Rangapravesam Day: Part-1

July 14th, 2024, the day of my Ranga!

The day I've been waiting for, since beginning my Rangapravesam training last October, finally came! It was full of twists and turns, but it ended up being one of the best days of my life!

I woke up right when my alarm first rang, at 7:30am, ready to conquer the day. I had barely slept the night before in anticipation of the big day. I ate dosas for breakfast at record speed. By 8:30am, we did one last check of the makeup and hair accessories, costumes, and many miscellaneous supplies, and my mom and I began the drive to the venue. The whole way there, I had knots in my stomach and was struggling to keep the dosas I had consumed not too long ago, in my stomach!

My friend Ishita and her mom Shree aunty met us at the venue at exactly 9am. We all headed to the green room where they got started with my hair, and Anu aunty joined us shortly after. At 10am, Chandrika aunty and her team arrived at the venue to finish the decor that they had started the day before.  Right around then, Harini (Anu aunty's younger daughter) started my makeup, and that's when things started to stress me out. My dad and Taara were supposed to arrive at the venue around 10:30am so that Anu aunty and my friend Uma could start getting Taara ready. It was past 11:30am and they still weren't there.  Uma brought me this yummy mango smoothie to keep me hydrated throughout the day that helped with my stress. Luckily, everyone around me stayed calm (for the most part..) and Taara finally arrived around 11:45am.

Taara and I were both fully ready at 1:00pm, despite her late arrival. Harini aunty (Souparnika's mom) ensured that Taara and I had our quick yogurt rice lunch, and I even had time to practice my plate Jatis on the stage a few times to ensure that I felt comfortable. Final touches like the red sharpie designs on the hands and feet, extra stoppers behind the earrings, and the addition of new pins to my dress every second occurred until the start of the invocation puja at 2pm.

The puja started at the same time as the seating began, and I even saw a few of my friends find their seats during the puja. Not sure why, but seeing people enter the auditorium filled me with even more anxiety than before, and everything started to feel so surreal.

By 2:15am, the puja was over, and I took a few pictures with the whole team. My friends all parked themselves in their spots at backstage, Ashwika went to the lighting box, and, in just a few short minutes, I would officially begin my Rangapravesam!