""Badi Ma, Dwijdas, Kumud, Padma, Dharamdas, where's everybody?"" ""Look, here's Devdas' letter." "Devdas is returning from London"" "Really?" "Happy tidings!" "Dwijdas!" "You hear?" "Devdas is coming!" " l don't think so." "Ma is lying" ""You're lying, Ma." " Here's the letter"" "Show me the letter" "Shubhankar!" "My Devdas is coming!" " Really?" "Give your brother the good news" "Badi Ma..." "Badi Ma..." "my Tempest is coming home" "Thank God" ""Compliments, lady!" " Not in tears Dharamdas"" "I want a promise. I am going..." "to receive Devdas. I alone." ""Yes, but wind the clocks once again After so many years!" "My son is back"" ""Winding clocks won't make time move, nor any faster brings the son home"" "I know Kumud!" "But look how my heart throbs" "Oh when will the day give way to the night...?" "Drum up the cheer!" "Let the music play" "What joyous tempest stirs my heartstrings!" "Drum up the cheer" "Let the music play!" " Welcome the onset of Tempest" ""All day I'm hollering at everyone to get ready, and no one listens?"" "The house has been spruced up." " Devdas' room is ready" "Dharamdas has tethered the horses." " Badi Ma decided who wears what" "Happy...?" ""Once you get your baby, you'll know what joy is in seeing him come home"" "Kaushalya Didi (Didi :sister )" " Goodness!" "Here comes the actress" ""ln she traipses and, Ei Kaushalya Didi..."" ""sweet Shondesh" for you" "" ""Ei Kaushalya Didi, look Shondesh for you"" "Sumitra!" "Lovely timing!" " Sumitra-Kaki's timing!" ""Always opportune." "And your "Shondesh" is famous!"" "Hear that Didi?" " Let her talk." "Guess who's coming?" "I know!" "Mr Chattopadhyay...?" ""Silly!" "You won't believe this!" "My Tempest, my Devdas is coming!"" ""Really Didi...?" " Yes, yes, really!"" "Thank Goddess Durga" ""My compliments, Didi!" " l'm seeing my son after 10 years"" "What might he look like?" "What might he sound like?" "What will he tell me?" ""How am I going to survive tonight, Sumitra?"" "How I wish I wouldn't blink!" "What if he walks in right then?" ""l only remember Devdas, the boy who'd walk up to my house..."" ""peep around the door to ask me..." " Kaki-Ma, is Paro in?"" ""There she goes, into the act"" ""And when Dev stormed out, I'd send Paro to find him"" "Found him always in guava orchards." " And Dharamdas would haul him in... by his ear!" "Some friendship!" " And when Devdas was leaving..." ""going abroad for his studies, how my Paro ran after his buggy..."" "as if possessed." "Arre O'Deva" "Arre O'Deva" ""ln that scorching sun, her feet blistering on the gravelly soil..."" ""yet she ran on, screaming, I'm going with Dev"" "I'm going abroad too!" " Are you out of your mind?" "Send her abroad?" "My silly girl" "She owed Dev three Rupees" "Let me go. I got to give him his 3 Rupees" "A lamp lit for a loved one draws the wayfarer home" ""For 10 years, in that belief she kept that lamp alight for Dev"" ""Not once she let the lamp go out!" "I must tell her, she'll be glad"" ""She will be overjoyed." " Yes Sumitra, go"" "It's your son who's coming home and she is the happier for it" "Why not?" "She's our neighbour." "Paro and Devdas... were childhood friends." " What's left of that childhood?" ""Both are grown ups now..." "Kaki-Ma's "Shondesh"?"" ""What's up Kaki-Ma?" " Manorama, where is Paro?"" ""Where else?" "Must be in her room, talking to her lamp"" "Not lamp!" " Devdas" "Oh God." " What's the matter?" "The news I have for her will drive her mad with joy" "What news?" ""Paro, Devdas is coming"" ""Really?" " Yes, Devdas is coming"" "They're preparing for a welcome!" "Kaushalya-Didi is nearly going mad" "The whole house is in raptures..." ""Silly, are you crying?"" "Let not tears of joy douse the lamp before Dev arrives" "No power on Earth can put out this lamp" "Shall we put the mighty lamp to test?" "At season's change... comes... cloudwaves" "A waft... will come... to blow out this lamp" "This longing I didn't let die" "This longing I never let die" ""This lamp, my love..."" ""will never be extinguished, this flame of my love"" ""My love, come to me my love"" "Now come to me" "As this lamp burns..." ""l'm burning in my every pore and my heart"" "Now come to me" ""Come to me, my love"" "Distance parted us... there was the pain of parting" "My eyes yearned... but there you were..." ""glittering, glowing..."" "awash in joys... while here..." """'l burned..."" ""while here, I burned"" ""Once again, clouds thunder..."" "raining in thunderous rhapsody" "Tempest strikes again... but my lamp is never doused..." ""my love, my flame..."" ""no matter how much the rains, tempest and thunder torment you"" ""Come now, come to me, my love"" ""Come, my love"" "She's crazy" "She's naive" ""Oh yes, with a gust of wind will come the one you seek"" "My love... come to me my love" ""The passion, she will never let die"" ""My love, this lamp is you"" ""Hurry!" "The buggy is here!" "Kaushalya, quick"" "Devdas is here!" " Coming I was lighting the welcome-lamp." "Tell Badi-Ma" ""lf you take so much time, Devdas will give himself a welcome"" ""Give himself a welcome?" "Today, I'm welcoming him"" "Wait a minute!" "I get to see Devdas first." "Everyone shut your eyes" "For my sake." " All right?" "Lady!" "I don't believe!" "Could the world change so much in ten years?" ""Deva is as tall as my shoulders, my very shoulders he sat upon"" "See him and you'll forget to blink!" " Don't torment me!" "Where's my Dev?" ""Got off on the way." "Said, he will be back after seeing "My Paro"" "Should be here any moment" ""Chhoto-Ma, you wanted to be the first to set your eyes on Devdas?"" "Will it be Paro's eyes now?" ""Chhoto-Ma, what to do with this?"" "Paro I think it's Devdas" "Devdas..." ""how have you been?" "Fine?" "Come in son, welcome"" ""Bless you, son"" "You look just like an Englishman!" "We've been so eager to see you" "Kaushalya-Didi is dying to see you." " Where is Paro?" "She was here a moment ago" ""She said, let Devdas come and I'll do this and I'll do that"" "I'll fight with him and scratch him." "Now you're here and she's hiding" "Ei Paro" ""Can I go upstairs?" " Yes son, go on"" "How have you been Paro?" "Won't you turn to see my face?" "We're meeting after so many days" ""Days?" "For you, maybe." "For me..."" ""10 years, 6 months, 4 days and 6 hours"" "You never missed me?" " l did" "Lies!" "Only 5 letters in 10 years?" "There are four seasons in a year" "Couldn't you write once a season?" " Makes sense." "You're a big girl" "Takes time?" "The desire to meet the sea turns the stream into a river" "Then why take time to show your face?" ""Like sighting the Moon after ages, I fear I'll leave you breathless"" "Not even the Moon is as vain." " But the Moon is scarred" ""Till moonrise spare the Moon, to see which leaves me breathless..."" "the Moon's radiance?" "Or your vanity?" ""Paro, I hate the thought of someone else touching you"" ""Look, Devdas is here!" " Let him come"" "Don't be cross." " l don't want to talk to him" "Tell him to go away." " But Ma..." ""l said, I don't want to..." " Ma"" ""Go, I don't want to see your face"" ""Why, what's so ugly about my face..."" "that neither Paro nor you want to see?" ""After 10 years of waiting, the neighbour gets to welcome you?"" "Go back to your Paro" "Won't you open your eyes?" " l won't" "Won't see me either?" ""Very well, I'm going away." " Where...?"" ""Where are you going, Dev?" " Dev, stop"" "Why did you let him leave?" "I was just joking l was joking too" "My prodigal son returns a lawyer." "But no let up on the mischief?" "Babu-ji...?" "(Babu-ji :" "Father )" " He left for his chambers early..." ""something urgent." " l know, I know"" "Complaints every day!" "Dev and Paro never went to school." "Dev caught smoking" "All day tramping around the village with that Paro" "Not another moment for you in this house" ""The day I left, he wasn't at home"" ""This day I return, he still isn't here"" ""You know, the British government is knighting him"" "I see!" " And he'll be so glad to see you" ""Really?" " Glad he is, at work"" ""ln my home, fathers welcome sons returning home after years..."" ""with arms outstretched." " Same here, child"" ""Come to me, my darling"" "I told you to get me a nice foreign watch" "Have you brought it?" ""No, but I bring fortuitous times"" "Look... over here... but I can't even make out clearly" ""They use only paper?" " And sometimes, not even that"" "I never shook hands" "What are you upto?" "Give my box back to me" "Give it to me" "What's happening?" " Nothing" "Watching Devdas?" "How do you find him?" "I'm not telling." " Tell me... how do you find him?" " Like a fool" "What did he say when he met you?" " l didn't show him my face" "Swear that by your mother?" " l swear" ""Poor thing, must've been pining." " Let him