pygmalion’ by George Bernard Shaw. For me. this play was a truly hilarious experience. I abso-bloomin’-lutely loved Mr. Doolittle role, as Eliza’s father in the play. His exceptional character proved that he was truly the best moralist in England!
I wonder I should just pick an open university syllabus and start reading the poems, plays, prose, novels, translations, and adaptions, while living a high life of reading Literature in English. For the joy of reading other playwright, poet, novelist’s thoughts are such a fun activity. I especially loved the plays of Indian English Paper which was in the first year of my college.
In the second year, we had plays of British, American, and few other countries minus Indian playwrights. In the third year, we explored almost 10 degrees of the Literary World. Indian plays were super revelation and most of them were Marathi plays translated into English. I have some affliction towards theatre, and I am the worst actor to date! I cannot remember or memorise my lines or my cues.
What was I good at then? Hmm… Still discovering!
The plays of my course were exceptional to my younger self. I think I should just redo my BA syllabus just for the kick of it! Because the sensitivity in my present state is quite different from that of my younger self. The playwright Shaw mocked the language misuse, even when it was a natural flare up of usage.
Some of the dialogues were insightful and some of the characters were also exceptional. The boundaries of people, decorum, the test to pass off for a Duchess, and the entire logical plan were all clinical to Professor Henry Higgins and Colonel Hugh Pickering. But for Eliza, it was a struggle of emotion and finding herself bereft and an ill-fit of her past society after her makeover.
There was a moment, when I looked at myself and wondered, ‘Did I learn the language well in my literacy process?’ Come to think of it, maybe not! Then, I was surprised if there are many versions of the English language throughout the World. Our exposure is based on our usage and influences of our mother-tongue.
Like for instance, when I use the product ‘Grammarly.’ The application cannot understand Indian English idioms and it does an executive decision and goes ahead to make changes in the write-up. The change in usage is based on its own in-built AI logic which smells disaster for my article. So, I stopped using the app for this reason and tried vetting my article with my limited grammar knowledge.
Because there are certain creative expressions, which are best, when it is erroneous. Preposterous! Grammarians’ world over would cringe and disown my works! (Sigh!) When I read this play the first time in the last room of our independent home, I was giggling uncontrollably because Higgins has such a way with words, or is it Shaw’s thoughts were such an all-rounder. He is super rude and at places I wanted to throw that slipper.
Kudos, Eliza! She threw a slipper at Higgins, though it was rude, but then wait?! Higgins is right that he does not want a partner who would pick up his things and serve him. In a way he was forward minded, but then, the domestication of the main character seemed so, likened to the fairy tale ending that it becomes a predictable outcome.
The roles of the man and the woman in the society comes with static end to it. Will Eliza being educated in her three R’s; will she choose to do things differently? We get educated like the cattle sent to the fair. While expectation in the workplace is to think differently. Most infamous expression ‘to think out-of-the-box.’ When confirmation is stressed in each corner of the activity of literacy.
To be innovative is to be able to experiment at a level of expertise that speaks for the quality of failure. I heard this from a leading thought leader. Harvard Business Review had an article which explains that the culture of innovation needs the highest discipline alongside with the strictest collection of elimination, while gathering team-members who are crème de la crème of talented, intelligent, and efficient workers.
So, I often thought about what makes for the best-spoken language for communication across nations. English is there to make a bridge between all the countries worldwide. Yet, there are some communication gaps that would often get in the way of self-expressions among nations whose languages do not have any common connection.
The Cockney dialect of English is a type of language distortion which creates locale-wise variation. If you are familiar with each areas’ version, then, you could be another Professor Higgins with his incredible sense of dry humour.
I am still learning and the more I write, the more I learn. Or a docile way of stating that I put my both my foot into my mouth! (lol) Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering view bisect, though their approach to overseeing it, could be termed poles apart. Eliza on the other hand will now have to figure out what she wants to do given her current change to a Lady-like stature.
When I saw the movie My Fair Lady with lead roles by Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway. I found myself fascinated by Mr. Doolittle role of course, but then, Rex and Audrey were equally spectacular. I saw this on HBO, or was it Star Movies?!! I am not sure.
When I watched it, I was taken in by the colours and dialogue delivery too. I saw this the same time that I watched the movie, ‘Sound of Music.’ It was one of those rare channels that showed an old Musical. I think each actor put in their effort in making their roles standout.
It was totally a team effort. Surprisingly, it was a musical and like Indian movies the characters break into a song when amidst a serious plot progress! (lol)! It happens a lot in Indian movies.
We even had a Tamil Comedian S. Ve. Shekar made a critical comment in one of his live theatre play, that a worried brother of a sick sister who is admitted in the West Mambalam public health centre, walks out sadly from the patient’s room and singing moanfully through various countries outside India.
Eventually, our hero returns to the self-same bleak looking public health centre, in West Mamabalam, Chennai, India, goes to the pharmacy on the ground floor of the hospital, to get the medicine for his sick sister. Now the logic behind such a worldwide tour before his sorrowful self could get to his start line is that it was the only way people could visit foreign locations with their low budget tickets.
Our movies are shot in foreign locations because the lower middle-class cannot afford to go to those places and the floor ticket to the movie theatre is what as a family can they afford. To max out on the joy of couch travelling is satisfied by seeing the movies shot in foreign locations.
Getting back to fine-tuning language and proper diction which was the main stay of the play. It was beautifully portrayed by the movie ‘My Fair Lady’ (1964). I would have loved to watch the theatrical version of it. But then, I made do with the movie version.
Itinerant Storyteller 