Hayavadana Act Two PDF

Act Two The white curtain is removed. BHAGAVATA: What? What indeed is the solution to this problem, which holds the entire future o f these three unfortunate beings in a balance? Way back in the ages, when King Vikrama was ruling the world, shining in glory like the earth’s challenge...

Act Two The white curtain is removed. BHAGAVATA: What? What indeed is the solution to this problem, which holds the entire future o f these three unfortunate beings in a balance? Way back in the ages, when King Vikrama was ruling the world, shining in glory like the earth’s challenge to th e sun, he was asked the same question by the demon Vétala. A nd the king offered a solution even without, as it were, battin g an eyelid. But will his rational, logical answer backed by the Sacred Texts appeal to our audience? (Sings.) The future pointed out by the tongue safe inside the skull is not acceptable to us. We must read the forehead which Brahma has disconnected from the entrails. We must unravel the net on the palm disclaimed by the brain. We must plumb the hidden depths of the rivers running under our veins. Yes, that would be the right thing to do. So our three unfortunate friends went to a great rishi in search o f a solution to their problem. And the rishi—  ACT TWO 151 remembering perhaps what King Vikrama had said— gave the verdict: (In a loud, sonorous voice.) As the heavenly Kalpa Vriksha is supreme among trees, so is the head among hum an limbs. Therefore the man with Devadatta’s head is indeed Devadatta and he is the rightful husband of Padmini. (The three spring to life. Devadatta and Padmini scream with delight and move to one corner o f the stage, laughing and dancing. Kapila, brokenhearted, drags his feet to the other corner.) DEVADATTA (embracing Padmini): My P ad m in i...m y lovely P adm ini... PADMINI: My King— My M aster... DEVADATTA: My l i t t l e l i g h t n i n g... PADMINI: The light of my jo y... d e v a d a tta : The flower of my p alm... PADMINI: My celestial-bodied G andharva... My sun-faced In d ra... DEVADATTA: My Queen of Indra’s C o u rt... PADMINI (caressing his shoulders): Come. Let’s go. Let’s go quickly. W here the earth is soft and the green grass plays the swing. DEVADATTA: Let us. Where the banyan spreads a canopy and curtains off the skies. PADMINI: What a wide chest. What other canopy do I need? DEVADATTA: My soft, swaying Padmini. What other swing do I want? PADMINI: My Devadatta comes like a bridegroom with the jewellery o f a new b o d y... DEVADATTA (a manly laugh): And who should wear the jewellery but the eager bride? PADMINI: Let’s go. (Pause.) Wait. (She runs to Kapila.) Don’t be 152 HAYAVADANA sad, Kapila. We shall m eet again, shan’t we? (In a low voice, so Devadatta can’t hear.) It’s my duty to go with Devadatta. But remember I’m going with your body. Let that cheer you up. (Goes back to Devadatta.) Good-bye, Kapila. d e v a d a tta : Good-bye. (They go out, laughing, rubbing against each other. Kapila stands mute for a while. Then moves.) BHAGAVATA: Kapila— K apila... (No reply.) Don’t grieve. It’s fate, Kapila, a n d... KAPILA: Kapila? What? Me? Why am I Kapila? (Exits.) So the roads diverged. Kapila went into the forest and b h a g a v a ta : disappeared. He never saw Dharm apura again. In fact, he never felt the wind of any city again. As for Devadatta and Padmini, they returned to Dharm apura and plunged into the joys of m arried life. (Padmini enters and sits. She is stitching clothes, Devadatta comes. He is carrying in his hands two large dolls— which could be played by two children. The dolls are dressed in a way which makes it impossible to decide their sex. Devadatta comes in quietly and stands behind Padmini.) DEVADATTA: Hey! PADMINI (startled): Oh! Really, Devadatta. You startled me. The needle pricked me! Look, my finger’s bleeding. DEVADATTA: Tut—Tut! Is it really? Put it in my m outh. I’ll suck it. PADMINI: No, thanks. I’ll suck it myself. (Sees the dolls.) How pretty! Whose are these? DEVADATTA: Whose? Ours, of course! The guest is arriving soon. He m ust have playmates. p a d m in i: But the guest won’t be coming for months yet, silly, a n d...  ACT TWO 153 I know he isn’t, but you can’t get dolls like these d e v a d a tta : any tim e you like! These are special dolls from the Ujjain fair. p a d m in i:They are lovely! (Hugs the dolls.) They look almost alive— such shining eyes— such delicate cheeks. (Kisses them.) Now sit down and tell me everything that happened at the fair. You wouldn’t take me with y o u... How could I—in your condition? I went only because d e v a d a tta : you insisted you wanted to keep your word. But I’m glad I went. A very funny thing happened. There was a wrestling pit and a wrestler from Kamarupa was challenging people to fight him. I don’t know what got into me. Before I’d even realized it, I had stripped and jumped into the pit. PADMINI (fondling the dolls): You didn’t! You’ve never ever wrestled before... Didn’t think of anything. I felt ‘inspired’! W ithin a d e v a d a tta : couple of minutes, I had pinned him to the ground. p a d m in i (laughs out): What would your father say if he heard of this? d e v a d a tta : My few acquaintances there were quite amazed. (caressing his arm): That day in the gymnasium you p a d m in i defeated the champion in a sword-fight. Now this! D on’t overdo it: people may start suspecting. O f course they won’t. I was standing there bare­ d e v a d a tta : bodied and not a soul suspected. A friend even asked me if I’d learnt it from Kapila. PADMINI: You have, after all! (They laugh.) You know, I’d always thought one had to use one’s d e v a d a tta : brains while wrestling or fencing or swimming. But this body just doesn’t wait for thoughts— it acts! PADMINI: Fabulous body—fabulous brain— fabulous Devadatta. 