pine"" "Don't make him suffer so" ""Else, he'll come peeping around the door..."" ""and ask me, Kaki-Ma, is Paro in?"" "Only in the moonlight he gets to see my face" "Card three and I win." " Damn" "Lost by a whisker." " You always lose by a whisker" ""Kumud, so what if he wins once?" " Wrong, today's Shubhankar's day"" ""No one else wins, here comes Paro but she can't win either"" "You bet?" " Beware!" "She'll loot you" ""Well Paro, what have you brought?" " "Shondesh" for Devdas." "Ma sent it"" "Where's Devdas?" " The London-returned gentleman?" ""Where else but in his room, training his binoculars on London?"" ""Saw?" "Earlier, she'd greet you first." "Up she climbs, our beauty..."" "straight for Devdas." " One too many a sweet message" "What brings the Moon down to Earth?" " To take your breath away" "What are you doing?" " Seeing how good my guess was" "Accurate?" " Could never be wrong" "How come?" " Known you for ages" "What's this?" " Platter I know." "But what's on it?" " My excuse" "Shondesh for me?" " See for yourself" ""Empty...?" " That's the excuse, silly"" "Goodness!" "What a temper!" "You make a fine example of how to lose temper" "You're the same" ""You too, are just like you were"" "Like what...?" " Unsophisticated" ""Naturally, after all, you're London-returned"" ""London's a big city, isn't it Dev?" " London's entirely different"" ""Great personalities, great debates." "Huge thoroughfares, huge edifices"" ""London's Trafalgar Square, pigeons, doves..."" "The Queen's Palace" ""And milling crowds, everywhere"" "Londoners live in a world of their own" "You too?" ""Say, you never missed the village?" " Never, never, except..."" ""when I was fed up of the food at the hostel, I missed Ma's dishes"" ""And back in London, when someone screamed at me..."" "I was reminded of my father." "No one else" ""On evening walks, I contemplated Dharamdas and his buggy"" ""On sleepless nights, grandmother's gentle pat"" "Nothing else" "Dev... and..." "And...?" " l ...?" "Never." "Or was it once...?" ""No, you never came to mind, Paro." " l never came to mind...?"" "Matters that come to mind are matters that matter." "But..." ""you don't matter, Paro." " True Dev, only you matter"" ""5 letters, 5 times a day." "How many times did I read them each year?"" "And how many times in ten years?" " Multiplied by...?" ""18,250 times." "That's how much you matter..."" ""and ten years to the day, I have kept alive the flame I lit for you"" "How many hours has it been burning?" " lf l were to count..." ""87,600 hours." "So much you matter, every second I remembered you"" ""How many seconds to a day?" " l know, I'll tell you..."" "You're bad at arithmetic" "There were times when I missed you." " When...?" "Whenever I breathed" ""For them, reminiscences, those who can be forgotten." "Silly"" "So effortlessly you counted off those seconds?" "Without as much as a thought to every passing second... that carried me away?" ""ln the flame of the lamp that you lit, it was I who burned"" "87600" "Pity" "Shall I tell you what's on my mind for sometime?" "Two names on your mind." "Paro and Devdas" "Mr Landlord!" "How did you make out?" ""Kumud was saying, Dev and Paro are upto new antics"" "For hours they stare at each other through binoculars" "Shondesh is her excuse for coming over. I don't like it" "And Sumitra is daydreaming of Paro's wedding to Devdas" "Daydreams never come true." "Neelkanth married an actress" "Disgraced himself. ln an alliance with a disgraced family... am I to bring my family to ridicule...?" ""Right, but you know Sumitra." "She shoots off her mouth"" "What if she storms in someday proposing an alliance?" ""The answer will be "no "" " Why will the answer be no?"" "A knight and a landlord." "And the roof over our heads is leaking" "Leaking...?" "Even my postal address has changed." " Really...?" ""Neelkanth Chakraborty, Old Mansion"" ""What's lacking in our Paro?" "She's pretty, she's literate"" "I only got to spread the word." "Tens of boys will be ready... to pay a bride-price for Paro." " Really?" "Yes." "You are worrying overmuch" "Someday we will get a proposal..." "from them." "You'll see" ""Till then, I leave you to your musings. I'm off for my nap"" "Mr Landlord!" "Have a care!" "Your old mansion is crumbling" "Broke my back" "All this jewellery!" "All for me?" " You will give me a grandson" "Won't I give you something?" "Badi-Ma has opened up her treasure trove." "Loot her I must!" "Badi-Ma!" "How exquisite!" "I must wear this" ""No, that one isn't for you." " Then, for whom?"" "For my Devdas' bride." " Let's see" "Give it all away to Devdas' bride!" "I want none of this" "Here's your elder daughter-in-law" "And everyone's all agog about someone who's yet to come" ""Nice bracelet, isn't it?" "It'll look great on your arm"" "In my father's house maids wear bracelets like these" ""Then consider yourself a maid, right Badi-Ma?"" "Yes!" "I'm maidservant in this house." "My brother-in-law!" "Always after me" "You're making a mountain out of a molehill. I was joking" ""lf you disapprove, I won't even marry." " l hate being ridiculed"" "Why rib her all the time?" "Badi-Ma you could've said yes... if only to please her." "You know her nature." "And she's pregnant" "And you've brought her to tears." "Now I got to placate her." "Woe betide" ""No matter how much honey you add, neem is always bitter"" "How do you like this bracelet?" "Just like you." "Exotic." " Whom are you giving it to?" "You want to see?" "Take this." " And do what?" "Look through it." "This bracelet is for whoever you see in it" "Goodness!" "Sumitra?" ""ls she the one?" "Are you mad?" " Yes, but not entirely." "Look up"" "That's Parvati." " Nice...?" ""Yes nice, but I see her every day." " Do you see her as my bride?"" "Wretched girl!" " Now what's up?" "Staring at me through binoculars!" " Goodness" "She's gone hiding." " She must be embarrassed" "Been chatting over binoculars?" " Yes Badi-Ma" ""Take a look, what's the wretch upto?"" "Goodness!" "She's watching me out of the corner of her eyes" "Ran" ""Have you run in too, Dev?"" "Wretched boy" "How to make mountains out of a molehill... I'll show my mother-in-law." "Chhoto-Ma..." "So you got caught peeping." " You got caught too" "And I was sentenced to punish you" "For you" "What...?" " Gift" "You might as well put it on me" "So many bangles" "Silly" "Forget it" ""Tell me, where is London?" " Way west"" "Where sets the Sun?" " ln the West" "The Sun rises over London five hours late every day?" "Yes - ls that why you're late... about understanding everything?" " Yes..." "Dolt from London!" "Can't even take my bangles off" "How will you ever make me wear a bracelet?" "My cruel lover is heartless" "My cruel lover is so heartless..." ""he doesn't even know how I pine, he's just a ruthless slaver..."" ""oh cruel, please..."" ""How do I say this, whom do I tell?"" ""God, he doesn't know how I hurt..."" "he knows not... how heartless" ""You were far away, yet so close..."" ""now you're close yet distant...?"" ""l don't know..." "yet I know"" ""You were far away, yet so close..." "now you're close, yet distant...?"" "Come... to me" "Adorn me with the bangle" " Let me read your palm" "Don't tease me" " Lots of money" "Now don't..." " Your marriage" "Do my bidding" " You'll marry an old man" "How do I say this..." " About your wedding" "Whom do I tell..." "God" " You'll never marry" ""Fool, he doesn't even know..."" "he just doesn't know" "Shame!" "You see how the childhood love blossoms into youthful romance?" ""For all Sumitra's "Shondesh", do send a sweet message to Sumitra"" ""Tell her, Paro has come of age"" "What are you upto?" "What am I upto?" "What's up?" "What's wrong with Ma?" " Your mother has gone mad." "Yes!" "Mad with joy." "Because no more will I dream the dream I dreamt" "And why?" " Because it's coming true" ""Ma, what dream...?" " Which dream?" "Silly!"" ""l'm invited to a huge mansion." " l know, Kumud has conceived"" ""Also, Kaushalya-Didi wants to see me." "She says, Paro has come of age"" "We ought to think about Paro's wedding" ""True Paro, when you step into that house in bridal finery..."" ""there will be dreams in your eyes, under the veil drawn over your face"" "But we'll listen in joyous rapture for the chime in your anklets" "Mr Landlord!" "So how do I look?" " Where's Paro?" "Isn't she going?" ""So long she awaited this evening, she was dressed and raring to go"" ""ln time to leave, she shies away." "Off to the lake to fetch water"" ""Why?" " Silly girl, she's afraid..."" "that I might discuss her marriage right in front of her" "Don't you raise the topic Sumitra" " The auspicious time runs out at 7" ""By then if she hasn't raised the topic, I shall"" ""But don't worry." "The answer won't be a "no"." "Bless me"" "The