"Those were very hard times." "The land was afflicted by drought." "Not a drop of rain had fallen for 10 years." "Every day, hungry people from the villages left the kingdom in despair." "There was but one hope left A Great Royal Fire Sacrifice." "That would appease Indra, Lord of Gods, custodian of rain." "A Great Royal Fire sacrifice." "lmpossible!" "Chief Priest Paravasu will never agree." "Did someone call me?" "Yes, my Lord." "There's a troupe of actors at the city gates." "They want to stage a play in honour of the fire sacrifice." "I thought the famine had eaten up all the troupes." "This one small troupe survives That's their manager." "Say whatever you want from where you're standing." "But don't look at the sacrificial enclosure, or you'll pollute it." "Your Royal Majesty!" "O Chief Priest!" "O Brahmins!" "Brahma, Lord of all Creation gave birth to the art of drama." "He handed it over to Lord Indra, who then gifted it to us humans." "So if we wish to please Indra and rid the land of this long drought." "We can't depend only on prayers The gods need entertainment too." "So I humbly request you to let us perform a play here." "If Indra likes it, he might grant the land rain and salvation." "You called me to decide this little matter?" "My Lord, there aren't enough actors to perform the play." "He wants to bring someone new Your brother, Arvasu." "I told him:" "Arvasu's forbidden to step in here, get anyone but him." "But he says he has a special message for you from your brother." "Greetings, dear elder brother!" "You once said to me." "The very first actors in history were Brahmins." "But they lost their caste because of their profession." "You said, if I valued my high birth I should not touch this profession." "All these years I have obeyed you." "But today I am branded a criminal." "I have killed my father, I'm a disgrace to Brahmins, I've no caste." "So can't I be an actor now, according to your own rules?" "I trust you won't stop me." "Paravasu, you have conducted the sacrifice flawlessly for 7 years." "Let's finish it." "Let it rain." "The celebration can come afterwards." "As a sacrifice approaches its end, evil spirits gather in the shadows." "We must be careful!" "Besides, you yourself called Arvasu a demon." "Perhaps every sacrifice needs demons before it can be complete." "It's a bond we can't break." "Let's have the play, we shall all watch." "Arvasu!" "Your brother has agreed!" "Paravasu said yes!" "We can do the play!" "I'll get everything together." "Come." "He's agreed, Nittillai." "He'll watch our play." "I know you'll come, too." "You had promised me." "Just a month ago you and I were so happy." "My heart is swaying to the tune." "Of the songbird in the wood." "Clouds now gather in the sky..." "The weather changes mood.." "In welcome of a waking dream, I wait excited, eyes agleam." "Hear, my dear, the singing breeze." "Listen to the rustling leaves, my dear." "As we saunter hand in hand, The love-note echoes through the land." "Romance has brought such melody, My anklet bells respond in key." "In welcome of a waking dream I wait excited, eyes agleam." "Today I look at you a new My body filled with raging thirst." "Your gaze is piercing through and through." "I feel my heart's about to burst." "Your presence is like heady mead." "A tavern-full won't slake my need." "Never talk to tribals." "What's to worry about, Arvasu?" "The village elders will ask a few questions, you answer them." "After all, every young man getting married does it." "Just declare..." "Sure, just say:" "I want to marry her I'm potent, I can satisfy her needs." "Yes, more or less that." "And in public!" "Obviously." "What's the point of saying it to yourself?" "Don't worry, its nothing." "Might be nothing to the young men of your tribe." "But I'm a Brahmin." "To say all that in Public!" "No chants to drown out one's voice." "No sacred smoke to hide one's face How awful!" "Will there be many people?" "Only the whole village..." "And people from the villages around." "Are your elders very brutal?" "Of course not!" "But the young men could be..." "What young men?" "Your friends, my brothers and the rest." "They love pulling the groom's leg." "I'm not coming." "Why?" "Don't say that, Arvasu." "What if some evil spirit hears?" "Father has told the young men not to get carried away." "He likes you." "But have you faced your people?" "Have you told them about us yet?" "You haven't?" "Why not?" "Are you ashamed?" "Ashamed?" "I'll show you who's ashamed." "You ruffian!" "Let me go!" "What're you doing?" "Don't I have any rights?" "No." "The groom doesn't touch the bride till the wedding." "That's our custom." "I'm about to jettison my caste, my family, all my traditions for you." "Can't you forget one small custom?" "It's a wise custom, made by our elders." "All these days I kept away because Brahmins don't touch other castes." "Now you won't touch me." "Are you sure someone won't think of something else once we're married?" "Listen... it's Andhaka baba Let's go tell him our news" "Go, slowly." "What's the hurry...wait..." "Andhaka Baba is waiting for my cousin since a long time lonely." "Why alone?" "Now that he has returned." "Andhaka Baba must be happy." "He's not alone." "We come every day to be with him." "Wait." "Who's that?" "Ah, ha!" "Arvasu!" "May lightning strike your ears!" "He thinks he's a great actor But you're too