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Storytelling 101

Updated on: 11 April,2009 11:29 AM IST  | 
Sapna Bhavnani |

MOST have goals

Storytelling 101

MOST have goals. Goals to be someone. Goals to be somewhere.u00a0 Goals to be somewhere with someone. Goals to fit in. Goals to fill in. Goals to bloat in. Goals to binge in. Goals Goals Goals!u00a0

Hers were none of these.

The story back then...

When she was a little girl her favorite pass time was to dress up in daddy's clothes unlike most little girls. She liked to pen in a moustache and slick back her hair and smoke a candy cigarette in front of the mirror and speak in tongues of war stories to her imaginary "general" comrades. Mommy's cupboard was quite boring with all the pretty dresses and their equally pretty matching glittery shoes. Yup some even labeled her a "budding lesbian." Daddy was proud.u00a0

But unlike most budding lesbians, she did not like any of the women folk except for one... her grandma.u00a0 Her grandma also dressed in grandpa's clothes most of the time (White trousers with a white shirt).u00a0 She was a retired writer whatever that meant and spent most of her time taking care of disabled grandpa. She had a natural moustache that framed her tiny upper lip delicately and the term "waxing" did not exist in her vocabulary, making her the hairiest and the sexiest woman in town according to the granddaughter.u00a0

While most girls attended tea parties and munched on fake bread, she spend hours looking up from her favorite yellow pillow listening to her grandmas' stories. Not stories of career and money in the bank. Not stories of jewels stashed in some bank locker. Not stories of degrees earned and boys won. Grandma's stories were about hitchhiking cross-country on neon pink trucks in 1924.u00a0 Of climbing mountains in her green automobile. Of jumping off an army airplane in 1945.u00a0

The little girl never asked grandma about her published novelsu2026 nor about the fame that followed her in her 'hey day'.... No sirree... that wasn't exciting enough.u00a0 She wanted the juice.

"Grandma did you ever travel on a pirate ship?"u00a0
"Grandma have you tried swimming with the dolphins in the open sea?u00a0
"Grandma did you ever ride a motorcycle?"
u00a0"Grandma did you surf the tsunami?
u00a0"Grandma did you take the yellow brick road and meet the wizard of oz?"u00a0
"Grandma did you ever travel in a hurricane?"
Grandma had all the right answers to keep the little girls' visuals amused.u00a0

The story today...

After grandma passed away, the little girl grew up to be just like her give or take the moustache. She had a career, she had money in the bank, and she even had a dam locker where she stashed her expensive designer sunglasses. She had only one priority. "To collect stories for her grandkids." Nothing else mattered. Not even the thought that it's like kinda important to have a child first before you can have grandkids.u00a0

She spent most of her time thinking of the moment when she would be old and haggered and have a bunch of brats sitting on her lap asking her about her life and her adventures. She couldn't just tell them stories of cutting hair and writing books and djing and riding motorcycles. No sirreee... that would be so BORING. She had to live life and dive off every surface to make it interesting. She was fueled by pure impulse and every bad decision ended up an even better story. Yup some even labeled her "a budding lunatic." Grandma would've been proud.

"There's always the chance you could die right in the middle of your life story."u00a0 Chuck Palahniuk.

So you best make it good!




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