Names and all that

I have always hated my name. I have a very common ethnic first name and a hard to pronounce last name. This made life very difficult when I was a kid. There were two other Reenas in class besides me. This meant that during roll-call the teacher had to call out our first names as well as last. My last name used to be called out in a whole variety of ways depending on the teachers mood and her accent. I dreaded roll-call each day. Naturally by the time I was in third some smartass bully thought it would be hilarious to torment me during recess about my name. This girl was really huge… like a teen wolf, and yours truly was a puny kid back then. This meant I was seriously lacking in the self defence department. So basically she used to trail after me during recess singing out my name and I’d spend the whole recess trying to outrun her. I wasn’t very good at the running thing either.

So yes! I hated my name back then.

I changed schools in when I was in 7^th. I went from an all-girl’s school to an all-girl’s boarding school. Oh joy! At boarding school there were more Catholics which meant every second girl was either a D’souza or a Fernandes. We also had Alphonsos, Borrettos, Sequieras, etc etc… And then there was me! Chakalakal! What does that even mean?? It’s too long and there are no records available giving directions on how to spell it. Of course in boarding school too there were 4 other Reenas besides me. Gets better, right? Actually in a weird way it did. Not immediately though. I had to spend my first year in boarding school being called ‘Chakli’. A big girl named me that. She was in 10^th and very popular. The name caught on. Bummer! 

Then, the next year I became friends with a girl who was sweet and brilliant. Somewhere in that year or maybe the next… she had a little chat with me about names. She made me love my name and take pride in it. Her reasoning was simple. She was a D’Souza and there were many other D’Souzas in school. She explained how ‘Chakalakal’ was unique. And it was. It is. So then on I took to educating people on how to pronounce my name. I still dislike my first name though. But now I’m stuck with it. And I fear becoming a ‘Reena D’Souza’. But I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what happens when that day comes.

Fun fact: I come from a family of R’s. My dad is called Robert, Mum – Rachil and my brother is called Reagan. So I guess that’s something right?

Les Miserables – Master of the Movies

I feel like I’m about to explode! I just had what I can only describe as the best movie experience of my life. I don’t even know where to begin…

So I’ll start at the beginning.

I came across a book.. a really thick book in an old book store and bought it. I never read the book for a long time… because it would require a lot of patience to get through it. It was written in a time and about a time that was way beyond my understanding. But I had to read it. Not reading it would be a sin. It was an incredible book! Yes. There was a lot that I didn’t understand.. like the war, the revolution, among other things. But the writing… oh the writing. Victor Hugo wrote his characters and their stories so beautifully. I fell in love with all of them. Eponine, the poor miserable Eponine. Gavroche, that sweet little rat whose death was so brave and so tragic. Jean Valjean, that wretched soul who tried so hard to be good. Cosette and Maruis, lovers in a hard world. Enjolras and the Friends of the ABC who were invincible. Javert, who had no room for gray in his world. I loved them all. It’s only great writing that can embrace you into a story even when you don’t understand much that is going on.

Then came the musical. It wasn’t what I would expect in a musical. But I had an open mind, cos I love musicals. For me it was one of those musicals that can actually change your life. I was lucky that I got to watch the one with the dream cast. Watching Philip Quast as Javert was an experience that I will never forget. The lyrics of the songs were larger than life. The singing was so incredible I thought my heart would burst! The actor who played Maruis annoyed me because of his sweaty upper lip. But everything else… the Thenardier husband and wife singing ‘Master of the House’; the prisoners singing ‘Look Down’; Fantine singing ‘I Dreamed a Dream; the ABC singing ‘Red and Black as well as ‘Do You hear the People Sing’… I could go on and on. Those were wonderfully written songs. You didn’t need anything else to understand what was happening. I never imagined a musical would be able to accomplish a task that could clearly only be done with a movie.

And finally.. The movie itself that caused me to stay awake till 4 in the morning with this feeling like my heart is going to burst. I can still hear the echoes of the songs. Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean was a treat. I can’t believe that was Wolverine!! Anne Hathway had a short role as Fantine but she ruled my heart. The child actors playing Cosette and Gavroche were unbelievable. It was quite tragic to actually watch Gavroche die on screen (Manly tears were shed by my movie date). Enjolras is the most badass and the most beautiful man I’ve ever set eyes on. Russell Crowe was no match to Philip Quast as Javert. Watching the action along with the marvelous songs and music, and the amazing acting from the entire cast… all of it was just very overwhelming. I’m still recovering.

To love this film is to see the face of God!