Onto the Stage - Slighted Souls and other stage and radio plays - BS Murthy (mini ebook reader .TXT) š
- Author: BS Murthy
Book online Ā«Onto the Stage - Slighted Souls and other stage and radio plays - BS Murthy (mini ebook reader .TXT) šĀ». Author BS Murthy
Muthyal Rao: God knows that but donāt we know the widowās stole is in Shaukarās hands? [Laughs.]
Shaukar Suryam: And the money under my wifeās pillow. She was to send it to her brother but forgot to tell me about it. Itās as well she didnāt part with it for that gambler wouldāve squandered at the races.
Papa Rao: Now that Shaukar Saab had galloped with the widow, what if his brother-in-law got stranded in his tracks.
Papi Reddy: If not for the brotherās turn to the tale, surely itās tabloid stuff. And that wouldāve made Shaukar Suryam a household name.
Muthyal Rao: That is if our Shaukar is prepared to spend some time behind the bars. Well, donāt ever spread it, it wonāt help any. Now letās turn to the press Papa Rao Patel.
Papa Rao: Thereās disturbing news from West Bengal dora.
Shaukar Suryam: Isnāt West Bengal too far away to disturb us any way.
Papa Rao: Donāt they say what Bengal thinks today the rest of India thinks tomorrow, and thatās my worry.
Rami Reddy: Whatās it any way?
Papa Rao: Well, it took place only the other day and God forbid 25 May 1967 wonāt be a red-letter day.
Muthyal Rao: What for is all this buildup, Papa Rao Patel? Why donāt you tell us in a nutshell?
Papa Rao: You know, well who wouldāve ever known, Naxalbari is a small village in West Bengal. As it happens all the time, there was a dispute over an assigned land between a landlord and a peasant. And again, as is the case all over, the landlord got the peasant thrashed by his goons. That was on 2nd March, but on 25th May the story took a different turn with an unpalatable twist to it. Led by the ultra leftists, Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal, the peasants of Naxalbari revolted against the landlords and usurped their lands. Whatās worse, vowing to take this revolutionary opposition to every nook and corner, the Maoist duo gave a call to the downtrodden to join the movement in numbers.
Muthyal Rao: Even then, Iām not the one to lose sleep over a storm in the Naxalbari teacup. After all, havenāt we seen the so-called Telangana Struggle fizzle out before? Why not move on to something more relevant.
Papa Rao: Maybe youāre right after all? Well, our sarkar says itās going to distribute banjar among the peasants.
Rami Reddy: Wonāt it make some welcome news?
Shaukar Suryam: Our Patwari must be out of his wits to say that dora.
Rami Reddy: What would moneylenders know about land grabbing? How long would it take us to relieve them of their pattas?
Muthyal Rao: Thatās true. We can look for better times then. But how are we to believe the politicians?
Papa Rao: They also plan to propagate family planning among them.
Papi Reddy: Why isnāt it a sensible measure? Wonāt that cap the scum?
Shaukar Suryam: Papi Reddy Patel seems to miss the point here. What if that picks up amongst them? Wonāt we be short of women pandering to us?
Papa Rao: Thatās true; Shaukar Saab has some foresight after all.
Muthyal Rao: Why, wonāt that shrink his customer base as well? What a double jeopardy it could be to our Shaukar. But then, there is no need to worry as things wonāt change in a hurry, if at all they change.
[Enter: Anasuya.]
Anasuya: Dandaal dora.
Muthyal Rao: Why, any problem?
Anasuya: I seek protection for my daughter dora.
Papi Reddy: Well, whatās the matter?
Anasuya: Dora, my sister-in-law and her husband are forcing my daughter to wed their son.
Papa Rao: Whatās the objection? After all, isnāt it the custom?
Anasuya: But the custom in my family is to get her married to her maama that is my brother Saailu.
Muthyal Rao to his henchman: Bring Yellaiah and Mallamma to the panchayat.
[Exit: Henchman.]
Rami Reddy: How old is your daughter?
Anasuya: Patwari-ji, she has just now matured.
Shaukar Suryam: Wonāt it be in the know of Papi Reddy Patel as well?