smart to be fooled." "They all try, but I can always tell." "Just like you recognize a man by his face, I can tell his footsteps." "I'll fool you yet!" "..." "Watch!" "May God grant your wish But in the meantime..." "You two have cheered my heart with your good news." "The world doesn't like such mixing of blood, it will treat you cruelly." "That's why he's only talked to my family, not to his own." "One good thing about the famine..." "Don't say such horrid things." "I know." "But the famine has made all my people run away." "And they've taken their daughters." "So I'm free to marry whomever I want." "Actually, I was thinking..." "Okay... trying to think." "I'm a fool, I know I'll never be learned like Father or Uncle." "Can't be Chief Priest like Paravasu nor do penance like cousin Yavakri." "All I want is to dance, sing, act... and be with Nittillai." "It won't matter a flake of cow dung to my father if I'm alive or dead." "My sister-in-law Vishakha lives in a world of her own." "That leaves only my brother." "Paravasu is a hard man He won't be crossed." "Hard?" "Never to me." "To me, he's been a mother, father, brother, nurse, teacher all in one." "He taught me to win at marbles, to play tunes on bamboo pieces..." "What if he forbids you now?" "I'll tell him, I can't give up Nittillai She's my life." "I can't live without her I would rather be an outcaste." "Beautiful!" "Marvellous!" "Such moving words." "But Paravasu is not one to be easily moved, I warn you I'm only waiting for the sacrifice to end before speaking to him" "And he's the Chief Priest." "I won't be good to disturb him now with this matter." "But, he's sure to hear that you're seeing Nittilai's tribal elders today." "I didn't expect her father to hold the council so soon, nobody asked me" "So Father's to blame?" "Do you know why he's called the elders so soon?" "He says, these high-caste men only want to bed our women, not wed them." "All right!" "Let's wed now, then we can..." "Your cousin Yavakri will be so happy." "That's why, he wants to meet you." "Yes, he's asked me to meet him exactly at noon... where is he?" "Let me go, Yavakri." "You speak at last!" "I've waited here 4 days to hear your voice." "Please, Vishakha." "There's nobody in your house, what's the hurry?" "My father-in-law returns tomorrow Say what you want to him." "I haven't waited so long to speak with him." "He doesn't care about me." "I can't stand here chatting with a stranger." "A stranger!" "That's good!" "I'm a married woman." " l know." "It was the first piece of news I got upon my return." "That you had married Paravasu." "I was shaken." "But it was silly of me not to have expected it." "10 years is a long time and 10 years of silence is longer still." "Can't we just talk?" "10 years ago I swore that I wouldn't ever look at another woman." "I have kept my word." " That time is past now." "I don't regret it." "But surely I still have the right to say." "Put your pot down and talk to me for a while, please..." "Vishakha, after 10 years in solitude, I am hungry for words." "They say you pleased Indra so much he granted you Universal Knowledge." "I'm not worthy of exchanging words with such a learned man." "Universal knowledge!" "How good that sounds!" "Now, it looks funny." "But, it's true, I did go looking for some such grandiose thing." "You put it so simply in that one sentence." "So beautifully." "You go to the jungle to do penance." "You stand in a circle of fire." "Your austerities force the Gods to grant your wish, and it's yours!" "Universal Knowledge!" "Victory!" "But it wasn't like that at all." "Leeches, beetles, the relentless heat." "Not demons, but poisonous snakes to terrorise me!" "Life in the jungle is hell." "But you got what you wanted." "I don't know." "When God appears, you'd expect something earth-shaking." "A concrete experience. lndubitable." "I think Indra came to me several times, but I was never certain." "I don't know how long l sat there Another year, perhaps two..." "He appeared again, another trite exchange of words..." "You can't master knowledge through austerities, Yavakri." "But that's what I want." "An ocean is just drops of water, the sun is made of rays of light." "But you want the entire ocean and the whole sun, fully formed at once." "You're right, I want it all!" "Universal Knowledge!" "Here, now!" "Your obstinancy reminds me of a story." "Once a man set out riding his donkey." "Someone saw him and asked, Where are you off to, my friend?" "The man replied:" "I've lost my donkey, I'm out looking for him." "You get my point, Yavakri?" "But I won't give up." "That's your foolishness." "Then one day you returned." "Yes!" "One day I decided I had won." "So, I came back." "I can't quite remember why I arrived at that conclusion." "I guess I learned something, but I'm not really any wiser." "May be that understanding itself is wisdom, right?" "I've got a few tricks I didn't know before." " Some magic, some mantras" "You'll see for yourself soon." " Me?" "No, thank you!" "But the strangest part is, so much inside me hasn't changed at all." "Do you remember, before leaving for the jungle I came to say goodbye." "You led me to your garden, opened the knot of your blouse Pressed my face against your breasts, then you turned and fled." "The air smelled of ripe mango, and the jasmine in your hair." "10 years later, I know..." "I'm still hungry for