VISWAMITRA -
AHALYA
C. LOKESWARA RAO
Sutradhara (Narrator):
King Trisanku had an ambition
To ascend alive to Heaven
The gods were aghast
A mortal in THEIR midst
The king was punished for temerity
And cursed with untouchability
Sage Viswamitra performed havan
To send Trisanku to heaven
The immortals pushed him down
But the rishi stopped his descent
Even built an alternate heaven
For Trisanku’s exclusive haven
Viswamitra’s notorius for temper
Unbooming of a sage rather
Little’s heard of his compassion
Bad Press those days even
Besides Trisanku the accursed
Methinks Viswamitra succoured
Ahalya the fallen woman
And engineered her redemption.
(Having spoken these words, the narrator leaves).
Viswamitra enters muttering:
Cobwebs and weeds
And layers of dust
No one’s been here for ages
This must be the place
(scanning)
Can she see me?
Would she place me?
Is she capable of feeling?
Can she sense someone approaching?
Viswamitra spots a stone sneaking:
Stop, Ahalya, don’t move
Glad tidings for you
Your ordeal is over
Your saviour is here
(The stone keeps moving)
Can’t you hear
Stop there
Don’t play truant
In the hour of liberation
A Voice:
Aw, what does it matter
After all I’ve endured
The prospect of deliverance
Really makes no difference
The worst of it is just
Sun, rain, air and dust
Can even call’em caresses
Of Mother Earth and Elements
But the solitude is bliss
Hardship doesn’t hurt
Half as much as what I went thru
Callous indifference chokes you
He ordered me around
All day and dusk to dawn
Not a glance at my beauty
Never but never a word kind
Viswamitra
‘But, woman (checks his rage)
Trust me child
Forget your blues
There’s more to life
Voice (cries out in anguish):
I am branded; beyond your pale
Could I assume clairvoyance?
Who’d suspect husband’s embrace?
accursed, branded; what’s there to redeem?
Viswamitra:
Yonder is a prince
Virtue, charm and grace
The world awaits his deeds
Of valour and justice
Voice:
Justice delayed is justice denied
You are all the same
You judge alike
Rapist and his victim
I can sense him lurking
Gautama is hovering
My husband wants me
He misses his serf
Viswamitra:
Don’t let bile blind thee
To dazzle of divine forgiveness
(whispers) Rama is an avatar
The very god come to us
(effusively) He’ll kill Ravana, of course
But he’ll be more famous
For stretching mental horizons
And ushering new notions
Heroism of sacrifice
Generosity without rancour
Friendship for man ‘n’ beast
Equality and welfare state
Viswamitra (continued):
A unique incarnation
To man’s limitations bound
His virtues all divine
And feats all human
Only one display of divinity
He’s fated only one miracle
Would you him deny
That lone break from man’s shackle?
Your chance to feel bliss
Of giving love
Without lure of expectation
Own this vicarious son.