THE NIGHT MISS SERENITY BECAME HER HIGHNESS

BY BISWADEEP GHOSH

Uncle, uncle, I want to watch Narnia once again," my 11-year-old buddy Miss Serenity told me excitedly over the phone, adding, "I have been dreaming about the film all night." Serenity and I have been good friends for about a year, but this was the first time she had asked for something on her own. Because of the way she spoke, I sensed that she could run up to me at that very moment and drag me to the theatre if I could spare a couple of hours on a working day. For a while, I wanted to make that possible. But when I looked at all I had to do, I knew that dreaming of such a possibility was the closest I could get to watching The Chronicles of Narnia that day.

Watching children's films with children is a very special experience. For they have thoughts and ideas which we, as adults, can never have. Their understanding of films made for them exceeds ours, although they may not express themselves with the kind of clarity or cold logic (discussions on cinematography, quality of special effects) that we can. They get transported to the make-believe worlds much faster than we do. Once there, they become permanent residents of that unreal place till the film ends and they walk out, eyeing the soft drinks stall, hoping their adult friend will buy them another packet of popcorn. The smart ones don't ask for it. They just look at you and smile from ear to ear, hoping you will get the signal. The odd dumb one looks at you and says, "Uncle, one more popcorn please." No matter what happens, they help me enjoy a complete cinematic experience, which should include a popcorn of course.

But Serenity is different. She and I had gone out a few times, but she had never asked for a popcorn ever. She did not even look at a soft drinks stall, as a result of which I always had to ask her what she wanted. Shyly, she answered. Almost uncomfortably. So why was she requesting for a second visit to the theatre for the same film? The reason is the wardrobe, I think. In the film, four kids get transported to a new world by walking into, and out of, a wardrobe. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and the oh-so adorable Lucy: they set their feet in a world that they are destined to emancipate from a witch's vicious clutches. I thought of Serenity, and wondered why she had been thinking of that film.

In her dreams, I think she walked towards the wardrobe, and entered it quietly after checking out that her parents were fast asleep. She stepped out of it, and found the gang of four sitting near Aslan, the majestic lion. She grinned at Lucy who smiled back with that innocent radiance of hers. Edmund looked at her with scepticism, understandable since he was feeling guilty after giving out some important details to the witch. Peter had a bit of attitude, but he was okay with her presence. Susan did not say anything, but she seemed fine with her, as was Aslan.

Suddenly, a male beaver trudged up to Serenity and told her, "His Highness the Lion King was expecting you. The five of you had to come together to eliminate the witch." The beaver's wife joined in, and even offered Serenity a hot drink. The child needed it, since Narnia was freezing and she had left her fur coat back in her bungalow. Suddenly, she noticed a faun who walked up to her with a jacket in hand. It had been made out of some strange material that seemed like a mixture of wool and jute. He gave it to her, and she accepted it happily.

After countless adventures, the witch was finally eliminated. Aslan, the father figure, declared that Narnia would be divided into five equal parts that would be ruled by the five youngsters. Serenity sat right next to Lucy and, when she was crowned the queen, she just could not resist smiling away.

All through the night, Serenity must have been grinning in her sleep till morning dawned. While adults would have taken pride in exchanging information like Liam Neeson lent the voice for Aslan's character, Serenity must have been upset to find that she was not in Narnia but Pune. She must have explored every wardrobe in her house, and even entered a couple of them to see if there was a passage to Narnia somewhere. Once she realised that she had been dreaming, Serenity did the best she could have. She spoke to me about seeing the film again so that she could return to a world that doesn't exist.

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