that fragrance." "For that same fragrance... I don't believe it." "The world sings your praises, but you still have teenage fantasies." "That time is past, Yavakri." "Indra may be immortal, but my breasts hang loose now." "I was so afraid of meeting you these last 4 days." "You looked so grand as you stood there." "Now I feel sorry for you." "So you'll stay?" "The moment you said you were hungry for words, I knew I couldn't leave." "I know that hunger only too well So I should have gone away silently." "Let's go Arvasu, its getting late." "Come!" "Yes, I have to meet Yavakri too before going to your village." "Why couldn't Yavakri meet him here?" "We could go to my village from here." "He gets no peace here." "There's a stream of learned men visiting him." "You see?" "It's no small matter." "Don't you joke about it." "She joked?" "What did she say?" "I only said, whatever did Yavakri spend 10 years in the jungle for?" "He was seeking God." "So he mortified himself, fasted, meditated, prayed." "Did he tell you all this?" "Stupid!" "Such a man would never talk about himself!" "Yavakri has attained knowledge not from mortals but from Indra, direct." "And I have waited for the day my Yavakri would come home triumphant." "But why are these Brahmins so secretive about everything they do?" "Oh God!" "She's in the mood to argue again!" "And if Indra himself appeared, why didn't Yavakri ask for rain?" "He's their rain god, isn't he?" "You should see our parched village." "Every morning, my father gives food to shriveled old people." "Women come with wailing babies and shrunken, hungry children." "Father says, all the land needs is a couple of good showers to revive." "Land will come alive again." "It'll give us food." "That's what I'd have asked for." "But it's said such powers shouldn't be used to solve everyday problems." "They're meant for inner knowledge" " Then what use is that power?" "Ask Yavakri." "He'll tell you He's a good man." "I want to ask him just 2 questions." "Can he make it rain?" "And does he know when he will die?" "Hey, guess what animal this is!" "I know, a bison!" "Yes!" "A bison!" "They say an actor shouldn't imitate, he should embody the essence." "This means I have captured the essence of a bison in my body." "You don't need to try." "You were born with it." "That's why the hunter-girls love me so!" "Let's go!" "Let's go." "Don't go yet, Vishakha" "Have I gone?" "I'm still here." "You're a fool, Yavakri and you talk like one." "Don't touch me!" "You want to hit me?" "Go ahead." "It isn't good to hurry so." "It's not you I'm worried about, it's this water." "You're hungry for words, so am I" "Come, sit beside me" "Yavakri, it's so good to call someone a fool, to hold him close... I live in a barren, wordless hermitage, like a she-devil" "You went away, and I was married off..." "You didn't want to marry me, I know" "But don't worry." "For one year I will make you very happy" "In that year, he gave me such bliss Paravasu's love filled all my world" "Love has showered on us so#" "My whole being and yours as well." "Are saturated to their core." "As if into a sea of dreams, My whole being and yours as well." "Dissolve like streams." "Love has showered on us so." "My eyes, lit up with inner fire Speak of love and of desire." "I feel lighter than a flower, Thirst of many lifetimes quenched." "All chains are shattered, fists unclenched." "My whole being and yours as well, Have broken from their prison cell." "Then, on the first day of the second year of our marriage, he said to me." "Now we begin our quest" "The moon's to be your journey's fruit." "The path of love's the only route." "That path's the chosen one for me." "I leave behind all modesty." "Love spans the brook of modesty." "My whole being and yours as well." "Have crossed the bridge and wander free." "Love has showered on us so." "Then one day he was invited to become Chief Priest and he left." "The site of the sacrifice isn't far, but in 7 years he's never come home." "Yavakri!" "I will give you knowledge which even the gods cannot" "Talking with you has freed my heart and my body" "If we're late, the elders will be angry." "You can meet Yavakri later I won't be long, Nittillai." "You know the bitterness between our families." "All right." "But there's no one here" "I can't see anyone." "Let's go, everyone's waiting in the village" "Our water pot!" "Has sister-in-law forgotten to take it back?" "No one leaves a full pot of water behind these days" "That's true" "They say there's a panther about What if he's attacked..." "No sign of a panther here, or any other animal that big" "She must be here somewhere Should I go and look?" "No need. I see it all very clearly These footprints are hers for sure" "And look, she's set the pot down carefully without spilling a drop" "And then..." "Arvasu, is your brother back?" "Paravasu?" "Of course not." "How can he leave the sacrifice?" "Let's go, then" " But what about sister-in-law?" "She's fine, let's go" "Nittillai, I can't leave her behind like this." "Let me go see" "I'll take this home" "Some people put the treacherous viper to shame" "Aren't you the one who asked Andhaka if I knew when I'd die?" "How do you know that?" "True, I don't know when I'll die" "But I can tell you this." "You'll be dead within a month" "Arvasu, I'm going home" "Nittillai!" "Wait for me I'll see you at the cliff side cave" "Where