Chakra
by
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DRAUPADI: Are these the only options — the only answers to my questions? Nothing else? Nothing inbetween?
BHIMSEN: (agitated) Your questions? In the first place, even the questions you’re asking are wrong! Therefore the answers will not make sense either! Why are you asking questions that should never be asked by a Kshatriya woman — a Kshatriya mother? To continue to perform duties according to our Dharma — that is the only thing we can choose, the only option we have. Therein lays our honor, the meaning of our lives. There is nothing else. To do our duty, with honor. That is the essence of life.
DRAUPADI: Kshatriya Dharma! Duty and Karma! Guided only by Dharma! In the end, what are we but mere creatures on an immense wheel of Dharma and Karma. Is this the ultimate goal of our lives? The path to liberation? Bhima, how very self-satisfied, how certain of your actions, how unquestioning, how content, how blessed you sound! I envy you. Where did this — this equanimity come from? That brother of yours, Yudhishthira, we need not talk about him. He is a blessed being who was cursed to be sent to this wretched world. But Arjun? Roaming from one battlefield to another all his life! Yesterday he said to me, “Kalyani, everything is finished now. Now I have my eyes set on heaven.” Yutgatwa na niwartante tatdham paramum mama. (Searching for the right words) “That place from which no one returns is my final home now.” But what about the pain that is here, now, at this moment? (Very tired) Bhima, I will come with you on that final journey. But I will not be able to travel with the serenity you possess.
BHIMSEN: Draupadi, all my life I’ve been by your side. You, my willing companion. Alas! On this final journey, I’m unable to satisfy you.
DRAUPADI: (emotionally) Bhima!
BHIMSEN: All through our lives together, you asked me, and I gave. Now at this last juncture, I am going to ask you for something.
DRAUPADI: What, Bhima?
BHIMSEN: Soon we will be leaving. On our final journey, let your hair flow free. Your tresses have given meaning to my life. In them, I found my bliss — my absolution.
DRAUPADI: So everyone receives absolution! But I … Did I get mine?
BHIMSEN: (in anger) And will you achieve it by meeting that low-life, Ashwathama?
DRAUPADI: No … no … that’s not what I mean. I just don’t understand anything anymore.
BHIMSEN: (helplessly) For the first time, I don’t understand you! If you had fallen, I would have held you up. But this is not a fall. When Krishna negotiated with the Kauravas, for the first and only time in my life I asked for peace to protect our children, to save our tribe. During the war, I paused only once; cried only once; felt tired only once: when we lost Vikarna. When I slipped from my path, your hair was strength — it held me up. Draupadi, now you’re crumbling, I don’t know… how to hold you up. I cannot fathom your sorrow! (Sighs) Draupadi, I must leave.
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About the Book
Chakra is a one-act play inspired by the classic Indian epic Mahabharata. Told from the unique point of view of its heroine, Draupadi -- it is the tale of duty, love, revenge and healing of Draupadi -- a Queen, a wife and mother. Universal and timeless, the existential questions Draupadi grapples with are equally relevant to our time as they were to hers. This play lingers in your heart long after you experience it.
Chakra opens a door to the Mahabharata -- it is a cultural odyssey into ancient India -- her royal palaces and battlefields, her mythology and mores -- and most importantly her ancient wisdom. And yet, though the Mahabharata is thousands of years old, it is as fresh today as it was during the time it was written. Chakra dramatizes one vignette from this grand old epic in a way it has never been presented before -- through the eyes of the female protagonist. This play dances between the earthly world of aspirations, love revenge, healing, and death, and the mythological dimension of curses, boons, and supernatural powers. It leaves you with a thought-provoking insight into forgiveness and the futility of vengeance.
Chakra is perfect for play houses from Birmingham to Beijing looking for a simple but profound one-act play from another culture with universal themes and a female protagonist.
About the Author
About the Author
The Late Vidyadhar Gangadhar Pundalik
Vidyadhar G.Pundalik, a professor, author and playwright from Pune, India, was best known for his controversial plays and stories that highlight the changing values in society and their ethical and psychological ramifications. His most famous works include Mata Draupadi, Charvak, this one-act play, Chakra, and short story collection called Popati Chaukat. As a member of the General Council of the prestigious Sahitya Academy, India's foremost literary body and recipient of several awards during his lifetime, his contributions to Indian literature were recognized and celebrated, and his work continues to inspire many to this day, long after his demise.
About the Translator
Dr. Vijaya Bapat
Vijaya Bapat is a retired pediatrician who served as Chief of Maternal and Child Health Section for the State of Connecticut and Assistant Chief for the State of North Carolina. She also served as Lieutenant Colonel n the United States National Guard. A writer of prose and poetry in Marathi and Hindi, her published works include ‘Mera Dawa’ and ‘Pravasini ke Bol.’
Dr. Bapat helped found a literary magazine, Asmita, she has also translated three books from English to Marathi, Breaking Points, Man’s Search for Meaning, and Prisoners of Our Thoughts. She founded a local community theater for adults, ‘Rasik Rangmanch’ and a children’s theater group, ‘Kilbil Kalavishkar’ in Cary, NC. She has also taught Marathi to hundreds of children through the Marathi language program she founded almost two decades ago. Dr. Bapat volunteers on mental and public health issues, and also founded Sneha, a women's crisis support group in Connecticut.
Neesha Mirchandani (http://niya.org) is the author of Wisdom Song: the Life of Baba Amte (Roli Books, 2006) and guerilla marketing consultant to small businesses and nonprofits.