guests are all here." "Where is Sumitra-Kaki?" "Dreaming of Paro's wedding." "To Devdas." "You know... I've found a nice match for Paro." " Who...?" "Old Mr Chattopadhyay" ""My compliments, sister!" "Best wishes for a grandson"" ""Don't overdo it, Sumitra." "There's still time to go"" ""Only a few months, no?"" "Then the baby's wails will resonate through the mansion" ""Not sister, I'll call you grandma." " You should get Paro married soon"" "I'd like to call you grannie too." " That's what I'm here to discuss l must discuss something too." "Girls in your family fetch a bride price?" ""No, that was olden custom." "We will give our Paro away"" "So it's final. I'll give Paro away in wedding." "All the expense is mine" ""Paro is my daughter too." " No, giving the daughter away..."" ""is a dream every parent dreams." "About the expense, we can share it"" ""Then it's decided, Sumitra." " Really Didi?"" ""Yes, really." " Therefore Kaki-Ma, you will be..."" "the master of ceremonies tonight." "A stunning dance for the guests?" ""Oh no, not I..." " Why not?" "Don't you belong..."" ""to a family of theatre dancers?" " Yes Didi, but that was ages ago"" ""No Kaki-Ma, no excuses." "Tonight you sing and you dance"" ""No dear, not I..." " Are you embarrassed?" "Just imagine"" ""You're dancing at Paro's wedding." " Now I can't refuse, can I?"" "So be it." "Radha and Krishna and love divine" "Dearest love" "The Moon alone... in night's embrace..." ""in moonlight vigil, night's desire..."" ""sang run-jhun run-jhun "a breezing gust..."" "into a radiant night..." ""rode in fireflies on a palanquin of stars..."" ""as the word played on stilled lips"" ""Then to the cadence of drums and cymbals..."" ""the duffle was struck..." "then..."" "into the rhythm swayed... my lovely Radha into the rhythm Radha swayed" ""Then he came from nowhere and he said..." "I love you"" "Dear love... oh but I'm afraid" "Oh dearest love" ""No, not my wrist..."" ""oh, how shameful"" "Leave me... I beg of you" ""No, don't force me..."" "spare me" "Dear love" "No... I'll curse you for this" "Madman!" "Go away" "Don't torment me" "Oh dearest love... dear love... oh but I'm afraid" "Love me" "On the banks of the Yamuna..." ""Krishna and Radha in the Dance of Love"" ""Of desire in their hearts rose a song to their lips"" ""Krishna and Radha in the Dance of Love"" ""Thirsting in every breath, searing passion in their hearts..."" ""Krishna and Radha in the Dance of Love"" ""The word on stilled lips, Krishna and Radha are in love"" "What is this?" "The token of betrothal... of my daughter to your son." "Paro and Devdas" ""Are you in your senses, Sumitra?" "I invited mother and daughter..."" "to entertain my guests with some melodrama" ""instead, you are out to work magic?"" ""Kumud, you were right!" "Sumitra-Kaki's timing is opportune"" "She does knows how to take advantage of opportunity" ""As a child, her daughter stole guavas from our orchards"" ""Now she sets her sights on my son?" " No Didi, that isn't true"" "Devdas and Paro were childhood sweethearts" ""They are in love, they can't live without each other"" ""ln a large family, maybe you never noticed." "But I know how they yearn"" ""Please do not refuse Didi, even if it means..."" "that you will have nothing more to do with me afterwards" "Why draw water from poisoned wells?" "You may not betray the traits" ""But your genes remain the same, that of the dancing girls"" ""Yes, we landlords eat fish..."" "but we won't let bones stick in the gullet" ""For one, you are a neighbour." "Worse, as a family, disgraced"" ""Even if you may momentarily forget your disgrace, but your standing?"" "Don't you try to palm off your bad coin" ""Chhoto-Ma, let it pass Chhoto-Ma." "We can always talk Dev out of it"" ""Which leaves Parvati. lf she can't contain herself, send her to Dev"" "Honour among landlords isn't sullied by such affairs" "Unbecoming of a landlord's woman!" "Don't interfere when elders speak" "Enough!" "Replying to you is beneath my dignity" ""My sister you were." "From now on, merely Kaushalya"" ""And Kaushalya, you too sang the day my daughter was born"" "Remember Badi-Ma?" "She took my daughter from my arms..." ""saying Paro was her daughter!" "With a smile, I had even said yes"" "Little did I know that even in the big landlord's mansion... a lady of the house could be so narrow-minded... as to count guavas stolen from one of her orchards" ""Count, how many guavas did my daughter steal?" "Tell me"" "Counting guavas?" "By the count of it... I've fed your son many more times than your count of stolen guava" "Stolen" ""And the disgrace?" "Yes, we do sell our daughters"" ""But you trade too, Kaushalya." "We sell our daughters, openly"" "But you swallow the dowries and the daughters too" ""Good or bad, the coin is known by it's tinkle." "But you wouldn't know"" "Because you're deaf enough not to know your son's heart" ""Blind you are, that you do not see their love"" "Now soon you will stand dumbstruck in witness your son's ruination" ""l swear, my daughter will marry into a family richer than yours"" ""ln a week. lf l fail, then come, mourn my death on day eight"" "I came to wish that you would beget a handsome son" "But all I can wish is to see that a daughter you be given" "I hear your mother is giving you away... into a rich family." "Do you know your husband's name?" "Devdas." " Even after all that happened... will Dev marry you?" " l'll ask him and I'll tell you ls there anything left to ask?" "She was insulted so gravely" ""Dev didn't insult her, did he?" " Will you walk up..."" "to ask Dev to marry you?" "Won't that be embarrassing?" "Why be embarrassed about asking for what is yours?" ""You're married, yet you don't know what a husband means?"" "Who...?" " l" "Are you all right?" "So late at night?" "In the dark...?" ""Weren't you afraid?" " No, now I'm afraid of no one"" ""Not even of being maligned?" " No, when I am with you..."" "I don't even care about getting a bad name" "Why... here... now...?" " Why does the river head to sea?" "Why does the sunflower always face the Sun?" "And why comes Paro heedless of her dignity...?" "Why unheeding my family honour do I venture out in dark of night?" ""Why do I seek refuge at your feet?" "To all questions, a single answer"" ""For the same reply, far too many questions asking to be answered"" ""There are no questions, not as long as we're together"" "That's what they don't want." " What do you want?" ""Happiness, for you"" "But my father won't look at it from our perspective" "We'll win him over" "What if he doesn't relent?" ""Where there's love, there's no fear." " Where there's smoke there's fire"" ""ln fires of attrition, I don't want us..."" ""to be consumed." " l'm doomed, in any case"" ""Be it with you, or without you"" "Let me drop you home." " You're coming with me?" "Without fear of censure?" "Even the cur is wary of the door it's kicked out of" ""What you can't get away with by light of the day, you try by night?"" ""Why don't you, mother and daughter start a brothel?"" "Not even a pimp would advise his daughter to do that" ""With the lamp, I saw you burn for Devdas"" "I treasure your feelings." "Were you to have asked me before leaving... I would not even mind if you were to have been whore for a night" ""Ma, I just went to ask him!" " And received what in reply?"" ""Not alone, you carried with you, the honour of our family"" "Have you left your honour behind?" "Let it pass Babu-ji." "Why make a mountain out of a molehill?" ""By the way, what to do about Paro's shawl?"" "Tell him to return it." "This marriage isn't happening I shall do no such thing" "You forget whom you are addressing" "A hot-headed landlord who will send his fellow-man's daughter... to a brothel." " Gentlemen's daughters... never steal out of neighbours' rooms at 2 am" "So great was her compulsion and it was you who compelled her I will brook no argument from you." " Nor do I wish to talk to you lt's decided" "Our family ranks far higher than theirs" ""Yet, it's the same food we eat?" " Our hierarchy, status, standing"" "Even the British government is informed of us" ""Yet, the same soil we tread upon?" " The bird that soars..."" "can never have any relationship with fish in the waters" ""Yet, man on Earth relates to God in Heaven?"" "Stop Dev" ""Dev, everything can be resolved." "I'll talk to Babu-ji"" "But don't leave the house." " No Dwij" "Childishness!" ""Over something so trivial...?" " Trivial for you, not for me"" "Not for me a life praying for every breath" ""Dev, we'll talk to Babu-ji..." " Stop Dev"" "Dev stop." " Stop!" "Listen to me" ""Stop him, Kumud"" "You aren't going anywhere." "Your mother is talking to the master" "Everything will be fine." " No Dharamdas" ""The tempest ought to pass." "If I