were you?" "Fetching water" "Father!" "I didn't know you were returning home today I didn't, either" "But perhaps I should give the two of you more such surprises" "Wait!" "She went to fetch water, and you carry it back." "Strange!" "What's going on here?" "And you look like a buffalo that's been rolling in mud" "How did you get so filthy?" " l became dizzy and fell down" "And Arvasu turned up at that very moment!" "How convenient!" "Why did it take you two so long?" "Who else was there?" "Nittillai was there!" "The two of us were together, father" "But was she alone, or was there someone with her, too?" "No!" "No one" "You thought of the savage girl fast enough." "But now you need a cue, eh?" "Tell me, Who else was there?" "Nobody!" "She was dizzy, she fell so I helped her." "Let me go..." "Want to run away, do you?" "Fine, but where will she go?" "You wretch!" "Tell me who was there!" "No...father...no... I'll get the truth, even if I have to kill her for it" "Stop, father, please!" " l know what to do with this bitch" "Let him go, Arvasu" "Yes, somebody else was there Yavakri!" "And he had come to see me" "Whore!" "You two-bit whore!" "I could reduce you to a fistful of ashes with one curse" "But no." "Let that husband of yours handle you" "Paravasu, Chief Priest of the Great Fire Sacrifice!" "Let him clean up his own shit" "Yavakri, you reptile!" "So this is your 10 years' penance!" "Now we confront each other - You and me" "No." "Arvasu!" "Bring me that water pot" "No, please have mercy!" "This is all Yavakri's..." "No, no!" "It's my fault!" "Don't harm Yavakri, I beg you!" "Vishakha, go and tell your lover that I accept his challenge I shall invoke the 'Kritya'... a spell that will send a demon soul after him" "If he wants to live, let him hide inside his father's hermitage I won't desecrate my brother's home with Yavakri's blood" "If he escapes and I'm defeated, I'll give myself up to the fire" "Arvasu, we must warn Yavakri" "Go to your uncle's hermitage, tell Andhaka not to let him out of there" "But he's at the cliff side cave - l'll go there, meanwhile you hurry" "But I have to go to Nittillai's village to meet the elders... I've never asked anything of you Do me this one favour, please go" "Where have you been?" "What?" "Everyone's waiting" "Arvasu will be on the way." "Where's that boy Arvasu?" "He's on his way, father Please wait a little longer" "This council ends by sunset, and you know what I think of Brahmins" "Arvasu, haven't you gone to the tribal council yet?" "I'm on my way. ls Yavakri here?" " No, he isn't, but... lf he comes, tell him not to step out." "His life's in danger" "Don't move from here." "Warn him And don't let anyone else enter" "Yes, but..." " l have to go I'll check on sister-in-law, then go to Nittillai's village" "Village council are also waiting for me." "I'm going, Baba." "Listen..." " l have to go" "You mustn't stay here, Yavakri Go to your father's hermitage I pray you to go." "My father-in-law knows everything." "Listen to me." "He's sworn to destroy you." "Go." "He's chanting the Kritya." "He is?" "I'm flattered" "To invoke the 'Kritya' spell is to engage one's full powers lf you fail, you die." "He honours me by choosing this death for himself" "You'll only be safe in your father's hermitage." "Please go there." "Don't be afraid Vishakha, I knew he would do something like this." "You see this water?" "With it here, the Death God himself can't touch me" "But you don't need any of this!" "Just go to your father's hermitage, the demon can't kill you there" "Once you're safe, I'll happily watch that decrepit old man die" "Vishakha, you've always given me strength" "My father was one of the most learned men in the land" "But he was neglected, while his evil brother grabbed all the honours" "This is no time for grievances" " Grievances!" "At least say 'hatred'" "My father should have been Chief Priest of the Sacrifice" "But that honour too, went to your husband Paravasu" "Do we have to discuss this now?" " Every insult throbs in my veins" "Now it's time to show the world what my father's son is capable of" "Where is that demon?" "What's he waiting for?" "Look, if anything happens to you I'll never forgive myself" "Go home, Yavakri." "Please" "Are you mad?" "You want me to run away?" "The fire of hatred drives me And I won't let it be doused I've challenged them" " Challenged?" "Of course." "You think it was chance?" "Arvasu finding us there, your father-in-law returning early... I did it all" " Stop, Yavakri I don't want to hear any more lt's my fault. I should never have let myself succumb to you lt's good you yielded, or else I'd have had to take you by force" "Enough, Yavakri!" "This is the moment I've waited for all my life" "Your father-in-law will die." "Let's see what your husband does then" "Will he commit sacrilege?" "Leave the altar to face me?" "I'll squeeze Paravasu's balls so hard he won't even be able to whimper I'm sorry, Vishakha I've always loved you" "It's not my fault that you married Paravasu" "Oh, God!" "I was so happy this morning" "You were so good, so warm" "How life turns upside down, Yavakri in one instant" "Where's that shadow puppet demon?" "My sanctified water is waiting" "Vishakha, what are you doing?" "That water is my life!" "Stop!" "The water!" "All I need is a drop of water!" "You devil!" "I trusted you" "Get up!" "Men should not aspire to