There was a time
when I frequently used to morph into Atahutatem – the Pharaoh who wielded magic
but not very effectively. Atahutatem wanted to be a tyrant and a villain but
was just too goofy to be either. He had his competitors in the goofy goons
played by Sanu.
I do not
remember anymore exactly when I thought up Atahutatem, probably when I was in
the tenth standard. My imagination might have been prompted by the animation
series Mummies Alive. It was
broadcast on AXN. I wasn’t terribly fond of Mummies
Alive but Sanu was. The show was about a group of mummies who return to
life in the 21st century and take to the superhero’s trade. They had
more than faintly inspired the hero, Taraka, which Sanu and I created. I always
found those swaggering, muslin draped mummies supremely idiotic and could not
understand why Sanu is so awfully fond of them. It is likely that Atahutatem
was meant to be my answer to the heroic mummies of Mummies Alive. I cannot say for sure after a decade and a half but
it is indeed very possible.
I do not think I
spent a lot of time practicing being Atahutatem. Once I thought him up I began
to play him often. Long ago, before my age was in double figures, I used to tie
a gamcha around my neck and play
Superman around the house. I was, thus, not entirely a novice in the thespian’s
craft. There were, however, some challenges to be overcome this time. Earlier I
simply reenacted the situations Superman used to find himself in the comic
strips, this meant that I had a script to follow or improvise upon. With
Atahutatem, since he was my own creation, it could not be. Whenever I played
Atahutatem it had to be ad lib.
Atahutatem was a
villain. He had to be one for young boys find villains cool. He was irascible
and an eccentric. He was a conjurer but a rather inefficient one. I wanted him
to be an inefficient conjurer lest he run amuck. I do not think he was much
concerned with running Egypt. Atahutatem’s passion was carrom.
The chief
villainy that Atahutatem engaged in was distracting Sanu when we played carrom.
I will assume my Pharaohnic persona when it will be Sanu’s strike and try to
laugh the way I thought a wicked Pharaoh should. Many a times Sanu’s hand
quaked and the striker missed its target. Sanu too retaliated the creative way,
we both, after all, were artists. After losing a few games because of
Atahutatem’s villainous ways, the peaceable Sanu began to metamorphose into a
threatening thug every time it was my turn to strike. The result was that,
besides our carom skills, we immensely developed our declamatory talents. Both
the Pharaoh and the many thugs Sanu played often engaged in verbal duels.
I never
inflicted Atahutatem on anyone but Sanu. I was a growing lad and tried hard to
be cool in school and on the playground. Goofy Paharaoh’s were definitely very
unlike cool. I was, thus, somewhat fazed when Sanu informed me that he has told
some of his friends how well I play a Pharaoh of my own imagining. The fear
that Sanu’s classmates, my juniors in school, might be making light of me
mildly mortified me. You cannot, after all, be awfully respectful of a senior
who has a penchant for tomfoolery.
Both Atahutatem
and the thugs who were his adversaries were quite opinionated. Thus, if they
were to be discussing a comic book or A.R. Rahman’s latest release they will
dig in their heels and refuse to budge even the millionth of a millimeter from
their respective positions. They were witty as well and there were times when
they used to brim over with wisecracks. Our alter egos were making Sanu and me
increasingly raucous over the carom board. Sometimes, Ma had to yell from the
kitchen to hush us up.
Atahutatem began
to fade once I moved into the twelfth standard. Not because I grew less
garrulous as I grew in age but because Sanu and I could not play carom that
often anymore. The burden of studies was just too great now, the ‘future’ was
almost here and the need to prepare for it a lot more immediate. However, forgotten
Atahutatem I have not. Sometimes, he still rambles inside my head, remembers
the good old days and yearns for a game of carrom.