stay on, much will be undone"" "Listen to me" "Lady..." ""Dev is leaving, Paro"" "It's as much his test as it is yours." "See for yourself..." ""what he cares for, you or family?" "is he taking you with him?"" "Or is he deserting you?" "If he isn't taking you along... then you shall do your mother's bidding" "Stop Deva!" "I won't let you leave!" "Stop." " Out of my way" ""That night, all sense of reasoning deserted me"" ""l was left vacillating as if between pendulous scales"" ""You wouldn't want me to displease my father to make you happy..."" "would you?" ""Why does the river go to sea?" "Why the sunflower gazes at the sun?"" ""instead of hunting answers, why not let the question pass?"" ""What was between us, was no more than childishness." "There's no love"" ""From now onwards, you are the girl next-door"" ""And I, your friend"" ""Paro, get dressed, come downstairs." "Hurry." "Your in-laws are here"" ""My love!" "Oh why did you leave me smouldering?"" "Why did you snub out the flame?" "Ei Dev..." ""Friend, you aren't asleep yet?" "Are you a stranger in my home?"" ""l told you before, this is as much your home as it's mine"" ""Nothing of the sort, Chuni Babu." "I'm just not feeling sleepy"" "Drink up..." "You know I don't drink." " Then what gives?" ""lf "h" is for happiness in life, why are you so looking so harassed?"" "So harried as not to feel at home?" " Nothing of the sort" "But something surely is!" ""The "h" that makes a home is the same that spells hurt"" "Fought with your parents?" " No" "Or are you nursing a wounded heart?" "My point!" "That's my point!" "H for heart and for hurt" ""And the two are related so closely my friend, oh-so-closely"" ""Hindustan or English-stan, everywhere it's all the same"" "H for heart and for hurt." " Have you suffered no pain?" "Ask not of one Time has weathered what pain each nuance hides... for men may see but no more than a smiling face" "You know what I make family with." "Just me and my wealth" "And therefore it was that I adopted music" ""The "Thumri" for my daughter, and the "Dadra", my son"" ""The "w" in words is tricky, making for warmth, worn, wealth, worlds, wisdom..."" "wastrels and wishes." "Worship too." "A well-wisher and your waywardness" "Get over this insanity and let's go away." "Way away. I feel walled-in" ""But Chuni Babu, where to?" " Wherever you wish"" "Where you go every night" ""There, where the anklets tinkle?"" ""How are you ladies?" "Look, whom I've brought to you"" "Who is it?" " My classmate from London" ""Where are you lost Dev Babu?" "Come, here too I hold court"" ""Welcome my friend, enter"" "Chandramukhi" "Your mirror couldn't bear to see my face. I'm sorry for your loss" ""lf sorrow be joy's harbinger, every loss signals what gain shall be?"" "Wonderful Chandramukhi!" "Even your words are so seductive" ""But do use the kohl, to ward off the stranger's evil eye"" "You are much amused?" " Naturally I see someone trying to ward off the evil eye... while women on the marketplace... vie to be seen" "You touch upon eyespeak and you have stolen my heart" ""What I took for stone, breathes the life into me"" ""So you see Dev Babu?" "On "c" and Chandramukhi..."" "didn't I warn you she's cause of such amazement?" ""Chuni Babu also begins with a "c"" "Of c's and cause celebres and Chandramukhi... you saw how clumsy she made me look?" "Jasmine makes fragrant... her lovely dark tresses" ""Radha's face is aglow, electric"" ""Her gait, seductive"" "Krishna stopped her" "He surprised Radha with a kiss" "Surprised Radha with a kiss... with a kiss" "Radha's veil was slipping away" ""Do not tease me, Radha pleaded"" "Why are you teasing me?" "But Krishna was obstinate" "He shamed Radha" ""That night, Krishna wouldn't listen"" ""But whom could Radha complain to?" "Krishna wouldn't listen"" ""Oh, why are you teasing me?"" "A pot of milk..." "Radha carried on her head... when she heard..." "Krishna's footsteps... and her heart... skipped a beat" ""Radha pleaded, don't hold my arms so hard, then her bangles broke"" "But that night..." ""whom could Radha complain to?" "Krishna wouldn't listen"" "Oh stop teasing me" "Mesmeric" ""Where are you off to?" "Tarry, the night has just come of age"" "I made a big mistake!" "I shouldn't have written that letter to Paro" ""l want to go to Paro." " Who's Paro?" "Wait, wait for me"" ""Bad manners, walking out on a performance"" "Dancing to an audience of drunken men... is shamelessness" ""You are a woman, Chandramukhi." "Realise who you are"" ""Woman, mother, sister, wife, friend"" "When she is none... she is whore" ""Could you be some else, Chandramukhi?"" "Price." "For our time together" "Keep it" "Friend..." ""See?" "Someone I wanted to stay on, is gone"" "In what are you lost?" " Such anguish in those eyes" "Does anguish make you anxious?" "Have courtesans no hearts?" "is she denied the right to love?" ""Of course!" "If there be amour, paramour there is too"" "Will you do me a favour?" " Say it" ""For just once, will you bring him?"" ""Promise, I cannot." "But try, I shall." "Only for you"" "Look at her!" "Paro is as resplendent as the Moon tonight" ""Had Devdas been here, he'd know what he has lost"" "My Paro is lucky" "Her wedding procession is coming all the way from Manikpur... like a train of lights." " You haven't seen it" "The bride's mother must not watch her daughter's wedding procession" "Lest the mother gives the bride the evil eye" "And after tonight no one will ever call her Paro" "Just Parvati" "Kaki-Ma (Kaki Ma :" "Aunt) ls Paro in?" "The wedding procession is about to arrive" ""You can see her." "Let's go, Manorama"" "I'm back Paro" "Why?" " l've come back to you." "Forever" "When my wedding procession is at my door?" "There's still time. I'll convince my parents. I'll tell them..." "Your parents!" "Haven't I...?" "If honour matters to your family... doesn't honour matter to us?" "Your father may be a landlord" "Doesn't my father count?" "No matter how lowly we bride-sellers are..." ""we never cheat anyone." " l never cheated you, Paro"" "Then why did you leave me?" "And that letter?" ""Paro you know, your Dev never does anything deliberately"" "I was naive" ""Naivete!" "How naive can you be Dev?" "On a whim, you give me a bracelet?"" ""On a whim, you write saying there's no love lost!" "Naivete?"" "Paro forever... another whim?" " Paro!" "Your wedding procession" "Time to part I don't accept this marriage!" " What difference?" "I accept" ""Then, I'm going to tell everyone..." " l went to see you at 2 am"" "You want to malign me?" " l... malign you?" "How could you think?" "If you ever say that again..." "What will you do?" "Hit me?" "Ever since I was a child... have you held me in fief?" "And when I ask for my right... you do a volte face?" " Enough!" "Stop it Paro" "Such vanity is no good." " Why should I not be vain?" ""What are you Dev, but wealthy and handsome?"" ""l possess virtues, beauty." "And after tonight, riches too"" ""From now on, I am more than an equal to you"" ""lf you be a landlord, I take pride in being an aristocrat"" "Such vanity?" "Not even the Moon is as vain." " But the Moon is scarred" "What have you done?" ""l have scarred you, like the Moon." "With the mark of my love"" "On joyous night..." ""when her bridal procession arrived..."" ""slowly, a sea of sorrow..."" ""rose, stilled in her eyes"" "To lilting lutes... her eyes told the tale" ""Always, it was you I loved..."" "and I loved and I loved... and I loved forever" ""Forever I have longed for you as I have longed for nothing else"" "My heart has worshipped you... worshipped you and worshipped... and worshipped but none else" "Never..." ""never, never, never..."" "and none else" "Sorrow clouds a joy... shades of anguish darken her... as she goes to tell her beloved... only to tell her beloved" "The wound you have left me with... only adds to my beauty" ""My wound I will preserve as your mark..."" "that anoints my forehead" "My beloved... oh beloved... without you... my life is incomplete... vacuous... empty... my life is empty..." ""Carrying memories of moments past..."" ""with burdened steps she walks..."" "her heart cries... her eyes weep... her heart... resonates" "Childhood memories... of relationships... swinging in the rain... smiling... drawing laughter..." ""annoyed, being placated"" "Every moment... etched into my heart... in the flames of my lamp... I am carrying... away" "My beloved... without you... my life is nothing... nothing at all" ""Always, you I loved..."" "and I loved and I loved... and I loved forever" ""l loved, loved, loved"" ""You, I loved and loved"" "I loved and loved" "Only loved and loved and loved" "Deva!" "Open up!" "What are you doing?" "Open up!" "What madness is this?" " For my sake!" "Open up I said it!" "Don't tear Deva