be like the gods" "Run, Yavakri." "Now!" "Who's that?" "Stop, you can't come in Who are you?" "Yavakri!" "Child!" "Why didn't I recognise your steps?" "I knew Arvasu wouldn't come He's humiliated me before everyone" "That Brahmin did exactly what I had expected him to do" "I will marry this daughter of mine to anyone who will take her" "Father!" "I'll marry Nittillai!" "And I promise I'll keep her happy, very happy." "You can have her Prepare for the wedding!" "Arvasu!" "What took you so long?" "But your father said I must get here before sundown, so I..." "The council is over" " What!" "Nittillai is marrying someone else You can't enter the village now" "How many times should I tell you, Nittillai's wedding is fixed." "Go away" "Arvasu, it's very late." "Why are you still hanging around?" "Go home" "What's the use of going home?" "Please ask your father to listen to me." "Just once, I beg you" "The elders waited all day You didn't come." "Yes, but I'm not to blame." "I was coming." "Sure, I've heard your story." " But listen!" "I saw Yavakri running." "His life was in danger. I ran after him..." "You told me that already." "But he was lying in a pool of blood I had to perform the funeral rites." "Yes, that might be." " But I was here before sunset!" "I know father was a bit hasty, but nothing can change now." "You must go." "I'll stay right here!" "Let me meet Nittillai, just once..." "Nittilai, Arvasu is still sitting there." "Even now?" " Yes." "Ask him to go home, for my sake." "Nittillai wants you to leave, Arvasu, for her sake." "She can't meet you." "You don't know our father's wrath Do you want him to kill Nittillai?" "I just want to say..." " Go away, or else!" "Nittillai wants you to leave, for her sake." "Do you want him to kill Nittillai?" "Open your soul to the beat of the dhol." "Hear the drum-roll, and dance." "The pulsing beat, the tapping feet, Come on, my sweet, and dance." "We cross the river, and I, entranced." "Make a necklace for you of my arms." "Today I belong to you." "I'm a peahen to your peacock." "I'm a boat and you're the river." "My heart's a-tremor, steady me." "There's a net on my being, like bark on a tree." "Come, make me free." "Teach this peahen how to dance." "Come to me!" "May the golden sun shine, And clouds pour nectar." "May your garden never be bare." "I'm a trembling deer eyes wide with fright." "Unless we're together through day and night." "I'm the lightning, you're the cloud." "You a buzzing bee, I'm the flower proud." "Come to me." "Who's there?" "It's me, father, Paravasu" "Paravasu?" "That's not possible" "I seek your blessing, father" " What are you doing here?" "This isn't right!" "There's a whole month before the sacrifice ends!" "I felt like coming home" " Felt?" "And you just walked out?" "Maybe they threw you out, hearing of your wife's escapade with Yavakri" "The news is everywhere But they haven't removed me lf l get back before dawn, no one will even know" "No one will even know?" "The Chief Priest sneaks out of the Royal Sacrifice like a thief" "And no one will know?" "The gods will know, and they will take revenge" "How could I have fathered two such imbeciles?" "I told the king:" "My no-good son will shit on your sacrifice" "His Majesty often says you should have been the Chief Priest" "But it was a 7-year rite, they thought a younger man safer" "Tell his #Majesty# this, 7 years have passed, and I'm still alive I shall live long enough to cremate my own sons" "The sight of my daughter-in-law's luscious body keeps me in good shape I want to speak with Vishakha" " You and your wife disgust me I'm going out" " Alone?" "It's dangerous outside at night Arvasu will go with you" "The real danger isn't from wild beasts, it's from humans lf you want to be alone with your wife, send that fool elsewhere" "I bow to you, elder brother" "God bless you." "How are you?" " l'm all right" "Hope I didn't disturb your sleep" " Not at all" "Of course!" "Theatre-lovers like you are quite used to late nights" "There have been no plays for ages" "But I say:" "Once my brother finishes the sacrifice, everyone will return" "Then you can show off your acting" "Me?" "I haven't acted these 7 years, since you forbade me I told you not to act?" "Long ago - before you went away, you saw me dancing with a troupe" "You said:" "If you value your Brahminhood, never step on stage" "So I've given up the theatre" "You took a small remark so seriously You shouldn't have obeyed me I could never disobey you" " Then you should have asked again" "But you'd have given the same reply" "True." "But if you repeat the same question and answer over and over" "Eventually you create a new universe of meanings, more acceptable to you" "I'll be on the blackberry hill Call if you need me" "How are you?" "I get news of you sometimes I suppose you're well?" "Or do you still drive yourself to madness like a demon?" "I was sure you wouldn't come, even if I was on my deathbed" "But my disrepute was enough to bring you running here" "Yavakri and you!" "How alike you both are" "You both left when it suited you Indra!" "As if he's the ultimate end" "Will you come back once the sacrifice is over?" "No!" "I suppose that would be too human" "But what's wrong with being human?" "Wanting to be happy together..." "Like you and I were" "Your Indra has looted my happiness" "I know, I should be silent" "My silence, then your