Papi Reddy: Why poke your nose into my affairs. Did I ever enquire about her EDD, you know who.
Muthyal Rao: Oh, stop it. [Turns to Anasuya.] Whatās your manās take on this?
Anasuya: Heās coerced by them into agreeing dora.
[Enter: Henchman with Mallamma.]
Mallamma: Dandaal dora.
Muthyal Rao: What about Yelligadu?
Mallamma: Heās gone to town dora.
Muthyal Rao: Yeme Mallamma, Anasuya complains that youāre fiddling in her family matters.
Mallamma: Dora, my son was betrothed to Renuka at her birth itself. Now itās my vadina who backtracks.
Muthyal Rao: Yemey Anasuya, is it true?
Papi Reddy: Whatever, we may restrain the Yellaiahs to keep away from the girl.
Mallamma: Dora, how can Papi Reddy Patel decide for the panchayat even before Anasuya replies?
Papi Reddy: Yeme Mallamma, arenāt you talking like a panch. Donāt you know itās the parents who decide whom the children have to marry? Now the panchayat decides that none from Yellaiahās family should take things into their hands.
Mallamma: How come dora fails to stop Papi Reddy Patel from hijacking the panchayat.
Papi Reddy: Oh how dare you? Donāt we see youāre thrashed and then thrown out of Rampur?
Mallamma [in all fury]: Dora, they say panch is parameshwar but here I see the Satan in collusion.
Papi Reddy: You dirty bitch. [He spats on her.]
Mallamma: Orey Papi Reddy. [She leaps up to Papi Reddy but drops down holding her chest in pain.]
Papi Reddy: Wonāt it serve you right, you upstart. It does no good for the dalits to be angry. Realize that.
Mallamma: Orey luchchaa. [Getting up with some effort, she pounces upon Papi Reddy.]
[As Mallamma tries to throttle Papi Reddy, Anasuya tries to restrains her. In the end, Mallamma collapses as Papi Reddy Patel pushes her away.]
Rami Reddy: Looks like sheās dead, maybe, itās a massive stroke followed by a mild one.
Papa Rao: Thank God, she didnāt have a sickle in her hand. Now I can imagine the peasant fury at Naxalbari.
Muthyal Rao: Papa Rao Patel, forget about Naxalbari, surely its one headache less in Rampur.
Shaukar Suryam: More so for Papi Reddy Patel. Oh, the way heās rooting for Anasuya! Dora, donāt you see some daal me kaala in this?
Papi Reddy [Recovers his composure]: Why not you go and please yourself with that just widowed.
Muthyal Rao (Gets up): Letās go.
Rami Reddy: Where, to Maisaiahās widow.
[All laugh as they exit and Mallamma lay on the floor.]
[Enter Yellaiah with a bag in hand, and seeing Mallamma, he rushes to her.]
Yellaiah: Oh Malli, why did you desert me? Now how am I to live without you? [Lying over her body Yellaiah wails inconsolably.]
[Enter: Narsimma, Sarakka, Yadagiri, Maisamma and other villagers as the curtains are slowly down.]
Scene - 5
[Curtains up: Standing near the well of the downtrodden, Narsimma peeps into it.]
[Enter: Renuka on tiptoe, and blindfolds him.]
Narsimma: Donāt I smell my Renu from a mile. [He clasps her hand that blindfolds him.]
Renuka [Pushes a sweetmeat into his mouth]: See how my success in Matric tastes.
Narsimma: [Taking her into his arms.] But Iām for sweeter things from a sweet sixteen.
Renuka [Coyly]: Po baava. [Coquettishly] As if Iām holding you at the threshold. You can smell me from a mile but wonāt move an inch into my life. What a buddhu you are baava.
Narsimma: Buddhu or badiya you would only know after we wed. But donāt you feel the pull of my love from the pulse of my heart?
Renuka: [Puts her ear to his chest.] Well, now if you donāt pull me into your life, my mother would push me out of it, and baava that would be the end of me. [She sits morosely on the wall and looks into the well.]
Narsimma: Donāt you know Renu that lovers never die. Ask Romeo - Juliet, Salim - Anarkali, Heer - Ranjha etc.