154 HAYAVADANA I have been running around all these days without d e v a d a tta : even proper sleep and yet I don’t feel a bit tired. (Jumps up.) Come on, we’ll have a picnic by the lake. I feel like a good, long swim. PADMINI (mocking): In my condition? I didn’t ask you to swim. You sit there and enjoy the d e v a d a tta : scenery. Once our son’s born, I’ll teach you to swim too. p a d m in i: You go on about it being a son. W hat if it’s a daughter? DEVADATTA: If she’s a daughter like you, I’ll teach the two of you together. PADMINI: Ready! (He pulls her to him.) Now— now—what about the picnic? d e v a d a tta : Quite right. First things first. PADMINI (pause): D evadatta... DEVADATTA: Yes? p a d m in i: Why do you— have to apply that sandal oil on your body? DEVADATTA: I like it. PADMINI: I know, b u t... DEVADATTA: What? PADMINI (hesitating): Your body had that strong, male smell before— I liked it. d e v a d a tta : But I’ve been using sandal oil since I was a child! PADMINI: I don’t mean that. But—when we came back from the temple of Kali—you used to smell so m anly... You mean that unwashed, sweaty smell Kapila had? d e v a d a tta : (Incredulous.) You liked that? (pause. Then lightly): It was just a thought. Come on, p a d m in i let’s start. We’ll be late. (They go out. A long silence.) DOLL I: Not a bad house, I would say.  ACT TWO 155 DOLL II: Could have been worse. I was a little worried. DOLL I: This is the least we deserved. Actually we should have got a palace. A real palace! DOLL II: And a prince to play with. A real prince! How the children looked at us at the fair! How their eyes d o l l I: glowed! DOLL II: How their m others stared at us! How their mouths watered! DOLL I: Only those beastly men turned up their noses! ‘Expensive! Too expensive!’ d o l l II: Presuming to judge us! W ho do they think they are! DOLL I: Only a prince would be worthy of us. DOLL II: We should be dusted every d ay... d o ll I:...dressed in silk... d o l l II:...seated on a cushioned shelf... d o ll I:...given new clothes every week. DOLL II: If the doll-maker had any sense, he’d never have sold us. DOLL I: If he had any brains, he should never have given us to this m a n... DOLL II:... w i t h h is r o u g h l a b o u r e r ’s h a n d s. DOLL I: Palms like w o o d... DOLL II: A g r ip lik e a v i c e... DOLL I: My arms are still aching. DOLL II:He doesn’t deserve us, the peasant. (Devadatta comes running in, tosses the dolls in the air, catches them and kisses them.) DEVADATTA: My dolls, your prince has arrived! The prince has come! DOLL I (in agony): Brute! An absolute brute! DOLL II (in agony): Beast! A complete beast! 156 HAYAVADANA (runs to the Bhagavata): Here, Bhagavata Sir, take d e v a d a tta these sweets. You must come to the feast tom orrow at our house. BHAGAVATA: W hat’s it for? DEVADATTA: Haven’t you heard? I’ve got a son like a gem— a son like a rose—Y ippeee... (He goes out dancing some Lezim steps. A long silence.) DOLL I: Is that little satan asleep yet? DOLL II: Think so. God! It’s killing m e... DOLL I:... c r y i n g , a ll d a y... doll II:... m a k i n g a m e s s e v e r y f if te e n m i n u te s. d o l l I: W hat have we come to! One should never trust God. d o l l II:It’s our fault. We should have been wary from the m om ent we saw that child in her dreams. DOLL I: We should have noticed she was bloating day by day. DOLL II: We should have suspected foul play then. DOLL I: It wasn’t our fault. How could we know she was hiding this thing inside her? DOLL II: How she was swelling! Day by day! Week by week! As though someone were blowing air into h e r... DOLL I: How ugly she looked... DOLL II:... n o t t o h e r h u s b a n d , th o u g h ! DOLL I: When they were alone, he would place his hand on her belly and say, ‘Is he kicking now?’ DOLL II ( seriously): We should have been on our guard. DOLL I ( dispirited ): We should. DOLL II: And then comes this little monster. DOLL I:... t h i s l u m p o f f l e s h... DOLL II: It doesn’t even have proper eyes or e a rs... DOLL i:... b u t i t g e ts a ll t h e a t t e n t i o n.  ACT TWO 157 DOLL II (in disgust): U g h... DOLL I (sick): A w k... (Devadatta and Padmini enter with the child, for which a wooden doll may be used. They walk across the stage, engrossed in talking to and about the child, and go out.) DOLL I: A spider’s built its web around my shoulders. d o l l II: Yesterday a mouse nibbled at my toe. d o l l I: The other day a cockroach ate my left eye. d o l l II: Six m onths— and not a soul has come near us. DOLL I: Six months— and n o t a hand has touched us. DOLL II:Six m onths and we reach this state. W hat’ll happen in a year’s time? (Padmini and Devadatta enter.) p a d m in i: Listen. d e v a d a tta : Yes. PADMINI: You m ustn’t say ‘no’— at least this time. d e v a d a t t a : To what? PADMINI: We’ll take him to the lake. DEVADATTA: In th i s c o ld ? PADMINI: W hat if it’s cold? He’s older now. There’s no need to mollycoddle him. I grew up running around in heat and cold and rain— and nothing happened to me. I’m all right. DEVADATTA: No, it’s unnecessary trouble for everyone. PADMINI: W hat do you mean trouble? W hat’s happened to you these days? You sit at home all day. Never go out. You’ve forgotten all your swimming and sports. d e v a d a tta : I’m a Brahmin, Padmini. My d u ty... PADMINI: I’ve heard all this] It was fun the first few days because it was new. All d e v a d a tta : that muscle and strength. But how long can one go on like 158 HAYAVADANA that? I have a family tradition to m aintain— the daily reading, writing and studies... PADMINI: I don’t know. DEVADATTA (affectionate): Now look here, P ad m in i... (Puts his hand round her shoulder. She suddenly shudders.) Why? W hat happened? PADMINI: Nothing— I don’t know why— I suddenly had goose flesh. (Pause.) (withdrawing his hand): Do you know where I’ve kept d e v a d a tta the copy o f Dharma Sindhu? I’ve been looking for it. PADMINI: I think I saw it on the shelf. Must be th e re... (Devadatta goes to Doll I, moves it aside and picks up the book. Doll I shudders.) DOLL II: Why? What happened? DOLL I: He touched me, a n d... d o l l II: Yes? DOLL I: His palms! They were so rough once, when he first brought us here. Like a labourer’s. But now they are soft— sickly soft— like a young girl’s. d o l l II: I know. I’ve noticed something too. DOLL i: What? DOLL II: His stomach. It was so tight a n d muscular. N ow... DOLL I: I know. It’s soft and loose. DOLL II:Do you t h i n k i t ’ll s w e ll up to o ? (They laugh.) DOLL I (holding its hands in front o f its stomach to suggest a swollen belly): It’ll swell a little... DOLL II (holding its hands a little farther in front): — t h e n m o r e... DOLL I (even further): — m o r e a n d... DOLL II (even further): — a n d m o r e u n t i l...  