silence!" "I'm sick of these silences!" "Do me a favour before you go" "I submit to you as a devoted wife" "You want me to shoot you?" "At last you ask a question!" "I'll tell you why" "There's 3 of us in this house Arvasu lives in his own world" "And your father..." "Since you became Chief Priest, he's been wracked by two emotions" "A sense of humiliation, and lust!" "An old man's twisted lust!" "And whom can he vent it on?" "Me!" "At least for that moment Yavakri made me forget..." "Listen, he's coming back!" "Kill me now!" "Murder's the one experiment you haven't tried." "Maybe that's your way to Indra" "You're still right." "And you have a lot to teach me" "You're still my Guru." "What have you done?" "Now you'll never know if what I said was true" "You didn't need to say a word Father had to die" "He only killed Yavakri to disturb my concentration as the sacrifice ends I had to stop him before he went any further." "is that what you came for?" "No, there's something else" "Your sinews are twisted like ropes Tell me." "What's bothering you?" "I don't know. I couldn't sit at the altar..." "I came home" "We must perform father's funeral" "What's the matter?" "Oh, my God!" "It's father!" "What happened to him?" "I mistook him for a wild animal" "How can that be?" "Do something!" "Look, his eyelids are still moving..." "Quiet!" "There's no time to howl I have to return to the sacrifice before anyone finds out" "But there's blood on your hands" "That has to be washed." "These same hands must complete the sacrifice I must atone for father's death, but you'll have to do it instead, Arvasu" "Don't do it, Arvasu." "He killed his father, let him atone for it" "Don't you get involved" " But he must finish the sacrifice" "Damn the sacrifice!" "There's been enough bloodshed You live your own life" "Perform the rites carefully, Arvasu Every detail has to be right" "Bless me, brother." "God bless you." "It's the demon himself!" "How did you recognise me?" " Where else could you go?" "Help me, please l don't help anyone" "I beg you." "You're my only hope" "Hope of what?" "Of salvation!" "Release from this cursed existence" "Your father gave me a new life That makes us brothers, right?" "I don't need more brothers One is enough" "But you have no choice I was locked in nothingness." "Your father plucked me out to kill Yavakri I didn't want to, but I did his bidding l hoped to get salvation along with this new life" "You should've asked my father for salvation" "Yes, I would have" "But you killed him before he could honour his promise" "Now you have to do his job" "My brother, I want Salvation ....." "Deliverance." "Yavakri wanted Universal Knowledge, you ask for the final release" "People's demands are escalating I'm not interested in your salvation." "I know my duties." "Begone!" "Be warned, no unnatural spirit can enter the sacred enclosure" "Remember, Paravasu lt's not so easy to get rid of a brother... brother!" "What happened?" "Arvasu is here I'd like to say goodbye." "May I?" "Go." "But come back soon.-Yes." "What have you done to yourself?" "I've just finished my father's last rites" "Your father!" "Oh, God!" "And Andhaka baba too..." "Our whole world is collapsing, Nittillai" "What should I do?" "Be brave." "You still have your brother, your sister-in-law..." "Sister-in-law has gone..." "I don't know where" "Go to the city, to your brother Paravasu" "They feed Brahmins at the sacrifice, don't they?" "Once it's over, you can come back with Paravasu" "You're right" "I have to go now" "Be happy" "You!" "Who, me?" " Yes you!" "Who are you?" "I'm your... I'm the son of sage Raibhya" "My father is dead. I've completed his last rites, and the expiation." "Why the expiation?" "Because... he was killed" "At whose hands?" "At the hands of his son" "He has killed his father!" "He's a sinner" "He's not a Brahmin, he's a demon Remove him from this sacred place" "Brother!" "What's this?" "What have I done?" "Leave me, what're you doing?" "What sin have I committed?" "Why are you doing this?" "Let me go!" "Brother!" "Why?" "Why're you doing this?" "As a sacrifice nears completion, demons come to disrupt it" "We must identify them and we must be on our guard" "Brother!" "Why're you doing like this?" "What's the matter, Siddhi?" "Why are you crying?" "Its Arvasu!" "Paravasu's guards have beaten him almost to death" "Paravasu?" "But how is that possible?" "What has he done?" "Where is Arvasu?" "I was outside the poorhouse, I saw them throw him in there I must go to him!" "If you go, the tribe will hunt and kill you." "Where's your husband?" "He's out with his friends,But I can't wait, I must go save Arvasu at any cost." "It's all my fault, Siddhi I sent Arvasu to his brother" "I'm leaving" " Take care, Nittillai" "No....no..." "Nittillai, we heard what happened Don't be afraid, come with us..." "Come." "Hey, give me a hand!" "Everything will be alright." "Get up." "Slowly..." "Hold this..." "Carry him." "Carefully...." "Carefully...." "Your sorrow's embers smoulder still, Your mind is tense, your body ill" "The cruel world has wounded you" "You're lost before the burning sun But now we're two where you were one I'll give you shade and solace too" "How is he now?" " Much better." "He'll recover I worry for Nittilai She won't leave his side" "The touch of love is like a balm That turns a tortured person calm lt softly douses sorrow's flame Or