A negligible Loss

A negligible Loss
The winter breeze blows from the north / Quiet flows the river Baruna / Far away from the palace in a solitary hamlet / Beside the stoney river bank and the flowery forest / ther goes with her hundred maids / The Queen of Kashi Karuna.
Maid 1: The northern breeze is so soothing and fair, isn’t it dear?
Maid 2: Right you are. Lovely green forests are all around this wonderful journey.
Maid 3: And so many birds are singing here / I even don’t know their names
Maid 4: The atmosphere is so beautiful with all these things around.
Maid 1: Yes, the atmosphere is really beautiful and our beautiful queen is looking more beautiful in these beautiful surroundings.
Maid 3: She is looking gorgeous. Just like a princess from the pages of the fairy tale.
Recitation:
The avenue and the bathing ghat is deserted in this morning pleasant / under the rule of the king tyrant / the dwellers had already left the cottage nearby / only the birds are chirping and buoyantly flying by.
Maid 2: Her Highness, how do you feel in these pleasant surroundings? With the chirping of the birds, with this soothing north wind and soft green vegetation all around, everything is just so beautiful.
Queen: Who will not like this incredible solitude dear? But
Maid 4: But what Her Highness?
Queen: But, in these beautiful surroundings, those wretched huts are looking odd.
Maids: You are right, Her Highness, those cottages look really odd
Maid 5(Maloty): Still, you look at them her highness, in those poor huts lies the beauty of nature.
Queen: Maloty, I don’t think you have a great knowledge on this subject. Maids of mine, now it is time to go to the river and bathe.
Maids: OK, let’s go, let’s go everybody.
(Song)
Deep inside my heart I always hear / the call of the boundless sea loud and clear / My restless soul can never stay, can never stay at home. / Solitary I start sailing with the tide / leaving behind all concerns and pride / and an end to all unsuccessful desire.
Recitation: Today with this northern wind restless / restless is the river / waves are dancing in joy like golden lights reflect from a mirror.
(Song) there are waves in the river / and waves are there deep inside my heart / some unknown restlessness I feel in the sky / in the air / enthralling as the wavering clothes of some dancer / whose anklet is ringing beside the ocean water.
Recitation: The words of merriment of the bathing ladies put the music of the river to submission / the restless river exults in delight and the sky is flurried with their beauty and eager to join the celebration
Queen: oh huh u hu. It is too cold here / the whole body of mine has started to shiver.
Maid 1: Oh, that beautiful royal body is shivering in cold / come, everybody, come quickly as you are told.
Queen: Burn some fire, O my maid / I will get some warmth with it’s aid.
Maid 2: Burn some fire? But where we get that here / let’s collect dry branches and leave to make a fire.
Maid 3: Come, come friends, come quickly / we must make a fire for the queen so lovely.
Maid 4: Bring whatever you get, small or big brunches
Queen: Hey, come here you all, some cottages I can see near / they will make me warm when you put those on fire. (Cruel smile)
Maids: (Murmur)
What are you saying Her Highness / will you put those huts on fire and reduce to ashes / but
Queen: that fire will make some heat / which will warm my hands and feet / go and do hurry
Maid 5: this is no fun Her Highness / this cottages in the wilderness / made by some monk or a sage / or by a poor man of very old age / has got this hut as his only privilege.
Queen: I’m the queen / and the land is mine / everything is mine whatever is here / don’t you worry, neither you fear.
Maid 5: Such harsh treatment of your subjects / doesn’t suit you Her Highness / you never know which poor man’s cottage it is
A baul passes by
(Song) there you rest thou holy feet, o my Almighty / where houses the wretched of all suffering utmost poverty / behind the backwards, beneath the down trodden / amidst those who lose everything to thee / there you rest your feet, O my almighty. / When I bow my head in prayer and it stops in between somewhere / where insult is bestowed upon you / there I can’t bow my head in prayer.
Maid 5: Take this kind soul away, take her away from me / burn the fire more if you want to comfort the queen of thee / my flesh and soul needs the warmth of that flame / burning a poor man’s hut has nothing to blame.
(Laugh all the maids)
Recitation: the young ladies like insane put the huts on fire / in all their uncontrolled merriment and cruel youthful desire
(The maids are putting the huts on fire and laughing, the villagers are wailing)
(Music Break)
Recitation: Dark dense smoke came out swirling / and swelling they reached the sky/ within seconds the all engulfing flame / creating sparks flying uncontrollable / those thousand greedy tongues of fire went so high / they nearly covered the complete sky.