ACT TWO 159 d o l l I:... i f it’s a w om an... d o l l II:...th e re ’ll be a child... DOLL I:...a n d i f i t ’s a m a n... DOLL II: BANG! (They roll with laughter. Padmini comes in with the child. She sings a lullaby.) PADMINI: Here comes a rider! From what land does he come? Oh his head a turban with a long pearly tail. Round his neck a garland of virgin-white jasmines. In his fist a sword with a diam ond-studded hilt. The white-clad rider rides a white charger which spreads its tossing mane against the western sky, spreads its mane like breakers against the western sky. Sleep now, my baby and see smiling dreams. There he comes—here he is! From which land does he come? But why are the jasmines on his chest red O so red? What shine in his open eyes? Pebbles O pebbles. Why is his young body cold O so cold? The white horse gallops across hills, streams and fields. To what land does he gallop? Nowhere O nowhere. 160 HAYAVADANA (Half-way through the lullaby, Devadatta comes in and sits by Padmini’s side, reading. They don’t look at each other. A t the end o f the lullaby, they fall asleep.) DOLL I (in a hushed voice): Hey. DOLL II: Yes? d o l l I: Look. DOLL II: Where? DOLL I: Behind her eyelids. She is dreaming. DOLL II: I d o n ’t se e a n y t h in g. DOLL I: It’s still hazy—hasn’t started yet. Do you see it now? DOLL II (eagerly): Yes, yes. (They stare at her.) d o l l I: A man. DOLL II: But not her husband. DOLL I: No, someone else. d o l l II: Is this the one who came last night? d o l l I: Yes— the same. But I couldn’t see his face then. DOLL II: You can now. Not very nice— rough. Like a labourer’s. But he’s got a nice body—looks soft. DOLL I: Who do you think it is? DOLL II: I— It’s fading. (Urgently.) Remember the face! DOLL I: It’s fading— Oh! It’s gone! DOLL II:And she won’t even remember it tomorrow. (Padmini and Devadatta sit up.) PADMINI: Are you ill? DEVADATTA: Why? PADMINI: You were moaning in your sleep last night. DEVADATTA: Was I? PADMINI: Aren’t y o u fe e lin g w ell?  ACT TWO 161 Who? Me? I’m fine. d e v a d a tta : (Gets up energetically to show how well he feels. Suddenly grabs his shoulder with a groan.) PADMINI: W hat’s wrong? Tell me. (avoiding her eyes): Nothing. I went to the gymnasium d e v a d a tta yesterday m orning. Then went swimming. PADMINI: To the gymnasium? After all these years? But why? d e v a d a tta : I just felt like it. T hat’s all. Don’t go on about it. PADMINI (without irony): Are you going again today? DEVADATTA (flares up): No, I’m not. And there’s no need to laugh. I know I’ve made a fool of myself by going there. I won’t again. (Goes out. Long pause.) PADMINI: W hat are you afraid of, Devadatta? W hat does it m atter th at you are going soft again, that you are losing your muscles? I’m not going to be stupid again. Kapila’s gone out o f my life— forever. I won’t let him come back again. (Pause. ) Kapila? What could he be doing now? Where could he be? Could his body be fair still, and his face dark? (Long pause.) Devadatta changes. Kapila changes. And me? (Closes her eyes.) d o l l I: There he is again. DOLL II: In th e m i d d l e o f t h e d ay ? DOLL I (doubtful): I’m not sure this is the usual visitor. This one looks rougher and darker. DOLL II: It’s him all right. Look at his face. d o l l I: He goes to h e r... DOLL II:... v e r y n e a r h e r... d o ll I (in a whisper): W hat’s he g o in g to d o n o w ? (even more anxious): What? d o l l II (They watch.) 162 HAYAVADANA d o ll I (baffled): But he’s climbing a tree! DOLL II (almost a wail o f disappointment): He’s dived into a river! DOLL I: Is t h a t a ll h e c a m e fo r? DOLL II: It’s g o i n g... DOLL I:... g o i n g... DOLL II: Gone! Wretched dreams! They just tickle and fade away. (Padmini wakes up and mimes putting the crying child to sleep.) (suddenly vicious): Change! Change! Change! Change! p a d m in i Change! The sand trickles. The water fills the pot. And the moon goes on swinging, swinging, swinging, from light to darkness to light. (Devadatta comes in. He is now completely changed to his original self.) A pundit’s coming to see me. He wants me to explain d e v a d a tta : some verses to him. Can you keep some sweets and lime-juice ready? PADMINI: Yes. (Pause.) Did you h ea r...? The maid was telling me. DEVADATTA: What? PADMINI: Kapila’s m other died this morning. (Pause.) Poor thing! She’d been bed-ridden all these years, ever sin ce... DEVADATTA (snapping at her): What did you expect me to do about it? (Then embarrassed.) Get the lime-juice ready soon. (They go out.) DOLL I: Each one to his fate! DOLL II: Each one to her problems! DOLL I: As the doll-maker used to say, ‘What are things coming to!’ d o l l II: Especially last night— I mean— that d ream... DOLL I: Tut! Tut! One shouldn’t talk about such things! DOLL II: It was so sham eless...  ACT TWO 163 DOLL I: I said be q u ie t... d o l l II: Honestly! The way th e y... d o l l I: Look, if we must talk about it, let me tell. DOLL II: You don’t want to talk about it. So. d o l l I: You don’t understand a thing. T hey... d o l l II: What do you know? Last n ig h t... d o ll I: Let me! In that d ream... d o l l II: I’m... d o l l I: Shut up! You shut up! d o l l II: (They start arguing, then fighting. They roll on the ground, on top o f each other, biting, scratching, hitting each other. They shout, scream and giggle. As they fight, the giggles become louder and more frantic. Their clothes get torn. A t last they lie side by side panting, bursting with little giggles. Then they sit up. Padmini enters, looks at them.) PADMINI: Just look at the dolls! The baby’s really to m them to rags. How long can we go on with them! (Calls.) Listen. DEVADATTA (entering): Yes. PADMINI: We must get new dolls for our baby. These are in tatters. DEVADATTA: You’re right. I hadn’t noticed. PADMINI: The Ujjain fair is to be held in another four days. W hy don’t you go and get new dolls there? If you start today you’ll be there in time for it. It’s unlucky to keep torn dolls at home. DOLL I (to Doll II): Did you hear that? She wants to throw us o u t... d o l l II: She wants new dolls. DOLL I: The whore. d o l l II: The bitch. 