cools it down and makes it tame" "Each moment while you were alone Was like a sip of bitter brew" "But now we're two where you were one I'll give you shade and solace too" "Looks like I've found my new actor" "You and your play!" "I fear for them." "Two different castes, how will they manage?" "Anything's possible during a famine, but what a girl she is... I wish her well" "Don't ever leave me I won't, I promise" "Eat something" "You look so beautiful" "All these patterns on your face Like a bride!" "It's days since you ate anything" "But how come you're here?" "I've run away" "From your husband?" "Yes" "Why?" "Didn't you like him?" "He was very nice, always smiling l could have been happy with him" "But I heard what they did to you, I couldn't bear it. I came running" "Yes!" "Paravasu!" "Why did he do that to me?" "It's all right." "Eat..." " Soldiers pounced on me" "Tore off my sacred thread I kept screaming:" "Brother!" "Why?" "Quiet now, you'll wake the children" "Did he think I had married you?" "That I had become a low-caste actor?" "No, I clearly remember, he said, Out!" "Demon!" "Throw him out!" "Hush now" "I worshipped my brother and he betrayed me" "I let you down, but you've risked everything for my sake" "It must be days since you left home" "Don't you know your tribes They must be hunting for you I was waiting for you to wake I thought once you're stronger..." "Nittillai, I think I'll try to see my brother again I want to know why he did that to me" "And after you know?" "I want revenge!" "From all of them!" "It's a conspiracy, now I get it." "It's because I wanted to marry you and reject my caste." "First Yavakri dies... then Father..." "Andhaka... corpses drenched in blood!" "But Paravasu is alive He's the one behind it all" "You're talking nonsense!" " You don't know a thing!" "Tribals do small-time witchcraft But Brahmins!" "They can tear apart the earth's bowels to call forth awful demons lf such an evil man is Chief Priest it will rain blood in the end!" "But you're doing the same thing!" "All the rest of them wanted revenge Now you want the same thing" "Leave it to their gods now" " Should I sit here like a coward?" "Better that than becoming like them I'm already a murderer to the world" "Kick that world aside!" "You're my Arvasu, that's enough" "All right, go to Paravasu I don't want you to think I made you run away like a coward" "Am I going mad?" "Get some rest now" "What was that?" "Nothing serious, I hope" "He just woke up..." "We were talking, that's all" "Fine, you get some sleep, child." "How long will you stay awake?" "Sleep." "Dry it in sun." "Done?" "Have you added the herbs?" " Yes, let him eat it hot" "Don't give him too much Let him go easy for now" "He's on empty stomach." "He shouldn't drink much." "Leave it." "Our patient looks better today" "Yes, all thanks to you" " Not me, it's all Nittillai's magic" "We're lucky you came looking for us l am lucky, you are plucky You are lucky, I am plucky..." "Sleep...sleep." "Those who're lucky needn't be plucky" "And those who are plucky, needn't be lucky!" "Now you've found your actor friends, sing and dance as much as you want I'll go and find something to eat, then we'll be off" "I'll be right back..." "I'll come back." "What's the hurry, wait!" "Get fruits on the way." "She's a good girl Don't ever hurt her I'll never hurt her." "Soon we'll leave this town." "What will you do?" "We came to perform a play for the sacrifice." "But this town's unlucky I had an actor, he took our donkey and vanished in the jungle one day I think we'll leave with you" "I can act in your play" "Silly boy, you're no actor You're a high-caste Brahmin I'm not a Brahmin!" "Watch me" "Watch me." "Enough Arvasu, you'll tire yourself" "What happened?" "What happened?" "I saw them!" " Who?" "My brother and my husband" "They're here!" "What shall we do now?" "Don't worry, I'm a master of disguise I'll change you so completely, you'll be invisible" "Hunters don't need to see their quarry, they can smell it" "One thing is for sure." "You must stay here where they can see you lf they think I'm still here, I'll get a chance to escape" "Escape?" " But where will you go?" "I'll hide in the jungle ln jungle alone!" "Lonely!" "I won't let you go alone" "Do you want them to hunt me down and kill me like an animal?" "I'm scared, Arvasu I don't want to die yet" "Don't cry." "Go if you must But what should I do?" "Why do you keep asking me?" "Why don't you decide, for once?" "But..." "I was just..." "Act in my show!" "I just watched him He dances like a celestial being" "With him, I could stage a play truly worthy of the sacrifice" "Arvasu, you must stay here to save Nittillai, right?" "Yes" "This is the best way. I even have a play ready, The Triumph of Lord Indra lt's about the battle between Lord Indra and the demon Vritra I bet Arvasu will play Vritra!" "All that thumping and roaring... I never know whether you're going to laugh or cry next" "He'll have to be the demon, because I will be Indra!" "Wait, I'll get the masks" "But Paravasu will never agree" " He will I know how to make him I've explained it to the actor" "Then what holds you back?" "You've always wanted to act - l'm afraid, Nittillai" "Afraid of Paravasu?" "Face your brother, Arvasu Not with hate, but with your talent" "The play will wash away your anger" "Nittillai, can't you come and watch me act?" "I wish I could