and Paro apart!" "But who listens to me?" "What's going on?" " Look!" "Tell him something" ""Narayan, tell him." " No point." "Leave him alone"" "The fire will die down on its own." " But look..." "Time plays games with everyone" "My daughter treads upon silver now!" "But look... look at your son. lt's your pride that he sets afire" "Two acts to the melodrama!" "In Act One my daughter and I danced" "Act Two Now you and your son will dance" "Why is the new bride so dejected?" " Because last night... husband and bride slept apart." " That's for the first night lt's said to be ominous." "But it's over" ""From tonight, man and wife will sleep together"" "Are you harassing the bride?" "Sit..." "sit Parvati" ""You know, we had everything here, but the Moon." "And now you're here"" "Now you are the lady of the manor" "Also a mother to these children" ""From his first wife, Bhuvan has three children"" ""Your son, Mahendra." " Obeisances, Chhoti-Ma"" ""And our youngest, little Kalika." " My obeisances, Chhoti-Ma"" ""And Yashomati, the eldest"" "She's angry." "You must placate her" "And all of you... you must adorn the bride exquisitely... for her nuptial night" "Have you familiarised yourself with the manor?" ""Yes." " You have my word, Parvati..."" ""in this manor, you will have no problems about anything"" "Except one lt is difficult to bide time here." " Oh but time flies here I do not understand...?" " A while ago I was a new bride" ""And in no time, I'm Chhoti-Ma (Chhoti-Ma :" "little Mother )"" ""From bride to "little Mother", I'm transformed. ln no time"" "I wish to tell you something." "I married because my Ma insisted" ""My children needed a mother, and this manor needs a lady"" "And you...?" "Subhadra... was my first wife" ""You're now the lady of the manor, the mother of my children..."" ""and my new bride, no doubt." "But Subhadra, I can never forget"" ""The ominous first night may be over." "But we will stay distanced, forever"" ""My mistake or my sin, call it what you may..."" "but do forgive me" ""Good morning friend, good morning." "You're lucky, my friend"" "I ask help of the spirits to knock me out of my senses" "You won't even touch the spirits and yet you are inebriated?" "You missed telling me?" "Or made a pariah of me?" "Paro and paramour" ""Both spelt with "p"!" "Your stupor has unravelled all your secrets"" "Who brought me here?" ""My lover is so faithless"" ""How regrettable, to be rescued off the streets by a prostitute"" "This one is an ingrate Chuni Babu!" "Bites me for the love I gave him." "This one is an ingrate Chuni Babu!" "Bites me for the love I gave him" "My word!" "She helped you out of humane concern." "You were sick" ""She picked you up from the streets." "You've come to, after two days"" ""She never slept a wink, nursed you, sat through your cries for Paro"" "lnsult instead of gratitude?" "Let it pass. lt's a landlord trait." "Never mind their little trespasses" ""You left as if, forever." "But as luck would have it..."" "I find you once again." "Medicine... you need it." "Now" ""Your medicine, I don't need." "I'd rather have lain there"" "Just fall unconscious once again." "I'll dump you where l found you" "Yes Chuni Babu?" "What is this?" " Chuni Babu says... you've been here for two nights." "Lamps in your boudoir went unlit" "This is price." "For two nights you wasted on me" ""Now I know, why Paro abandoned you"" ""Let alone love, you don't even deserve sympathy"" "Hear Chuni Babu?" "A courtesan talking of romance" ""Am I to learn of her what love is, what romance be?" "What is amour?"" ""Love mirrored in your soul, amour God's gift to life's design, romance"" "How regrettable Chuni Babu Your friend possesses none..." ""of soul, or intent or purpose"" "That thing you flash time and again Dev Babu..." ""the money, it lies at the feet of harlots in brothels"" ""lf you be so vain, return to me what I spent on you"" "Two nights" ""You owe me 2 nights, Dev Babu." "No more shall I dance..."" "not until you come." "These eyes will await you" ""F for friendship, she came seeking, you found a foe." "You owe two nights"" "O'faithless lover" "Music plays" "Let slip the veil" "Let the revelry begin" ""Revelry awaits you, Chandramukhi." " No, not until Dev Babu arrives"" ""Pure gold." "Custom made, in Lucknow"" "I also have a gold nose ring I wish to tie the dancing bells to your feet" "Do wear the nose ring and allow me to unscrew it afterwards" "Desist from such ardour Kali Babu." "Get too close and you will burn... in the very lamps that light up nights of revelry" "At the next instance of insolence I'll give you a nose ring and... the rest of the revelers may take pleasure in unscrewing ln a marketplace full of beauties... such spirit is what draws me to you" "But the one you await so eagerly... has no interest in you or your music" "It was some Paro's firefly that ran into your fires crying Paro-Paro" ""Never will he return, Chandramukhi." " He will come, he will Kali Babu"" "You will see." "That's from my heart." " Why not take on a bet?" "If he doesn't come before the candle has burnt out... then you will wear these dancing bells... only for my pleasure." " l accept" "And if he comes... then you shall leave wearing these very dancing bells" "Agreed" "Whose footfall?" "Whose shadow?" "Who knocks at my heart?" "Who is come?" "Who paints me this emerald?" "My joy... is killing me" "No Moon I ever desired... nor stars I ever seeked... complaints I have none... every sorrow I have hidden... every taunt I laughed off... thorns I embraced... their blossoms have wounded me" "But whenever I have prayed... of The Lord... I have always seeked you" "Who paints me this emerald?" "is killing me I'm slain" "You aren't accustomed to the drink." "Why drink beyond your limits?" "What fool drinks to stay within limits?" "I drink that I may force myself to stay on..." ""looking at you, tolerating you..."" ""that I may lose my senses, to help me forget Paro"" "But Chandramukhi..." ""such are memories of Paro, they won't even let me lose my senses"" ""Why, after all I drink, do memories of her haunt me day and night?"" "Why... oh why?" ""Why, does man become so naive?"" "Why make mistakes?" "Why... for foible..." "so harsh a punishment?" "As to be rent asunder?" ""One enters matrimony, and the other...?"" "Slain" "In what fain folly... he forsakes the lotus...?" "For a paper flower?" "I fall..." "Touch me not!" "I despise you!" "I can't bear to see woman come to this." "Begone" "Never again shall I stand at this door" ""But yes, whenever I come to think of Paro, I shall"" ""And come the guilt pangs, I shall come"" "For where else can I go?" "There..." "I have sentenced myself." " Why punish yourself so?" ""Because every day, my heart is put to trial"" ""Every day, this romance is tried"" ""But every day, the verdict is the same"" "You are convicted" "Paro" "Our Parvati decides whatever happens in the manor" "The new bride has laid to rest all my worries" "With Parvati's arrival our lost days of joys are here again" "Meet Yashomati's mother-in-law This is Parvati" ""To Bhuvan Chaudhary, you'd more likely be..."" "a daughter than his wife." " Whatever I am to him... you and I are like sisters." "We should be embracing each other" "But you are many years my elder" ""From what I see, in Manikpur, wives are better endowed than daughters"" ""No Badi-Ma?" " Our daughters, we send away..."" ""in hope that they will be cared for, but we're disappointed." "No, Badi-Ma?"" "Yashomati." "I was eager to meet you" "We ought not to be cross with kin." "You and I are of the same age" ""So you decide, how we will relate to each other"" "Mother and daughter?" "Or friends?" "Ma" ""What's this, Ma?" "All this...?" " Gifts, from your Ma"" "You'll look great" "Will you keep to your daughter?" "Won't you give us company?" "I do not like the smoking pot." " The smoking pot has pride of place" ""l don't think so, no pride in what goes up in smoke"" ""Wonderful, mother-in-law!" "I delight in your words"" "I have been so eager to see you." "We missed each other's weddings" "My obeisances" "Touching your feet was a pleasure." "I have been given my wish" "How I wish I had attended your wedding... if only to have my wish of pulling you up by your ear" "Pulling you up by the ear was a pleasure" ""This first acquaintance, I shall always remember, mother-in-law"" "Remember the relationship too" ""Mr Landlord!" "Hurry up!" "Look, Paro is here"" "Paro!" "How have you been?" "I've been expecting you for days." " Why the crowd next-door?" "is everything all right?" " Narayan Mukherjee" "Breathing his last" " Shouldn't we be there?" "My heart won't let me" "Will you see the man who told you and your mother to run a brothel?" "Let not mistaken vanity destroy relationships I'm going