164 HAYAVADANA d o l l I: May her house burn down. d o l l II: May h e r t e e t h fall o u t. DEVADATTA (to Padmini): All right. (He picks them up by their collars.) d o l l I: See how he picks us up. Like stray puppies. d o l l II: That ball o f flesh will remain here. But it’s the d u n g -h e a p f o r us. (to Padmini): It’ll take me m ore than a week to go to d e v a d a tta Ujjain and come back. Shall I ask one of the neighbours to get them for us? DOLL I (to Devadatta): You wretch— before you throw us out watch out for yourself. DOLL II: Cover your wife before you start worrying about our rags. (to Devadatta): Who knows what sort of dolls they’ll p a d m in i get for us? We must bring things ourselves for our baby. d e v a d a tta : B u t... PADMINI: If you don’t want to go, say so. Don’t... Shall I ask one of the servants to come and sleep here d e v a d a tta : at night while I’m away? PADMINI: No need. We are not in the middle of a forest. DOLL I (to Devadatta): Watch out, you fo o l... DOLL II: Refuse, you id io t... All right. I’ll start at once. Take care o f yourself. d e v a d a tta : (He drags the dolls out.) DOLL I: V illain... DOLL II: Rascal... d 6 l l I: Sw ine... DOLL II: Bastard...  ACT TWO 165 (One can hear them screaming curses as he takes them out. Padmini stands watching him go. Then to the child in her arms.) My poor child, you haven’t yet seen the witching fair p a d m in i: o f the dark forest, have you? Let’s go and see it. How can I describe it to you? There’s so much. Long before the sun rises, the shadows of twigs draw alpanas on the floor. The stars raise arati and go. Then the day dawns and the fun begins. The circus in the tree-tops and the cock-fights in a shower o f feathers. And the dances! The tiger-dance, and the peacock-dance, and the dance of the sun’s little feet with silver anklets on the river. In the heart of the forest stands the stately chariot of the shield-bearer. It’s made of pure gold— rows of egrets pull it down the street, and rows of flames o f the forest salute it with torches. Then the night comes, and our poor baby is tired. So we blow gently and out goes the moon. But before we leave, there’s one more thing to do. Right outside the fair, watching it from a distance, stands the tree of the Fortunate Lady. It’s an old tree, a close friend of ours. We have to say ‘hello’ to it. All right? (She goes out with the child. A long silence. Kapila enters. He too is as he was at the beginning o f the play, tough and muscular.) b h a g a v a ta : Who? Kapila? k a p ila : Yes. BHAGAVATA: It’s such a long time since we met. k a p ila : Yes. BHAGAVATA: Where are you now? k a p ila : Here. BHAGAVATA: Here? In this jungle! It’s difficult to believe any m an could live here. k a p ila : Beasts do. Why not men? BHAGAVATA: What do you do? k a p ila : Live. 166 HAYAVADANA BHAGAVATA: Have you had any news from the city? Long ago. Father sent word asking me to come back. I k a p ila : said, ‘I won’t come. No need for you to come here either!’ That’s all. BHAGAVATA: You mean—you don’t know your father died last year? Also your m o th er... k a p ila (expressionless): No. b h a g a v a ta : And Padmini has a son. k a p il a : 1 see. b h a g a v a ta : Why this anger, Kapila? k a p ila : What anger? BHAGAVATA: It shows in the way you stand, you move. All that is your poetry. k a p ila : (Moves on.) BHAGAVATA: Kapila! Kapila! (Kapila goes round the stage once. He mimes picking up an axe and felling a tree. A long silence. Only the soundless image o f Kapila cutting the tree. Padmini enters, child in arms. She is scared and walks in rapidly. She sees Kapila and stands transfixed. Kapila doesn’t see her for a while and when he does, stands paralysed. A long silence.) KAPILA (slowly): You? PADMINI: Yes. k a p ila : Here? PADMINI: My son had never laughed with the river or shivered in the wind or felt the thorn cut his feet. So I brought him out. I lost my way in the woods. KAPILA: You shouldn’t have lost it this far. PADMINI: The wrong road stuck to my feet; wouldn’t let go. KAPILA: You shouldn’t have lost it this far. Wild beasts— robbers— pathless paths— all sorts of dangers.  ACT TWO 167 PADMINI: I asked the villagers. And the pilgrims. And the hunters. And the tribesmen. When there wasn’t anyone any more, I asked myself. Everyone saw to it that I didn’t lose the wrong road. (Pause.) KAPILA: Is that your son? PADMINI: Yes. And yours. KAPILA: Mine? PADMINI: Your body gave him to me. KAPILA: Mine? (Erupting.) Not mine. I’m Kapila, Padmini. I didn’t accept it that day. But I accept it now, I’m Kapila. PADMINI (softly): And how’s Kapila? (The Bhagavata sings. The following is a prose rendering o f the song.) BHAGAVATA: Once I spread my wings, and kicked away the earth and flew up. I covered the seven continents, the ten shores and measured the sky. Now because you have a child at your breast, a husband on your thighs, the red of rust on the lips of your late-opening m outh, I pick a picture here, and there a card of fate, and live for the grace of a grain— an astrologer’s bird. KAPILA: Can I look at him? PADMINI: That’s why I brought him. (Kapila looks at the child.) KAPILA: W hat’s wrong with me? You’ve come so far and I haven’t even asked you to sit down. Why don’t you go in and take a little rest? (She goes in with the child. He stands as in a daze. She comes out without the child.) k a p ila : W hy... PADMINI: I don’t need any rest. (Long silence.) 168 HAYAVADANA k a p ila : How a r e y o u ? PADMINI: I’m well. No illness, problems or difficulties. k a p ila : Your son looks exactly like you. PADMINI (a slight pause): And y o u. (Kapila doesn't reply.) He has the same mole on his shoulder. KAPILA:W hat mole? (She comes to him and points out the mole on his shoulder.) PADMINI: This one. W hich other could it be? That’s the only one you have on your shoulder. k a p ila : Oh! I hadn’t seen it. I don’t much look at this body. PADMINI (quietly): Do you despise it that much? (No reply.) Why have you tortured it so? (Takes his hand in hers.) When this went to you, it was so soft, like a prince’s. These arms were so slender and fair. Look at them now. Why have you done this to yourself? When this body came to me, it was like a corpse hanging k a p ila : by my head. It was a Brahmin’s body after all: not made for the woods. I couldn’t lift an axe w ithout my elbows moaning. Couldn’t run a length w ithout my knees howling. I had no use for it. The m om ent it came to me, a war started between us. PADMINI: And who won? k a p ila : I did. p a d m in i: The head always wins, doesn’t it? KAPILA: Fortunately, yes. Now I can run ten miles and not stop for breath. I can swim through the m onsoon floods and fell a banyan. The stomach used to rebel once. Now it digests what I give. If I don’t, it doesn’t complain.  