But it will be dangerous I wish you could..." "Concentrate on your rehearsals." "I'm sure your dance will bring the rain" "And then I promise I'll be there" "Here is the mask of Vritra The demon's face" "Pray to it, become one with it." "But don't let it get control over you I'll go give Paravasu your message" "I trust you won't stop me now" "Let's have the play We shall all watch" "You?" "But Arvasu said..." "Why did you come you here?" "I had to see Arvasu What will happen now?" "You stay here" "Hide behind me" "I am Indra" "King of all the Gods" "Then why am I not supreme in all the three worlds?" "Alas, my father Brahma fell in love with a mortal woman" "And so was born my brother, Vishwa" "He is the King of Men" "All the world praises his wisdom and goodness" "Everyone loves him" "So much so, that it's a threat to my power over the world I must destroy him!" "But how?" "For my father also mated with a woman from the nether world" "And produced Vritra!" "He told Vritra Protect your brother Vishwa" "Guard him, even if it costs your life" "Because Indra..." "That's me Indra will try and kill him Now these two are inseparable" "I tempted them with celestial beauties but they didn't fall for it" "Oh, what shall I do?" "Aha!" "I shall hold a fire sacrifice in honour of our father Brahma" "And invite Vishwa to participate" "I bow to you, elder brother" "Vishwa, I'm holding a sacrifice in honour of Brahma" "You must attend - indeed I shall, elder brother" "Vishwa, you may enter, but Vritra cannot" "He's a demon, he can't enter this sacred space" "But he is Brahma's son too Surely our brother is a Brahmin" "No!" "His mother was a demoness Demon blood flows in his veins" "He can't come in." "Okay." "Whatever you say, brother" "Vritra, wait outside" "Brother, I was born to protect you" "Take me with you Indra is a treacherous villain" "They say:" "Never trust the gods!" "I cannot disobey our elder brother I must go alone" "As you wish" "Brother, why?" "I trusted you" "No!" "This is all wrong I didn't mean to hurt him. I was afraid.." "I had to complete the sacrifice." "I saw a face emerge from the flames Was it mine, or Arvasu's?" "I don't know what happened I heard myself ask, Who are you?" "A river of blood flowing from the sacrificial altar!" "More treachery!" "Another murder!" "Indra!" "You can't escape me I'll grind your sinful sacrifice into the dust" "Hey, not there!" "Someone stop him, for God's sake" "Do something, Chief Priest I'm a Brahmin." "Whoever kills me will be cursed with damnation" "Get lost." "I'm a demon, too. I'll destroy anyone who comes near me" "The mask has come alive!" "Stop him!" "Paravasu, only you can tell us what to do" "Forgive me, your Majesty This is all my fault" "Nittillai, come back." "Get away from here." "I don't know what came over me He sat there unafraid, while I..." "Let's get out of here" "Let her go!" "Let her go." "Leave me...." "This is all my fault" "Forgive me, Nittillai" "The fire didn't take me alone, perhaps it will accept us together" "Arvasu, son!" "Do not grieve so" "The gods are pleased with you Ask any boon, it shall be granted" "Who are you?" "You question the gods?" "I am Indra" "We admired your performance" "As much as we admired Paravasu's sacrifice and Nittillai's humanity" "You humans can interpret the actions of the gods as you please" "But the fact is, we are here and You can ask for anything you want" "Rain..." "Arvasu, rain!" "I want Nittillai back I killed my sweet, gentle Nittillai Please give her back to me" "Arvasu, it is no great matter to bring Nittillai back to life" "But once the Wheel of Time rolls back" "No one knows where it will stop." "Besides..." "All those who were alive before will return to life" "Your father Raibhya," "Paravasu, Yavakri..." "Fine!" "Let the world be as it was" "But then, won't the whole tragedy repeat itself?" "Everyone will have to endure the same suffering all over again" "Lord, I have been an ignorant fool My stupidity has caused all this" "But I'm wiser now I'll stop it from happening again" "You really believe that?" " Yes" "All right, then..." "Arvasu!" "Save me!" "Who's that?" "Me, your brother Rakshasa..." "the demon" "Your father invoked me to kill Yavakri I did my duty, but I'm still suspended between life and death" "What do you want?" "Salvation!" "Release from this bondage" "You must ask Indra for my release I can't bear the torment" "Please help me, Arvasu." "Release from the bondage." "Did you hear that Lord Indra?" "Could you grant him release?" "Arvasu, if you want Nittillai to live the Wheel of Time must roll back" "But it must roll forward if you want the demon to get his release" "You must choose now whether it rolls forward or backward" "You heard that, demon?" "There's nothing I can do." "Yes." "And when Nittillai comes back, what will you tell her?" "Will you say, a wretched soul is in eternal agony for her sake?" "Nittillai always helped you She'd have helped me, too" "She cared for other people, and would have accepted me as a brother" "You think she would want my soul to be damned, so she can live?" "If she's reborn, every moment of her life my screams will torture her Indra's boon will become a curse for Nittillai." "Lord, grant this demon his release" "You're sure you want that?" "Nittillai would have wanted it so" "Then, so be it!" "Look, Nittillai. its raining Just like you said it would..."