Common Man 1: Save, save
Common Man 2: What a disaster! Save, save, fire, fire
Chorus: Save, save
Recitation: like infernal snakes of fire from the nether world / with wavering hoods leaping towards the sky / busted in the songs of wind howling / the raga of fire played in the ears of the queen devastating.
Queen: O maids, bring that warmth to my palm an d beside my ears / let me warm my heart today, let me warm others.
(Song) Inspire the song of joy in the sky / whoever is asleep fast / wake up, wake up, shouts the man staring the eastern sky / the dark night is fading out and the new dawn of enlighten smiles all around / it is pleasures all new in this new celebration of life with the flowers, the soothing breeze and the song of the birds / look the morning star is shining with the light of new hope / the sun with lights all new is on his daily journey in his golden chariot / now it is time to be with fellowmen, it is time to walk with the world all around / waste not your time in lazy dreams in comfort / all is transcendental, your bashfulness your fear, your luxury and your leisure / neither your passion nor obsession will be there/ in this morning all woe and doubts and grief are no more like bad dream of night / leave behind everything what is new and put on the new clothes of yours / let us start the life a new / with a heart simple and strong to a life content and clean.
The maids are attending the queen in her dress up
Recitation: The morning song of early birds are silenced by the wailing of fear / the northern wind picked up and crows are crowing everywhere / the fire spread in great speed from one hut to another.
Common Man 1: we are ruined, everything is reduced to ashes.
Chorus: We lost everything we had in the fire.
(A lot of wailing and crying of the homeless is heard)
Recitation: Fire destroyed the little hamlet / and in that cold wintry morning, the queen returned to the palace with her maids through those deserted village roads.
(Song) My heart is forlorn with pleasant lassitude / as if some flute is playing in body / my heart reaches content with that melody of blooming flowers / a mesmerizing fragrance spreads and fills the air / suddenly I’ve some hope that my sacrifice has got the language of fire / as if the words came out of my heart in that shape and attire.
Maid 1: Behold thee, Her Highness, how beautiful you look.
Maid 2: Such beauty in the light of the early morning sun, I’ve lost words to describe thee.
Maid 3: You are the only beautiful lady on this earth.
Chorus: Behold thee.
Queen; My friends, today content I am / there is a touch of satisfaction in all the carnal desires of mine / I’m above everything, I’m the queen draped in morning lights.
Cut to……….
(Location: The court in the palace)
Recitation: The king was presiding over the court in the palace / there came the subjects recently homeless / they prayed for judgment from the king.
Common Man 1: You are the king, you are our savior / save us o king we are ruined by the queen of our.
C. Man 2: Whatever we had is burnt to ashes, now we are no more than beggars.
Chorus: Save us, save us o king, give us judgment.
The king left the court blushed in embarrassment and went straight to the queen’s mansion
King: My Queen, why is such behavior / you burnt the home of those people / by which law of the land you can do that.
Queen: How can you call that a home / burnt are a few cottages and only / some insignificant loss is caused / a lot more than that is spent / for the queen’s an hour of merriment.
King: Merriment. / As long as you are the queen of the state / you’ll never know how the poor fights his fate / no mercy I’ll show and I’ll teach you as it is never too late. Attendant / do not take pity and peel that royal attire of her / let the queen dress up in the clothes of a beggar.
Queen: cruel. There is no mercy in you O king / this is an insult to your darling / do you forget I’m the queen of yours and the first lady of the kingdom.
King: From this moment on you are queen no more / you are just a beggar going from door to door / for an hour of pleasure the cottages you put to flame / take your time to build them again as there is none else to blame.
Queen: Pardon me my lord / now I know all is my fault / pardon me, pardon my lord.
King: I give you one year time / after that return to the court of mine / on your knees in the court, in front of everybody / you’ll tell the amount of loss you have caused by burning those huts O lady / till then stay in exile in those new life of yours.
The queen leaves the court and the palace like a beggar. The king turns his head around. The subjects hails and praises the king
Common people: Hail, Hail the king of Kashi, hail the king who stands by his subjects. Hail the king who stands by the truth.
The baul enters again.
Song: where you reconcile with the universe in amorous diversion / that is where I reconcile with you / not in my heart nor in the solitary forest / it is where you reconcile with the rest / there I meet you / where you will stand with open arms to embrace all / it is there only where I will feel your love / that will be the light that can never be kept a secret / where everybody loves you I love you there only.