ACT TWO 169 p a d m in i: Must the head always win? That’s why I am Kapila now. Kapila! Kapila with a body k a p ila : which fits his face. What a good mix p a d m in i: No more tricks Is this one that O r that one this? Do you remember the song we sang in the Kali temple? KAPILA: So? Nothing. I often remember it. It’s almost my autobiography p a d m in i: now. Kapila! Devadatta! Kapila with Devadatta’s body! Devadatta with Kapila’s body! Four men in a single lifetime. k a p ila (suddenly): Why have you come away from him? W hat do you want me to say? p a d m in i: (T hey freeze.) could I make you understand? If Devadatta had b h a g a v a ta : H ow changed overnight and had gone back to his original form, I would have forgotten you completely. But th at’s not how it happened. He changed day by day. Inch by inch. H air by hair. Like the trickling sand. Like the water filling the pot. And as I saw him change, I couldn’t get rid of you. T hat’s what Padmini m ust tell Kapila. She should say more, without concealing anything. ‘Kapila, if that rishi had given me to you, would I have gone back to Devadatta some day exactly like this?’ But she doesn’t say anything. She remains silent. k a p ila (to Padmini): Why have you come here? p a d m in i: I h a d t o se e y o u. KAPILA: Why? (No reply.) Why? Why did you have to come just when I thought I’d won this long and weary battle? Why did you have to pursue me just when I had succeeded in uprooting these memories? I am Kapila now. The rough and violent Kapila. Kapila w ithout a crack between his head 170 HAYAVADANA and his shoulders. W hat do you want now? Another head? Another suicide? Listen to me. Do me a favour. Go back. Back to Devadatta. He is your husband, the father of this child. Devadatta and Padmini! Devadatta and Padmini! A pair coupled with the holy fire as the witness. I have no place there, no peace, no salvation. So go. 1 beg of you. Go. (A long silence.) PADMINI: I will. If you want me to. KAPILA (almost a moan): Oh God! PADMINI: Why? KAPILA: Nothing. A nother memory—when I too was asked to go—Yes, go back. Now. PADMINI: I will. But can I ask a little favour? My son’s tired. He’s asleep. He has been in my arms for several days now. Let him rest a while. As soon as he gets up I’ll go. (Laughs.) Yes, you won, Kapila. Devadatta won too. But I— the better half of two bodies— I neither win nor lose. No, don’t say anything. I know what you’ll say and I’ve told myself that a thousand times. It’s my fault. I mixed the heads up. I m ust suffer the consequences. I will. I’m sorry I came. I didn’t think before I started. Couldn’t. But at least until my child wakes up, may I sit here and look at you? Have my fill for the rest o f my life? I won’t speak a word. (Long pause.) KAPILA: What does it m atter now whether you stay or go? You’ve done the damage. I had buried all those faceless memories in my skin. Now you’ve dug them up with your claws. PADMINI: Why should one bury anything? KAPILA: Why shouldn’t one? Why should one tolerate this mad dance of incompleteness? PADMINI: Whose incompleteness? Yours? KAPILA: Yes, mine. One beats the body into shape, but one can’t  ACT TWO 171 beat away the memories trapped in it. Isn’t that surprising? That the body should have its own ghosts, its own secrets? Memories of touch— memories of a touch— memories o f a body swaying in these arms, of a warm skin against this palm— memories which one cannot recognize, cannot understand, cannot even name because this head wasn’t there when they happened. p a d m in i: K apila... KAPILA (without anger): Why did you come? You came. You touched me. You held my hand, and my body recognized your touch. I have never touched you, but this body, this appendage, laughed and flowered out in a festival of m em o­ ries to which I’m an outcaste. p a d m in i: Poor Kapila! KAPILA: Don’t pity me. PADMINI: Be quiet, stupid. Your body bathed in a river, swam and danced in it. Shouldn’t your head know what river it was, w hat swim? Your head too must submerge in that river: the flow must rumple your hair, run its tongue in your ears and press your head to its bosom. Until that’s done, you’ll continue to be incomplete. (Kapila raises his head and looks at her. She caresses his face, like a blind person trying to imprint it on her finger-tips. Then she rests her head on his chest.) My Kapila! My poor, poor Kapila! How needlessly you’ve to rtu red yourself. (Kapila lifts her up and takes her in.) BHAGAVATA: You cannot engrave on water nor wound it with a knife, which is why the river has no fear of memories. 172 HAYAVADANA f e m a l e CHORUS: The river only feels the pull of the waterfall. She giggles, and tickles the rushes on the bank, then turns a top of dry leaves in the navel of the whirlpool, weaves a water-snake in the net of silver strands in its green depths, frightens the frog on the rug of moss, sticks and bam boo leaves, sings, tosses, leaps and sweeps on in a rush— While the scarecrow on the bank b h a g a v a ta : has a face fading on its m udpot head and a body torn with memories. (Devadatta enters. He is holding a sword in one hand, and in the other, two dolls, made o f cloth.) BHAGAVATA: Who! Devadatta? DEVADATTA: Where does Kapila live here? b h a g a v a ta : Uhm— well—Anyway, how a r e...y o u... d e v a d a tta : If you don’t want to tell me, don’t. I can find out for myself. BHAGAVATA: There. Behind those trees. DEVADATTA: How long has Padmini been here? BHAGAVATA: About four or fiv e d a y s. DEVADATTA: Amazing! Even a man like me found the road hard. But how quickly she covered it— and with a child in her arms. BHAGAVATA: D evadatta... (Devadatta moves on.) Devadatta moves on. There are only two words w hich make  ACT TWO 173 sense to him now— Kapila and Padmini! Kapila and Padmini! The words sweep him along to the doorstep of Kapila’s hut. But suddenly he stops. Until this m om ent he has been rearing to taste the blood of Kapila. But now he is still and calm. (Kapila comes out.) Come, Devadatta. I was waiting for you. I’ve been k a p i la : expecting you since yesterday. I have been coming out every half an hour to see if you’d arrived. Not from fear. Only eager. (Padmini comes out and stands watching them.) KAPILA (to Devadatta): You look exactly the same. d e v a d a tta (laughs): You too. KAPILA (points to the sword): W hat’s that? (extending the hand which holds the dolls): Dolls. For d e v a d a