Having made the executive decision to cancel rehearsals for today – a decision that I decided had definitely been the correct one – had a relatively laid-back time, recharging my own batteries; I had been falling asleep on my chair at the wedding yesterday. Visited Aparna in the morning just for a chat and a cup of tea, and in the afternoon Dhir the music guy collected me and took me to his small music studio, so that we could run through the various pieces of music needed for the show. And it proved to be yet another good reason for having the time to do so, since it proved very useful simply to be able to focus on this.
He provided various options for the differing pieces, and again it was good to be able to steer him correctly, and actually approve each one. For example, it took a while to convince him that the fight scene did not require some sort of cinematic epic score, reminiscent of the build-up to a battle scene, but an instant thrash of heavy metal guitars. So, provided all of this has been recorded accurately, it will be a far simpler business identifying the correct cues, both to start and end each piece.
He delivered me back to Bread Box when we had done, where I ran into first of all Khushi and her parents, and later, when ordering my dinner, the successful SPA cricket team, who have won their way through to the final of their tournament. Their coach and manager is Bikram, our Capulet, and I was most touched when he told me that he would be leaving the final match – tomorrow – early, so that he could return for our rehearsal. Considering it is also his birthday tomorrow, it is a particular sacrifice. He is a splendid and remarkable young man.