over" ""The entire village, all relatives came to pay their respects"" "But no news of his dear son Devdas?" "How sad" "And here comes someone who has nothing to do" ""Look Babu-ji, who's here to see you"" "Devdas...?" ""Master, your Paro is here"" ""No, no Babu-ji"" ""When you were children, I'd ask you to find Dev whenever he was lost"" ""l've forfeited myself the right, haven't I, Sumitra?"" ""All night, he was asking, where's Dev-where's Dev?"" ""Now where do I look for him, my tempest...?"" "What happened?" ""lf l am so despicable, if my touch be so abhorrent, then why..."" "did you come into my life?" "In my solitude I was content Why be my messiah of misery?" "That stopped the spasm didn't it?" "Divert your attentions and... the deepest wounds may be healed." " Which is what I am upto" ""Stop it, you've had enough"" "Why not say I've lived enough?" " How could I...?" ""You have Paro, memories of Paro All I have is you, my Midas"" "A touch and iron is made to gold" "Are you pricing yourself or me?" " ln a world of relationships... what value a woman of easy virtue?" "Nothing" ""Besides, you won't even give me the right to touch you"" "Are you in love with me?" " Or you could ask me if I breathe" ""You breathe, Chandramukhi?"" ""What will you get out of it?" "I have no home, no heart"" ""Loving isn't only about receiving." "Love, I have traded many times"" ""But loved, I have but once"" ""Pour more into a chalice filled, and what happens?"" ""lt spills, to the ground"" ""So too my cup floweth over, with Paro"" "More can only spill..." ""to fall, and in the falling, take you down too"" ""But in the spilling, the wine must've been caressed by the chalice"" "Then spill... some more" "Where is Devdas?" "I must see him" "Asleep." "You can't see him now." " Can I not?" "I'm here to take him I'm not leaving him in this hell" "Master...!" " Who gave you my whereabouts?" "Chuni Babu" "Babu-ji..." "Babu-ji won't even see my face Why has he sent you?" ""Anyway, he will be displeased to see me as I am"" "Sir Narayan Mukherjee will have to hang his head in shame" ""Go Dharamdas, go away." " Listen Deva..."" "Your father is no more" "Too bad" "All of a sudden... how...?" "He was a nice man" "Such men aren't born too often" "Babu-ji has earned..." ""another title, no?"" "Late Sir Narayan Mukherjee" "We loved each other dearly" ""But too bad, this is too bad"" ""Late, Sir Mukherjee..."" "was a good man" "Does Devdas drink every day?" " When doesn't he drink?" ""Alcohol, day and night." "Lives on it"" "Why don't you stop him?" " But only if he'd stay at home" "Rarely does he come home." "There he lies in Chitpore..." ""in Chandramukhi's brothel, all day"" "The room upstairs is practically Deva's residence" "Devdas!" "He lives in a brothel?" "Such days I have lived to see" "Have you seen Chandramukhi?" " When I went to fetch Deva... I saw her." " What is she like?" ""Sweet deceit, as they say." "Famous courtesan, uses her charms"" ""She plunders, he squanders." "We must rescue our Deva from the hell, Paro"" ""l cannot tell him anything, but he'll surely listen to you"" ""He holds you in high esteem, he can't refuse you"" ""Please Didi, tell her"" ""Only you can stop him, Paro." "Only you can stop him from drinking"" ""Dharamdas, get a hold on yourself." " You'll see him won't you?"" ""Paro, do you want me to malign you, to give you a bad name?"" ""Had we given ourselves a bad name, we might've ended up together"" ""You're happy, aren't you Paro?" " Oh it's a different world, Dev"" ""Huge manor, vast estates, important people, great debates"" "Great debates!" "You've matured Paro" ""You even look like an aristocrat." "Huge red dot, large eyes..."" "big dreams..." ""huge manors, vast estates..."" "and grown-up children" ""Those large eyes, I can keep watching"" "But I can't bear to see big teardrops in those eyes" "Just as well that you came by." "I got some things I wish to return" ""Who knows, I might never return"" "Come... come with me" "Stand right here" "Look... at yourself." "Remember...?" "Arre O'Deva" "What happened Paro?" ""Deva, I lost my anklets." "Have you seen them?"" ""No Paro, not I"" "I stole them" "And you knew I did it and why I did it" ""All day, the chime of your anklets, and-Deva-this-and-Deva-that..."" "And your pot" ""And here, the memento of our love, our parting"" ""You just left, that was the end of the relationship"" ""But I'm still tied to all these, Paro"" "And I am tied to memories of you" "What's that?" " A few coins" "Three Rupees." " All they're worth are memories" ""Mine, aren't they?" "You thief"" ""l'll take them back, but only with usury"" "How much interest will you take?" " Two percent" "At two percent... six cents a month" "72 cents a year" "For 13 years..." ""13 years, Paro"" "9.36" ""You've become good at arithmetic." " Circumstance taught me, Paro"" "Let's talk of something else" ""Paro, why not turn matchmaker and find a bride for Devdas?"" ""l hear Manikpur girls are nice?" " Yes, but you want a beauty, no?"" ""No, not a beauty." "Just someone like you"" ""Someone who is pleasant?" " No, must be a bit naughty"" ""Should be able to quarrel with me." "Like I said, she should be like you"" "You can find them by the thousands." " Spare me the thousands" ""Just let me come to grips with only one, of the likes you." "Enough"" "Give up drinking." " No" "Try." " No" "You can give it up." "Promise me that you'll never drink again" "Can you promise you'll forget me?" ""lt's rather late, Paro"" "I'm not leaving until I have your word I can't." " You can" "One can do anything one wants." " Can you elope with me tonight?" "What are you saying?" " Can you elope with me?" "You've no one to look after you." " Can you elope with me?" ""l had only one dream." "To serve you." " lf there's love, there's no fear"" "One chance to fulfill my dream?" " Can you elope with me?" "Can you?" ""Come with me. I'll care for you." " Can you elope with me, Paro?"" ""l can't bear to see you like this!" "I feel like dying, Dev"" "I feel like dying" ""lf serving me makes you happy, then so be it"" ""l promise you, before I die I'll surely come to your doorstep"" ""Swear that, by me"" "Heartless" "Your mother is squandering money." "Given so charitable a disposition..." ""soon the coffers will be empty." " Absolutely right, Kumud"" "But how can I stop Ma?" " You're such a complete fool" "You can't." "But I can stop her." " You will stop her?" "But how?" "The keys to the vault?" "With you?" "Ma has been looking for them" "I've hidden the keys." "You will say that the keys are lost" "What...?" " The vault keys are lost" "And the vault has been robbed" "The key... to the money" "Brother-in-law!" "You...?" "So early?" "In the offices?" "And alcohol...?" "Without as much as a care for the family prestige?" "What will people say?" "What will your mother think?" "You didn't consider that when you were stealing the keys?" "What will people say?" "What will your Chhoto-Ma think?" "The wealth of our forefathers may not be squandered over alcohol" "The keys left by our forefathers may not be stolen like this I'm making this clear." "Under no circumstance... am I parting with the keys." " You will turn in the keys" "Today and now" "Right here" "To my mother" "Do not think I am so weak. I too hail from a family of landlords I have seen money by the chestfuls in my father's house" "Have you seen the streak of madness that runs in the family?" ""What are you upto, Dev?" " Brother you surely agree that..."" "I have as much right as you to the wealth that our forefathers left us" "Yes." "Why are you pouring alcohol?" "I'm putting on fire my share." "Save your share if you can I'll give you anything you want!" " As of now... only the keys." " Which you will never have" ""Kumud!" "Give him the keys." "Else, he'll burn down the office"" "Let him do whatever he wants." "I'm not scared of empty threats" "He's actually burning the place down!" "Call Chhoto-Ma" ""Give him the keys, Kumud." " No"" "He's crazy!" "Are you out of your mind too?" "No!" " Give him the keys" "What's up Kumud?" "What's happening in this house?" ""You were looking for the keys to the vault, weren't you?"" "I caught him with the keys and he threatened me" "He won't part with the keys and he wants his share" ""Else, he'll burn the house down." "I pleaded with him..."" "You want your share?" "That is your only share" "No one in this house ever understood you" "All of us are responsible for your ruination" ""Before we lead you to worse, leave this house"" ""Babu-ji said leave the village." "Everyone said, leave Paro"" ""Paro said, leave drinking." "Now you say, leave this house"" ""One day, He will say..."" "leave this world" "Hereby I rescind all my rights to everything in this house" "But I am part of