tta the child. I came home from the fair. There was no one there. So I came here. (Padmini steps forward and takes the dolls. But neither speaks. Padmini goes back to her place and stands clutching the dolls to her bosom.) KAPILA: Come in and rest a while. There’ll always be time to talk later. (Devadatta shakes his head.) Why? Are you angry? d e v a d a tta : Not any more. (Pause.) Did my body bother you too much? KAPILA: It wasn’t made for this life. It resisted. It also had its revenge. DEVADATTA: Did it? k a p ila :Do you remember how I once used to envy you your poetry, your ability to imagine things? For me, the sky was the sky, and the tree only a tree. Your body gave me new 174 HAYAVADANA feelings, new words. I felt awake as I’d never before. Even started writing poems. Very bad ones, I’m afraid. ( They laugh.) There were times when I hated it for what it gave me. I wanted your power but not your wildness. You lived d e v a d a tta : in hate— I in fear. k a p ila : No, I was the one who was afraid. DEVADATTA: What a good mix. No more tricks. (They laugh.) Tell me one thing. Do you really love Padmini? k a p ila : Yes. DEVADATTA: So do I. KAPILA: I k n o w. (Silence.) Devadatta, couldn’t we all three live together— like the Pandavas and Draupadi? What do you think? d e v a d a tta : (Silence. Padmini looks at them but doesn't say anything.) KAPILA (laughs): No, it can’t be done. DEVADATTA: That’s why I brought this. (Shows the sword.) What won’t end has to be cut. KAPILA: I got your body, but not your wisdom. DEVADATTA: Where’s your sword then? KAPILA: A moment. (Goes in. Padmini stands looking at Devadatta. But he looks somewhere far away.) BHAGAVATA: After sharing with Indra his wine his food his jokes I returned to the earth and saw from far—  ACT TWO 175 a crack had appeared in the earth’s face— exactly like Indra’s smile (Kapila returns with his sword. They take up positions.) k a p ila : Are you still in practice? DEVADATTA: Of course not. But you’d learned well. And you? k a p ila : I learnt again. But one’s older now— slower at learning. DEVADATTA (pause): You realize it’s immaterial who’s better with a sword now, don’t you? k a p ila : Yes, I d o. DEVADATTA: There’s only one solution to this. k a p ila : We m ust both die. DEVADATTA: We m ust both die. KAPILA: With what confidence we chopped off our heads in that temple! Now whose head—whose body— suicide or m ur­ der— nothing’s clear. DEVADATTA: No grounds for friendship now. No question of mercy. We m ust fight like lions and kill like cobras. KAPILA: Let our heads roll to the very hands which cut them in the temple of Kali! (M usic starts. The fight is stylized like a dance. Their swords don't touch. Even PadminVs reaction is like a dance.) BHAGAVATA (sings): Like cocks in a pit we dance— he and I, foot woven with foot eye soldered to eye. He knows and I know all there’s to be known: the witch’s burning thirst burns for blood alone. Hence this frozen smile, 176 HAYAVADANA which cracks and drips to earth, and claw-knives, digging flesh for piecemeal death. The rishi who said ‘Knowledge gives rise to forgiveness’ had no knowledge of death. (Kapila wounds Devadatta who falls to his feet and fights. He stabs Kapila. Both fight on their knees, fall and die. A long silence. Padmini slowly comes and sits between the bodies.) PADMINI: They burned, lived, fought, embraced and died. I stood silent. If I’d said, ‘Yes, I’ll live with you both’, perhaps they would have been alive yet. But I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t say, ‘Yes’. No, Kapila, no, Devadatta. I know it in my blood you couldn’t have lived together. You would’ve had to share not only me but your bodies as well. Because you knew death you died in each other’s arms. You could only have lived ripping each other to pieces. I had to drive you to death. You forgave each other, but again, left me out. BHAGAVATA (without leaving his seat): W hat is this? It’s a sight to freeze the blood in one’s veins. What happened, child? Can we help you? PADMINI (without looking at him): Yes, please. My son is sleeping in the hut. Take him under your care. Give him to the hunters who live in this forest and tell them it’s Kapila’s son. They loved Kapila and will bring the child up. Let the child grow up in the forest with the rivers and the trees. When he’s five take him to the Revered Brahmin Vidyasagara of Dharm apura. Tell him it’s Devadatta’s son. BHAGAVATA: And y o u ? PADMINI: Make me a large funeral pyre. We are three. b h a g a v a ta : You mean you are performing sati?. But why, child? PADMINI (puts the dolls on the ground): Give these dolls to my son. I won’t see him. He may tempt me away from my path.  ACT TWO 177 (At a sign from the Bhagavata, two stage-hands come and place a curtain in front o f Padmini.) Kali, M other of all Nature, you m ust have your joke even now. O ther women can die praying that they should get the same husband in all the lives to come. You haven’t left me even that little consolation. (Does namaskara. The stage-hands lift the curtain, slowly, very slowly, very slowly, as the song goes on. The curtain has a blazing fire painted on it. And as it is lifted, the flames seem to leap up. The female musicians sing a song. The following is a prose rendering of it.) (sings): O ur sister is leaving in a palanquin of fe m a le c h o r u s sandalwood. Her mattress is studded with rubies which burn and glow. She is decked in flowers which blossom on tinder- wood and whose petals are made of m olten gold. How the garlands leap and cover her, aflame with love. The Fortunate Lady’s procession goes up the street of laburnum s, while the makarandas tie the pennants and the jacarandas hold the lights. Good-bye, dear sister. Go you w ithout fear. The Lord of Death will be pleased with the offering of three coconuts. (picks up the dolls and comes downstage): Thus b h a g a v a ta Padmini became a sati. India is known for its pativratas, wives who dedicated their whole existence to the service o f their husbands; but it would not be an exaggeration to say that no pativrata went in the way Padmini did. And yet no one knows the spot where she performed sati. If you ask the hunting tribes who dwell in these forests, they only point to a full-blossomed tree of the Fortunate Lady. They say that even now on full m oon and on new moon nights, a song rises from the roots of the tree and fills