Family/Play

Playing While Puppeteering

July Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Play”

Families that play together stay together.

It was the worst of times; it was the best of times.

It was the worst of times with Covid raging. But it was the best of times — six months — because my daughter and grandkids were staying with us.

The kids, Aju and Kai, then six and four years old, couldn’t go to school, the mall, or the movies. They couldn’t meet their friends.

How were we to keep them entertained?

I thought of Auntie C, my dad’s sister, whom (as a child) I visited in Mumbai for two weeks every October. Auntie was passionate about the arts and theater.

My brother, Auntie, and I once put on a puppet show for our parents and cousins. Cardboard cutouts with ice cream sticks glued to their backs danced across our stage.

Now I figured: Why not carry Auntie C.’s legacy forward?

The grandkids loved tales about Birbal, a legendary character from Indian folklore. It wasn’t hard to develop a hero and a ten-minute script.

During Covid, our living room swam in cardboard boxes. I dug up some old ankle socks. Voila, sock puppets!

We made five cutouts: King, Queen, Birbal, soldier, and farmer. Art is not my forte, so I enlisted hubby to draw the faces. We fashioned a “stage” by framing an open window with bright red wrapping paper.

The audience consisted of hubby and son-in-law. The kids and I guided the puppets; my daughter narrated. Afterward, we took a bow.

Thanks for visiting! 🌼🌻

Thanks, Mary, for publishing my story in your amazing pub! Mary Chang Story Writer