you." "That right no one takes away from me" "Not even you" ""lt's no easy undertaking, it's an ancient ritual"" ""For the ritual, one must fetch the soil from a courtesan's doorstep"" ""ln that soil, is built the image of the goddess"" "I know" "And go where men daren't even walk in daytimes for fear of censure?" "Don't humans live there?" "is there no air...?" "No sun in those quarters?" "Do rains refuse to visit them?" "Nature doesn't discriminate." "Should we?" "Parvati is right." "Even Subhadra wanted it done" ""Very well, as our Parvati wishes"" ""But remember, it's the Durga Puja." " Rest assured"" "I'll tell Mahendra to facilitate your journey" "Devdas lives in a brothel?" ""A lady is here, wants to see you." "She's also asking about Dev Babu"" "Must be Paro" "Paro...?" "How did you know I'm Parvati?" " Dev Babu told me..." ""should a woman come asking for him, she can only be Paro"" "What are you doing?" ""My obeisances to the woman, whom I shall never be able to replace"" ""l have heard of exotic women here, but you possess the wile too"" ""Only if you'd see, I have a heart too"" "Chandramukhi..." "isn't that your name?" "They also call me Devdasi" "You are famous." " Not anymore" "Why ?" ""At angel's touch, I learnt of a sacrifice I never knew"" "How strange of a courtesan to swear by fidelity" "Curious too... what draws an aristocrat to a courtesan's doorstep?" "Where is Dev?" "I too am eager to hear his footfall Six months it has been... since I set my eyes on him." " You lie" ""lf you don't trust, look around." " Or do you assume I won't?"" "How long do you think you can keep Dev here?" ""Only so long as the beauty, the youth, the money?"" "What's your endgame?" "You must have fleeced Dev i'll pay you more. I can't bear to see Dev suffering this hell" "How strange" ""The very Paro who drove Dev Babu to insanity, wants to buy him"" "And what may you have to offer me?" "Can you offer social recognition?" "Can you possibly make him love me?" ""Or make it possible that I may touch him, just once?"" ""Dreams, longing, hopes, that he has kindled in my heart..."" "might you make them come true?" "Can you?" ""No, you cannot deliver"" "And I will not give you Dev Babu." " And I will take him away" ""And no one is stopping me." "Not you, not social sanction, not even Dev"" ""Not to forget, courtesans aren't destined to have husbands"" ""Courtesans have no destiny, lady"" ""From your perspective, you can see nothing." "From mine..."" "you will find him everywhere" ""Look, there he is, in the flame of the lamp"" ""There he lies, in folds of the covers"" "In that half a chalice..." ""his thirst lies, unquenched." "His fragrance still lingers"" ""Take it all, if you can." "The light, the folds, the fragrance, all of it"" "All yours" "But I cannot give you your Devdas." " You love Dev so dearly?" "I only worship him" "Now I'm assured." "Dev isn't lonely anymore" "Oh I forgot what I came here for." "I want to perform the Durga Puja" ""From your doorstep, I want soil"" "May I...?" "What is this?" " l came for Dev. instead... it's something I entrust you with I will expect you for the Durga Puja." "Do come" "Chandramukhi... I'm so happy to have you here I'm glad" "How could I refuse your invitation?" "I had to come" "Have you met Dev?" "Who is this?" ""Chandramukhi, my friend." "She comes from Calcutta"" ""Bless you, consider this your home." "Parvati, don't let her go too soon"" "Sure." "You will leave only after the celebrations" "No Paro!" "I can't stay here" "Why not?" "It's been ages since I had a heart-to-heart chat with someone" ""Come, let celebrations be the ruse for forgetting our woes"" ""Let's sing, dance, give ourselves a little to live"" "No..." " Our joys might touch Dev" ""Paro, listen to me." " No refusing." "For Dev's sake"" ""Come Kali Babu, the chess game isn't over yet"" "The real chessgame is being played here" "Devdas' Chandramukhi comes." "To meet Devdas' Paro" "Who's Paro?" " Mother-in-law" "Parvati." "One move and I've checkmated all four" "Paro" "Chandramukhi" "Bhuvan Chaudhary" "Devdas" ""Deva, the day is dawning"" ""But forever, this heart will live in darkness"" "Shall we go now?" " To whom?" ""One by one, all my relationships are over"" ""Between my father and I there was no love lost, right?"" "I was his tempest and he was my whip" ""Even my brother figured first in mother's lullaby, right?"" ""My brother and I never hit it off." "He's practical, I'm impractical"" "One inculcates a humorous relationship with a brother's wife" ""l was the one who ended up being the butt of the joke, right?"" "And there was Paro and I love her... you know... so much" ""So much, right?"" "Now she is estranged too" "But there's one... one Chandramukhi." "Loves me dearly" "But... priest?" "Priest..." "Are you familiar with the last rites?" " Of course" "Will you perform the ritual?" " Of course." "Who is the deceased?" "Devdas Mukherjee" " Are you insane?" "You'll perform your last rites?" " Give me my last rites" ""Priest, go away"" "Deva!" "What madness is this?" "Come back" "Unto the departed Soul..." ""grant salvation, Lord"" ""Come back, I beg of you"" "The throb... sways my heart" ""l dare that evil eye or let thunder strike"" "I'll wear my dancing bells ln my anklets..." ""l will give in to the ecstasy..."" "of the throb..." ""that sways my heart, my soul"" "What chimes?" "What's that love in eyes?" "Why the crescendo?" "is it longing?" "He's in the red dot l wear" "He's in the dream in my eyes" "You're obsessed" "Your heart beats for him I remember him in the chime" "I remember him in the tinkle" "You've given me a world... of your own happinesses" "Never desert him" "Marry him" "To him you are priceless I am worthless" "Wonderful" "What a display of true colour" "An aristocrat and a courtesan come together" ""What are you saying?" " That which you see, Badi-Ma"" "And what everyone is watching" ""This woman, whom Mother-in-law calls a friend, is a whore"" "Yes Mother-in-law?" "What am I hearing Parvati?" "Why are you silent?" "Answer." " She is embarrassed" "Landlords did keep whores" "Now even a lady of the manor makes friendships in brothels." "Wonderment" "That's stripping without touching." "You started the farce. I ended it" ""No Kali Babu, if men could enact farce, what need for whores?"" "You would've had your brothel too" "You know it and it's commonplace lt is the aristocrat who brings cheer to the brothels" "And bastards are born of aristocrats of your ilk" ""Call them illegitimate if you will, but aristocracy runs in their veins"" "Company of the aristocracy doesn't confer status to the courtesan" ""Absolutely correct, Badi-Ma." "But why should the lady be embarrassed?"" ""lf she spoke a few kind words to me, it's because she considers me human"" "He who frequents the alleyways of disrepute ought to be ashamed" "The very dens littered with trophies of the lust of his forefathers" "Have you thought?" "You might have a sister somewhere in the brothels" "Why sister?" "You might even visit your daughter's... ln the soil at the courtesan's doorstep... is moulded the image of the goddess." "The soil isn't impotent" "Now the farce ends" ""l return, lady..."" ""back to my world, to those disreputable alleys..."" "where l might someday find Dev Babu again" "Farewell" ""Before leaving, I wish to apologise"" "Talking in public about Chandramukhi was a mistake I didn't make the other mistake." "I told your husband and Badi Ma... about your friendship with Devdas" "You liked twisting my ear?" "I would cut your nose to spite your face" "Goodbye" ""Not at Parvati, fingers will be raised at us"" "The matter must end here and now" "Did you ask for me?" " Yes Parvati I would like to know..." " Who Devdas is?" ""Devdas is a childhood friend, he was body, I was soul"" ""He is my love and he is my vanity and he is with me, always"" "Do you realise what you are saying?" " Same as what you told me" ""You're now the lady of the manor, the mother of my children." "No doubt"" ""But Subhadra, I can never forget." " Subhadra was my wife"" "Subhadra was your first love." "Devdas is mine" ""First love, like years can never be obliterated"" ""Parvati, you are forgetting." "You are the lady of the manor"" "Maybe that's reason for my guilt?" "I'll accept any penalty you decree" "Of course you will be punished" "The very men who paid obeisances to this manor are enjoying a farce" "You may never step out of the manor." "This is your punishment" ""But what punishment, Parvati?" "We are the ones being punished"" "The lamps we lit in celebration have set fire to our house" "Always put out the fires that threaten your home" ""Fun, frolic and friends"" ""Without you, life was desolate." "With you, comes the cheer"" "Why care for outcomes?" "Let's raise cheer" "Yes