Renuka: Do you want us to go their way or what, to live āhappily ever afterā only in the hereafter.
Narsimma: Donāt lose heart Renu; weāll make it a unique baava- maradalu saga in Rampur itself.
Renuka: With Saailu as villain, donāt you know my mother has her own script. Oh, the very thought of wedding him is so scary. [She looks into the well.] Well, if ever the push comes to the shove, like aththa, I too would jump into their well.
Narsimma [Holding her]: Why donāt you have a thought for me Renu? Donāt you know I live with the hope of living with you? If you die, it would be the end of me as well. [He peeps into the well.]
Renuka: Oh, baava, how you keep me in the trisankhu swargam.
Narsimma: Bear with me, Iāll find a way out.
Renuka: I donāt see any way out but to elope, and now is the time. If not. [She mocks to slip into the well]
Narsimma [Catching her by the waist.]: Do you think I didnāt think about it?
Renuka: Baava, I suspect my mother has a secret agenda. Weāve no time to lose now.
Narsimma: Oh, if only Sarakka were married and Iāve my degree on hand. Then I wouldāve left this god-damn place with you and my father. But if we run away now, my father and sister would be hauled over the coals by your mother. Leave aside Papi Reddy Patel, she would have the full panchayat to back her on that score.
Renuka: Donāt I foresee that? But I donāt want to lose you at any cost, and thatās my dilemma. Oh, God, Iām going mad.
Narsimma: Even if our fears are liars, still our move puts a full stop to my studies. How my mother lived and died dreaming about my being a B.A.
Renuka: Donāt I value your feelings for her and cherish her memory myself. In a way, didnāt she die trying to avert my fate? Now itās up to you baava to see that she didnāt die in vain. Let not your misplaced sentiment make me a living dead.
Narsimma: More than my sentiment Renu, itās my conviction thatās inhibiting me.
Renuka: What is it baava that overrides the fate of your beloved?
Narsimma: Donāt you know how I swear by dalit education. Whatās the use of preaching without practicing?
Renuka: Oh! Life is not for tagging to theories baava; itās about grabbing its moments.
Narsimma: Maybe, Iām too young to be realistic about life.
Renuka: Itās nothing but escapism baava, and thatās going to ruin my life. [She looks into the well over her shoulder]
Narsimma: Donāt you see that Iām powerless now to protect you? Letās see how your life itself protects you.
Renuka: You donāt need any crystal ball to see what my future portends, do you? [She looks into the well.]
Narsimma: Donāt I know what my future would be like without you.
Renuka: Why, Iāve an idea. [She jumps down to the ground] Letās elope with mavayya and Sarakka in tow. We three will toil to keep you going.
Narsimma [Excitedly.]: Why couldnāt I think of it myself Renu? Is it that I love you any less?
Renuka: I know you love me more than you realize. Well, your wooly ideologies seem to be the bane of my life.
Narsimma: Maybe, itās possible. But Renu, if thereās a way of not losing you, do you think Iāll ever lose you?
Renuka: But baava, God forbid what if itās a foiled bid.
Narsimma: Why do you think so? As youāve buoyed my love, Iāll fly you to the moon itself. All said and done, itās better to try and fail than never to have tried at all.
Renuka: Just in case, donāt forget that I live in the hope of being your wife before I die.
Narsimma: If ever I lose your love, I know it would be the end of my life. Well letās plan for our life together.
[Narsimma and Renuka talk in undertones. Curtains down]
Scene ā 6
[Curtains up: Muthyal Rao, Papa Rao, Rami Reddy, Papi Reddy and Shaukar Suryam sit on the dais of scene - 4 with a couple of henchmen standing guard. While Yellaiah, Narsimma, Renuka and Sarakka stand accused, sitting on the floor are Maisamma, Yadagiri, Anasuya and other villagers.]
Muthyal Rao: Papa Rao Patel, let the panchayat begin.
Papa Rao: Hahn dora. Abetted by Yelligadu and Sarakka, Narsigadu tried to elope with Renuka. All were caught red-handed while leaving the village at the dead
Comments (0)