the whole forest like a fragrance. FEMALE CHORUS (sings): Why should love stick to the sap o f a single body? When the stem is drunk with the thick yearning 178 HAYAVADANA of the many-petalled, many-flowered lantana, why should it be tied down to the relation of a single flower? A head for each breast. A pupil for each eye. A side for each arm. I have neither regret nor shame. The blood pours into the earth and a song branches out in the sky. (When the song ends, the Bhagavata does a namaskara to the audience. The audience should get a definite feeling that the play has ended when a scream is heard in the wings.) W hat’s that? Oh! Nata, our Actor! b h a g a v a ta : (Actor II comes rushing out. He doesn’t even see the Bhagavata in his desperate hurry.) Why is he running? Where’s the National Anthem? (Actor II suddenly stops in his tracks.) ACTOR II: The National Anthem! BHAGAVATA: What? ACTOR II: How did you know? BHAGAVATA: Know what? ACTOR II: Please, Bhagavata Sir, how d id you know... BHAGAVATA: Know what? ACTOR II: About the National Anthem. b h a g a v a ta : W hat do you mean? ACTOR II: Please, Sir, I beg of you. I implore you. Don’t make fun of me. How did you know it was the National A nthem... BHAGAVATA: Why? Haven’t you seen an audience... ACTOR II (relieved): Phew! That! Ram Ram! BHAGAVATA: Why? What happened? ACTOR II: W hat happened? Sree Hari! L ook... (Lifts his hand. It’s trembling.) BHAGAVATA: Why? W h at... ACTOR II: I a l m o s t d ie d o f f r i g h t... BHAGAVATA: Really?  ACT TWO 179 ACTOR II: I was coming down the road, when I heard someone singing at a distance, at the top of his voice. He was singing, * Jhanda Ooncha Rahe Hamara (May our flag fly high!) Then he proceeded to Sare Jahan se Acchha Hindostán Hamara (Our India is better than the whole world). Then Rise, Rise my Kannada Land. Then Vande M ataram... BHAGAVATA: Then? ACTOR II: I was baffled. A true patriot at this time of the night? I had to find out who it was. A house— a big, thick fence around with not a gap in it. But I managed to find a hole to crawl through. I was just half-way in when I saw... BHAGAVATA: What? (The Actor wipes his brow.) Come on, what did you see? a c t o r II: A h o rse ! BHAGAVATA (eager): A h o r s e ? ACTOR II: Yes. It turned to me and in a deep, sonorous voice said, ‘Friend, I’m now going to sing the National Anthem. So please do stand up to attention!’ b h a g a v a ta : Listen, Nata, are you su re... ACTOR II: I s w e a r... BHAGAVATA: No, no, what I mean i s... (Commotion in the wings.) W hat’s that now? (Actor I enters with a boy o f about five. The boy is very serious, even sulky. There's not a trace o f laughter on his face. He is holding the two cloth dolls which we have already seen, but the dolls are dirtier now. The commotion comes from Actor I, who is so busy trying to make the child laugh— making faces at him, clowning, capering, and shouting— he doesn't notice the Bhagavata.) BHAGAVATA (delighted): Oh! Nata! You again! ACTOR I (turns around and sees the Bhagavata): Oh, Sir, it’s y o u ! 180 HAYAVADANA b h a g a v a ta : Well well, you’ll live to be a hundred. a c t o r I: Why? What have I done? I was just thinking of you and you turned up. Just b h a g a v a ta : now this Nata (pointing to Actor II) was saying he saw a horse­ headed man and I wondered if it was Hayavadana. So I remembered you. ACTOR II: Bhagavata S i r... ACTOR I (ignoring Actor II): There’s an actor’s fate in a nutshell for you. Always remembered for someone else. BHAGAVATA: Where’s Hayavadana now? Has he come back? ACTOR I: I don’t know, Sir. He chased me away the m om ent we reached the Kali temple. Wouldn’t let me stay there a m inute longer. Oh! I very much hope the goddess granted him what b h a g a v a ta : he wanted. (Sees the child.) W ho’s this child? ACTOR I: Him? Well? (To the child.) Go on, tell him. (The child remains silent. Doesn’t answer any questions.) Who are you, child? W hat’s your name? W here are b h a g a v a ta : your parents? ACTOR I: You see? Not a word. Children of his age should be outtalking a dictionary, but this one doesn’t speak a word. Doesn’t laugh, doesn’t cry, doesn’t even smile. The same long face all twenty-four hours. There’s obviously som ething wrong with him. (Bends before the child and clowns a bit.) See? No response— no reactions. When he grows up, he should make a good theatre critic. ACTOR II (restless): Bhagavata S ir... BHAGAVATA (to Actor I): Where did you find him? ACTOR I: In a tribal village of hunters. On my way back I had to stay a night there and a tribal woman brought him to me. Said, ‘This is not our child. It’s from the city. Take it back’.  ACT TWO 181 BHAGAVATA: A child of this city? (Actor I nods.) How strange! (Notices the dolls.) But— but— these d o lls... (Tries to touch the dolls. The child reacts violently and moves away angry, terrified.) ACTOR I: I was about to warn you! Whatever you do, don’t touch his dolls! At other times he’ll starve and freeze to death rather than say a word. But touch the dolls and he’ll bare his fangs. He almost bit off my finger once. ACTOR II: Bhagavata S i r... BHAGAVATA (to Actor I): But Nata— (Pause.) Child, let me see your shoulder. (The child moves back.) No, no, I won’t touch the dolls. I promise you. Just your shoulder. (Inspects his shoulder. Then with a cry o f triumph.) N ata... ACTOR II: Bhagavata S i r... a c t o r I: Y e s... BHAGAVATA: Look, the mole. It’s Padmini’s s o n... There’s no doubt about it. ACTOR I: Padmini? W h ich... ACTOR II (shouting at the top o f his voice): Bhagavata Sir! (Actor I and the Bhagavata react.) b h a g a v a ta : Yes? Why are you shouting? ACTOR II: I have been calling you for the last h alf-an -h o u r... BHAGAVATA: Yes, yes. W hat’s it? ACTOR II: You said I’d seen a horse-headed man. I didn’t. W hat I saw was a complete, perfect, p ro p er... (A voice is heard off-stage singing the third stanza o f ‘Jana Gana M ana\) There it is! (All stare in the direction o f the song. A horse enters the stage singing.) 