friend?" "Let clink the glasses" ""Let clink the glasses, whatever the outcome"" ""Let clink the glasses, whatever the outcome"" ""And hear the chhalak-chal "in the swirl"" ""Music, when my cup floweth over"" ""And hear the dhamk-dhamk-dham "inside your heart..."" "when you clink the glasses" ""This madeira"..."" ""This madeira" showers a rain of memories"" ""ln every spill, madeira "cheats the heart"" ""The madeira" coursing down tells..."" "tales of hearts" ""Like lightning in hearts, it strikes clouds of sorrow"" "And when it reaches the heart... it evokes... memories of her" "Oh for a glimpse..." "Oh for a glimpse of her" "That's... what little I pray for" "So little I pray for" ""Mira dances for her Ghanshyam..."" "she dances in gay abandon" ""Hear the jhanak-jhank-jhan "in the chime of her anklets"" ""l'm in love, I don't care for censure"" "And how..." ""Now hear the thirak-thirak"?" "That's my heart dancing away"" "Even a drop of alcohol is poison for him" "Any moment may be treacherous" "Try to keep him in good cheer" "Oh God!" "What is this Dharamdas?" "Cry and you will make me cry too" "And people will call me a courtesan who cannot enact a farce" ""We got to keep Dev Babu in good cheer, no?"" "You're absolutely right." "Let's wipe our tears" "Let our laughter ring in Dev's ears" "Yes Dharamdas." " Let's fill his life with joys" "Yes Dharamdas." " All his woes be gone" ""Yes Dharamdas, yes"" "Game over. I win again" "No point playing with you!" "You've robbed us blind" "A few more games with you and you'll make me sell this brothel" "Stop giggling and get lost" "Time for your medicine." "I'll send it over" ""ln a chalice." "Else, it won't work." " Even contemplating it is lethal"" "Met Paro?" "How did you find my Paro?" " lf love be personified..." ""Paro's would be the being, hers the very heart"" ""Forbidden though it is, I always end up with a metaphor about eyes"" ""One Paro and one, Chandramukhi"" ""One, sentimental, vivacious"" ""And you..." "how delicate, how demure"" ""She is fickle, like a doe, gushing like a river..."" ""the liar, the butterfly, the Moon and you...?"" ""Poem?" "Ballad?" "Some tears, sometimes fire"" ""Everyone loves her." " And you, unloved by all save me?"" ""What is this, Chandramukhi?" "I was likening you to fortitude"" ""What you turn out to be?" "Wax doll?" "Look at you, melting away"" "Will you let the candle melt away and cast me in dark?" ""You've done much for me, Chandramukhi." "One more favour"" "Let me leave." " No!" "You know not what you suffer" "You know it and I suffer." " Then why must you...?" "I must face myself before I'm lost" "May a servant follow you?" "I cannot bear to see my death mirrored in your eyes" "I have been given heaven and earth" "Will we meet again?" "What the Judge of virtue and vice will pronounce for you I know not" ""But in the afterlife, should we meet I won't be able to renounce you"" ""As far as the train travels." "Bombay, Delhi, Lahore, Assam"" ""l want to see all of India, are you coming with me?"" ""l'll take you around the world, if you keep up this cheer"" ""l'm cheerful, am I not?" "My final journey has begun"" ""Deva, what is the matter with you?" " What's the matter...?"" "Are you all right?" "How come you haven't left?" " l'm not leaving you all alone" "Are you afraid I'll drink again?" " Alcohol is poison for you" "One drop..." " And I'm dead?" ""Yes!" "You were delirious, that's why I didn't leave you"" "And enough of this journey." "You've had your say and I've had enough" ""At the next station, we change the train and we go to see your mother"" ""At the next station, you go back to your compartment"" "Why are you so stubborn?" " Put out the lights" ""And tomorrow, I'm taking you to a doctor." "Always fickle"" ""Passengers to Sonarpur, Garia, Phoolbagan to detrain"" ""Dharamdas, you're back?"" "Friend!" "How are you?" ""Small world it is, that's why we keep bumping into each other"" "So where and how have you been?" " Right here and I'm fine" ""Tell me how you have been." " What with me, I'm soaring"" ""But you look... pale." "What gives, friend?"" "For a moment I was in a quandary." "is this my star of Chitpore?" ""No, I'm all the same." " Even if you aren't, here I am"" ""Let's raise cheer." "It's been long, let's have a party"" "So what if we aren't in a brothel?" "Even train compartments will do" ""lf not the dancing bells, let's cheer the rhythm of the rails"" ""lf not Chandramukhi, let it be between her paramours"" "Here you are" ""No Chuni Babu, I don't drink." " Someone has extracted a promise?"" ""No." " Then do it, for friendship's sake"" "After ages!" "Let's live it up." "Why not?" ""ln a tomorrow, may we be?" "Might not"" ""You'll be." "As for me, you never know"" ""My share of life I've lived, now I'm counting on my heart"" ""What with the world, it will even grudge you your last breath"" "Encore!" "How sweet!" "That's poetry" ""Shards of the heart, they call poetry. I don't care"" "What hurts is when they want..." " Encores?" "Wonderful" ""Encore, encore"" "Hey Dev Babu... what's happening?" "What's ailing you?" "Have you taken a cure?" ""l'm incurable, Chuni Babu"" ""Then why did you drink, knowing...?" " For friendship's sake, Chuni Babu"" ""Friendship?" "You take me for a stranger?" "Not again, not again..."" ""No stranger, Chuni Babu." "You're the closest to me"" "I've even imbibed your metaphor." "The Sunrise of life... the salutations..." "then the solace..." ""and in seconds, time takes such a turn Chuni Babu..."" "all ties with life are severed." " No Dev Babu" "The Sun..." ""the song, the serenade, sympathy between friends"" ""But separation... no..." " lt all ends, Chuni Babu"" "No" "Silence?" "So deathly?" "As if I'm dead already?" "I swear by our friendship... this silence... is stifling" ""And you know Chuni Babu, miles to go..."" "before my thirst is quenched" "Oh when will my thirst be quenched?" "What happened to Chhoti-Ma?" "Blood...?" ""Pandua." "Passengers to Manikpur, Mirzapur, Mirgaon, detrain"" "If serving me makes you happy..." ""l promise you, before I die I will surely come to your doorstep"" ""Swear that, by me"" "Are we there?" "The journey has just begun." "What's wrong with you?" ""Devdas... come to me, my darling"" "All day tramping around the village with that Paro" "Not another moment for you in this house" "Deva!" "I'm not letting you leave!" " Dharamdas!" "Don't let him go" "Stop Dev" ""Faster, please"" "Very little time left" "Yes sir" ""Babu-ji said leave the village." "Everyone said, leave Paro"" ""Paro said, leave drinking." "Now you say, leave this house"" ""One day, He will say, leave this world"" "Here's Manikpur." "Brought you in before sun-up" "Whom are you seeing in Manikpur?" "Who...?" ""l'm here, Paro"" ""What is the matter, Parvati?" " Someone called out to me"" "So late at night?" "Go to bed." "You must be mistaken" "Picked him up at Pandua station." "I don't know..." ""something happened to him overnight." "Never said where to, in Manikpur"" "What's that crowd outside?" ""Some stranger has been lying there all night." "Counting his last, maybe"" ""Poor soul, must've come to return something he owed in this lifetime"" "God rest his soul" ""No chance of survival, Mahendra Babu"" "He's breathing his last" "She is manifest in Death" "She is the life-force" ""What is the matter, Parvati?"" "These letters might provide a clue" "She is Eternal peace" ""lf you are inattentive Parvati, you needn't say the prayers." "Leave"" ""For some wish unfulfilled, must be, he isn't giving up his ghost"" "The policeman has identified him." "He's from some Tal Sonapur" "What's the name?" " l don't know" "Mahendra Babu knows." " Will you please call Mahendra?" ""l said, call Mahendra." " Yes"" "Yes?" " Chhoti-Ma wants to see you." "Now" ""Yes Chhoti-Ma?" "You summoned me?" " Yes, who's the man lying outside?"" ""Someone from your village, one Devdas Mukherjee"" "Who?" " Devdas Mukherjee" "How do you know?" " Two letters in his pocket" ""One, to Dwijdas Mukherjee." " His elder brother"" ""And to one Kaushalya." " Yes, his mother"" "The name was tattooed on his arm." " At a fair. lt rained incomplete tattoo..." " Also a torn necklace of pearls" "Hit me here..." "Where are you going Chhoti-Ma?" "By now they must've taken him away" ""Chhoti-Ma, stop..."" "What happened to Chhoti Ma?" " What's going on in this house?" "Why this screaming?" "What's up Mahendra?" ""Ma is going out!" "For some Devdas!" " She has gone insane, stop her"" ""Stop, Parvati!"" "Don't let her step outside the manor" "Stop Chhoti-Ma" "Stop!" "Babu-ji forbids you" "Secure the doors" "Where will I find again... my lost innocence... my lost dreams... my lost childhood" "Where is gone the shade of trees... where l made myself a home?" "s" "" ThE EnD ""