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Authors: Shyam Selvadurai
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Suraj holding up Peries’ copy of
Othello
that he had been flipping through in the corridor. The other boys laughed and began to whistle, making kissing sounds at Peries. Ahmed tried to embrace Peries. “Cassio, you can lie with me anytime.”
Peries pushed him away and stormed out of the auditorium, followed by catcalls and hoots. Amrith had no idea what they were teasing Peries about, but he could not help feeling glad to see his rival discomfited.
Amrith discovered that Madam, too, understood the joke about Cassio.
When they had returned to the auditorium after lunch, and were seated in a circle, ready to do a read-through, Peries raised his hand and said, “Madam, I wish to give up my part.”
All the boys tittered and a mischievous glint entered Madam’s eyes. “And why is that, Peries? Cassio is a very good role.”
The boys giggled. Some of them guffawed.
“Peries,” Madam continued, “you are perfect for Cassio. I need someone who is poetic looking. And you have such lovely fair skin, such pretty curls.”
The boys clutched their sides with silent hilarity; some of them had tears running down their faces. Even Amrith could not help smiling, though he still did not know what this was all about.
Peries’ face was red from having to bite back his fury. “But I don’t want to do it, Madam. I would rather play a guard than play Cassio.”
“Nonsense,” Madam said, opening her copy of
Othello
. “I don’t want to hear any more about this, Peries. Wanigasekera, read!”
Since there was still a possibility Amrith could end up playing Cassio, he had a look at act 3, scene 3, the moment he got home. It was the point in the plot when Iago told Othello that he had shared a bed with Cassio, and how, during the night, Cassio had murmured in his sleep of his love for Desdemona and cursed Othello for having her. Iago also told Othello that Cassio mistook Iago for Desdemona and held Iago’s hand in his, kissed him hard on the lips over and over again, embraced him, and pressed his leg over Iago’s thigh.
Amrith was sure this was what the boys had teased Peries about. He did not understand why Peries was so outraged by what Cassio had done mistakenly in his sleep. Still, Amrith felt even more uneasy now about ending up with that part.
Madam was going away with her family for a holiday and there would be no further rehearsals for three weeks. Amrith promised himself that he would use this time to work diligently on his role.
6
The Holidays Drag On
T he climate in August depended on whether the monsoon had spent itself or not; whether it had arrived at all. This year, the monsoon was late and it lingered into August, much to everyone’s despair. Instead of the rain cooling down the heat, it only caused the air to be thick with moisture. The inhabitants of Colombo moved sluggishly, as if pushing at the yellow humidity before them. The lush growth in the gardens and on the sides of the streets was rotting with too much water, the hibiscus a diluted pink.
Over the next few days, Amrith found that, without rehearsals, time hung heavy on him. In the past, he and the girls would do things together during their holidays, like going for bicycle rides and walks along the beach, or to a film at the Majestic Cinema and to Gillo’s for ice-cream sundaes. But in the last year, as the girls grew older, they had begun to develop their own interests and social circlesinto which he did not fit. Amrith felt he had been abandoned by the girls; he could not help being angry at them and secretly envious of their busy lives. He rehearsed his part as much as he could, but he soon grew bored with repeating the lines over and over to himself. Somehow the scene did not really work, addressing an imaginary Othello.
His mornings at the office, practicing his typing, were the sole source of pleasure and distraction in his life. Though he had been acquainted with the office staff before, it was only now that he began to know about
Othello
that he had been flipping through in the corridor. The other boys laughed and began to whistle, making kissing sounds at Peries. Ahmed tried to embrace Peries. “Cassio, you can lie with me anytime.”
Peries pushed him away and stormed out of the auditorium, followed by catcalls and hoots. Amrith had no idea what they were teasing Peries about, but he could not help feeling glad to see his rival discomfited.
Amrith discovered that Madam, too, understood the joke about Cassio.
When they had returned to the auditorium after lunch, and were seated in a circle, ready to do a read-through, Peries raised his hand and said, “Madam, I wish to give up my part.”
All the boys tittered and a mischievous glint entered Madam’s eyes. “And why is that, Peries? Cassio is a very good role.”
The boys giggled. Some of them guffawed.
“Peries,” Madam continued, “you are perfect for Cassio. I need someone who is poetic looking. And you have such lovely fair skin, such pretty curls.”
The boys clutched their sides with silent hilarity; some of them had tears running down their faces. Even Amrith could not help smiling, though he still did not know what this was all about.
Peries’ face was red from having to bite back his fury. “But I don’t want to do it, Madam. I would rather play a guard than play Cassio.”
“Nonsense,” Madam said, opening her copy of
Othello
. “I don’t want to hear any more about this, Peries. Wanigasekera, read!”
Since there was still a possibility Amrith could end up playing Cassio, he had a look at act 3, scene 3, the moment he got home. It was the point in the plot when Iago told Othello that he had shared a bed with Cassio, and how, during the night, Cassio had murmured in his sleep of his love for Desdemona and cursed Othello for having her. Iago also told Othello that Cassio mistook Iago for Desdemona and held Iago’s hand in his, kissed him hard on the lips over and over again, embraced him, and pressed his leg over Iago’s thigh.
Amrith was sure this was what the boys had teased Peries about. He did not understand why Peries was so outraged by what Cassio had done mistakenly in his sleep. Still, Amrith felt even more uneasy now about ending up with that part.
Madam was going away with her family for a holiday and there would be no further rehearsals for three weeks. Amrith promised himself that he would use this time to work diligently on his role.
6
The Holidays Drag On
T he climate in August depended on whether the monsoon had spent itself or not; whether it had arrived at all. This year, the monsoon was late and it lingered into August, much to everyone’s despair. Instead of the rain cooling down the heat, it only caused the air to be thick with moisture. The inhabitants of Colombo moved sluggishly, as if pushing at the yellow humidity before them. The lush growth in the gardens and on the sides of the streets was rotting with too much water, the hibiscus a diluted pink.
Over the next few days, Amrith found that, without rehearsals, time hung heavy on him. In the past, he and the girls would do things together during their holidays, like going for bicycle rides and walks along the beach, or to a film at the Majestic Cinema and to Gillo’s for ice-cream sundaes. But in the last year, as the girls grew older, they had begun to develop their own interests and social circlesinto which he did not fit. Amrith felt he had been abandoned by the girls; he could not help being angry at them and secretly envious of their busy lives. He rehearsed his part as much as he could, but he soon grew bored with repeating the lines over and over to himself. Somehow the scene did not really work, addressing an imaginary Othello.
His mornings at the office, practicing his typing, were the sole source of pleasure and distraction in his life. Though he had been acquainted with the office staff before, it was only now that he began to know about
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