182 HAYAVADANA HORSE: Tava Karunaruna Rage Nidrita Bharata Jage Tava Charane Nata Matha Jaya Jaya faya He Jaya Rajeshwara (Comes and stands in front o f them.) Hohoo! W hat’s this? Mr Bhagavata Sir! My Actor friend! Well, well, well! What a pleasant surprise! Delightful! How are you, Sir, how are you? b h a g a v a ta : It’s not— not Hayavadana, is it? HAYAVADANA: Your most obedient servant, Sir. BHAGAVATA: But w h a t... ACTOR II: You mean you know this horse? BHAGAVATA (bursts into a guffaw): We’re old friends. ACTOR I (laughing): Fellow-pilgrims! HAYAVADANA: But not fellow-travellers. What? ( They roar with laughter. Suddenly the boy too starts laughing. Doubles up with laughter. The dolls fall out o f his hand as he claps his hands.) THE BOY (clapping his hands): The horse is laughing! The horse is laughing! ACTOR I (jumping with delight): The boy is laughing! hayavadana (goes to the boy): Why, my little friend, you may laugh, but I may not? (The boy is in hysterics.) d e v a d a tta : That’s Padm ini’s son, Hayavadana. hayavadana: Padmini? I am not aware o f... BHAGAVATA: You don’t know her. But this poor child— he hadn’t laughed, or cried, or talked in all these years. Now you have made him laugh. HAYAVADANA: Delighted. Delighted.  ACT TWO 183 But tell me: you went to the goddess to become a b h a g a v a ta : complete man, didn’t you? What happened? hayavadana: Ah! That’s a long story. I went there, picked up a sword which was lying around— very unsafe, I tell you— put it on my neck and said: ‘M other of all Nature, if you don’t help me, I’ll chop off my head!’ ACTOR I: Then? HAYAVADANA: The goddess appeared. Very prom pt. But looked rather put out. She said— rather peevishly, I thought— ‘Why don’t you people go somewhere else if you want to chop off your stupid heads? Why do you have to come to me?’ I fell at her feet and said, ‘Mother, make me complete’. She said ‘So be it’ and disappeared— even before I could say ‘Make me a complete m an!’ I became a horse. ACTOR I: I am sorry to hear th a t... HAYAVADANA: Sorry? Whatever for? The goddess knew what she was doing. I can tell you that. Ha Ha! Being a horse has its points. (Pause.) I have only one sorrow. BHAGAVATA: Yes? HAYAVADANA: I have become a complete horse— but not a complete being! This hum an voice— this cursed hum an voice— it’s still there! How can I call myself complete? W hat should I do, Bhagavata Sir? How can I get rid of this hum an voice? BHAGAVATA: I don’t know what to advise you, Hayavadana. HAYAVADANA: T hat’s why I sing all these patriotic songs— and the National Anthem! That particularly! I have noticed that the people singing the National Anthem always seem to have ruined their voices, so I try. But—but— it— it doesn’t seem to work. W hat should I do? (H e starts to sob.) BOY: Don’t cry, horse. Don’t cry. Stop it now. 184 HAYAVADANA hayavadana: No, I won’t cry. The boy’s right. W hat’s the point of shedding tears? BOY: Don’t cry. You are nice when you laugh. hayavadana: No, I won’t cry. I won’t give up trying either. Come, little friend, let’s sing the National Anthem together. BOY: W hat is that? b h a g a v a ta : How could he? He has been brought up in a forest. hayavadana: Then sing some other song. Look, if you sing a song, I’ll take you round on my back. BOY (excited): Yes—please. hayavadana: Well, then, what are we waiting for? Get on my back. Quick. (The Bhagavata seats the child on the horse’s back.) BOY: Hiyah— Hiyah— hayavadana: N o, no. You sing first. Then we start. Sing, son. b h a g a v a ta : (The boy sings and the horse goes around in a slow trot.) BOY: Here comes a rider. From what land O what land? On his head a turban. Sleep now, sleep now. Why his chest Red O red? Why his eyes Pebbles O pebbles? Why his body Cold O cold? Where goes the horse? Nowhere O nowhere. (As the song ends, the horse comes and stands in front of the Bhagavata.) HAYAVADANA: Mr Bhagavata S ir...  ACT TWO 185 BHAGAVATA: Yes. HAYAVADANA: It seems to me the rider described in the song is dead. I am right? b h a g a v a ta : Er— I think so— yes. hayavadana: Who could have taught this child such a tragic song? BOY: M other... W hat’s there in a song, Hayavadana? The real beauty b h a g a v a ta : lies in the child’s laughter, in the innocent splendour of that laughter. No tragedy can touch it. HAYAVADANA: Is t h a t SO? BHAGAVATA: Indeed. What can match a child’s laughter in its purity? HAYAVADANA: To be honest, M r Bhagavata Sir, I have my doubts about this theory. I believe— in fact I may go so far as to say I firmly believe— that it’s this sort of sentimentality which has been the bane of our literature and national life. It has kept us from accepting Reality and encouraged escapism. Still, if you say so, I won’t argue. Come, child, let’s have another song. BOY: I don’t know... hayavadana: Then sing the same song again. BOY: You laugh first. hayavadana: Laugh again? Let me try. (Tries to laugh.) Ha Ha Ha! No, it’s not easy to laugh—just like that. BOY ( mimes whipping): Laugh— lau g h... HAYAVADANA: All right. All right. I’ll try again. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!— H u h h u h... H eahhh... (H is laughter ends up as a proper neigh.) a ll: W hat’s that? BHAGAVATA: Hayavadana— Hayavadana... HAYAVADANA: H eah h h... 186 HAYAVADANA (His human voice is gone now. He can only neigh and leaps around with great joy.) Careful— careful. Don’t drop the ch ild... b h a g a v a ta : (But the horse is too happy to listen. It prances around, neighing gleefully. The boy is also enjoying himself, singing bits o f the song and urging the horse on.) So at long last Hayavadana has become complete. (To b h a g a v a ta : the Actors.) You two go and tell the Revered Brahmin Vidyasagara that his grandson is returning home in trium ph, riding a big, white charger. ACTOR II: And the dolls? BHAGAVATA: Throw them away. There’s no further need for them. (The Actors go out with the dolls.) Unfathomable indeed is the mercy of the elephant-headed Ganesha. He fulfils the desires of all— a grandson to a grandfather, a smile to a child, a neigh to a horse. How indeed can one describe His glory in our poor, disabled words? Come, Hayavadana, come. Enough of this dancing. Our play is over and it’s time we all prayed and thanked the Lord for having ensured the completion and success o f our play. (Hayavadana comes and stands by the Bhagavata. The Bhagavata helps the child down. A t this point the curtain, with the fire painted on it— which has been there all the time— is dropped and Padmini, Kapila and Devadatta step forward and join the Bhagavata in prayer.) Grant us, O Lord, good rains, good crop, Prosperity in poetry, science, industry and other affairs. Give the rulers of our country success in all endeavours, and along with it, a little bit of sense.