ACTRESS 3: Mira only thinks of love.
ACTRESS 1: He only thinks of war.
ACTRESS 3: He is a conqueror.
ACTRESS 1: The real conqueror first overcomes himself.
ACTRESS 3: He is a soldier.
ACTRESS 1: The best soldiers are not warlike.
(Dance of the rainbird.)
ACTRESS 1: I saw a rainbird today, Jhali. It was noon and hot, not a cloud in the sky, not a breeze everything was parched dry. Even the leaves bristled painfully when you walked on them.
ACTRESS 3: Were you barefoot?
ACTRESS 1: And what do I see … this rainbird in the sky crying in anguish. It was dying of thirst.
ACTRESS 3: The heron is a saint as long as there’s no fish in sight.
ACTRESS 1: It came near the lake and I thought I heard it sigh with relief. The crying stopped. With shining eyes it dove down, but just as it was about to hit the water it leaped up again and went higher and higher into the heavens, into the sky—away from temptation. Even if it’s dying of thirst, the rainbird only drinks rain.
ACTRESS 3: The tiger who waited for the jungle to bring him food starved, I think.
(The procession of the demons.)
ACTRESS 2: Enter Uda, the Rana’s sister.
What are these?
ACTRESS 1: Flowers. I picked them myself.
ACTRESS 2: (Throwing them.) There!
ACTRESS 1: She threw my flowers away.
ACTRESS 2: You know I can’t stand wild flowers. It was tiresome enough going through all your clothes this morning and throwing out the yellow colours.
ACTRESS 1: You didn’t! She threw my clothes away.
ACTRESS 2: When are you going to give us a son?
ACTRESS 1: He has to love me, for me to give him a son. A single lamp, no matter how bright, always casts a shadow. Put another one beside it and the darkness of both disappears.
ACTRESS 2: You have been married over a year and people are asking questions. A princess marries to give a son; only a widow marries to please herself.
ACTRESS 1: She has a face like a moon and a heart of poison.
ACTRESS 3: Always suspect the sister-in-law who is too fond of the bride.
ACTRESS 1: When sitting she is a cat; when springing she is a tiger.
ACTRESS 3: Women are instructed by nature; men have to learn from books.
ACTRESS 1: It takes two to make a son. The chariot can’t go anywhere on a single wheel.
4. You’ll Sleep Better Upstairs
ACTRESS 2: Sound of footsteps in the distance.
ACTRESS 1: Mira suddenly nervous.
Jhali, it’s he. Quick, go away. No, come here. My hair isn’t even combed. And my forehead is naked. Oh …
ACTRESS 3: If you spent your time sensibly, we wouldn’t have these panics. Instead you go skipping around the lake, playing with your birds, and god knows what in the burning sun and making a scandal of …
ACTRESS 1: Are there any flowers for my hair? Oh, she threw them away. Quick, how do I look?
ACTRESS 3: Oh, you look pretty.
ACTRESS 1: Now go away. Wait. Am I pretty?
ACTRESS 3: Yes.
ACTRESS 2: Rana enters from the other side.
ACTRESS 3: Softer colours to feel gentler mood.
ALL: Mira blushing.
ACTRESS 1: Rana!
ALL: The Rana is inebriated.
ACTOR 1: Mira!
ALL: Mira shyly.
ACTRESS 1: The Rana has no time for Mira anymore?
ALL: Rana defensively.
ACTOR 1: The Rana has been in the council of war.
ALL: Affectionately.
ACTOR 1: Where has Mira been today?
ALL: Confused pause.
ACTRESS 1: After the Rana said those things this morning … I went to the lake.
ALL: Rana smiling.
ACTOR 1: To drown yourself.
ALL: Tenderly, clasping her.
ACTOR 1: Oh my Mira, my Mira.
ALL: Snuggling upto him.
ACTRESS 1: How is the Rana?
ACTOR 1: Drunk!
(The Dance of Kali.)
ACTOR 1: Did Mira go to Kali’s temple today?
ACTRESS 1: No.
ACTOR 1: Then Mother hasn’t been fed again today.
ACTRESS 1: No.
ACTOR 1: What if somebody didn’t feed Mira?
ACTRESS 1: I can’t feed blood to her.
ACTOR 1: It’s only a goat’s blood. It isn’t human blood.
ACTRESS 1: Can’t someone else feed her?
ACTOR 1: Only the Rana’s wife feeds Kali. She will give us a son if she is fed and happy.
ACTRESS 1: Can’t we give her milk?
ACTOR 1: Don’t you want to give us a son?
ACTRESS 3: The chariot can’t go anywhere on a single wheel.
ACTOR 2: Are young fish taught to swim?
ACTRESS 3: Thirst isn’t quenched by shouting water.
ACTOR 2: The mouth isn’t burnt by pronouncing fire.
ACTRESS 1: Love that destroys the distinction between the lover, the beloved and love is to be practised.
ACTOR 2: The nature of love can’t be expressed.
ACTRESS 1: A body without love is dead.
ACTRESS 2: The little fish splashes in even a mouthful of water.
(Dance of the chained captive.)
ACTOR 1: The Rana is sleepy now.
ACTRESS 1: Shall I help you up?
ACTOR 1: No.
ACTRESS 1: I was wondering—that is, I was wondering if I could get anything.
ACTOR 1: Nothing.
ACTRESS 1: Rana …?
ACTOR 1: I want to sleep.
ACTRESS 1: I could help you upstairs. You will sleep better there.
ACTOR 1: No.
ACTRESS 1: I’ll put you to sleep, Rana. Come.
ACTOR 1: Oh, Mira, why won’t you let me sleep?
ACTRESS 1: You’ll sleep better upstairs.
ACTOR 1: We are all right here.
ACTRESS 1: Let’s go upstairs. Then I can also be with you.
ACTOR 1: I don’t want anyone with me—I just want to sleep. Mira, the Rana is tired. He has to prepare for war.
ACTRESS 1: Mira will massage the Rana. Does the Rana care for Mira?
ACTOR 1: Yes.
ACTRESS 1: Mira’s heart is like a horse on an open plain—easily let loose but hard to restrain.
ACTOR 1: The Rana has to fight a war.
ACTRESS 1: The best soldiers are not warlike.
5. There is Blood on My Hands
ACTRESS 1: A few weeks later. Mira sings to herself as she bathes Krishna.
(Song of the River.)
ACTRESS 2: Enter Uda.
Scrub it well. It’s dirty all over.
ACTRESS 1: I bathe him every day.
ACTRESS 2: Though he washes three times a day will a crow become a crane? (Snatching
