agli baar

Chitra, the play... the stories

I have written two flash stories as forward to the play Chitra by RedPolkaDot Productions, based on Tagore's famed play Chitrangada. The play's relevance, after about one hundred of its creation, gave me goosebumps!

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Chitra 01

Manchester.

Chitra knew they were not talking about the British City.

Tomboy.

Chitra was glad that she could beat a bully black and blue and get away only with that tag.

Chitra excelled in studies, in sports and in her school and college, got all the prizes reserved for the best all-round performance.

Wear a ghagra, dear, it’s Diwali. A saree today, it’s your Didi’s marriage.

Ma tried. So did Naani, Bua, Maasi. Papa was unconcerned, or so it seemed, till the debate arose about who will put fire to his pyre. Untimely, Chitra had to take over the Saree shop at the Navayuga junction of Jaipur. The shop soon regained its top destination status for the tourists and residents alike.

One day, Arjun, the celebrity cricketer from Rajasthan, came to her shop with his family. Sister’s marriage, they said. Arjun got bored soon, stood in a corner shadow practising and hit a glass on the counter by mistake. Chitra was behind him marvelling at his physique and style. She couldn’t prevent water from flooding the carpet, but caught the glass just in time.

Arjun smirked, outsmarting me, kid?

Chitra felt the insult deep inside her bones. She wished to be noticed for the woman she was. She prayed to her cousin, who ran a parlour…

Rest, as they say, was history; at Manipur, in the ages of Mahabharata. Born a princess, popular among her people for her abilities as a warrior, Chitrangada fell head over heels in love with Arjuna, the third Pandava, then in exile. He rebuked her, calling her a ‘boy’ and hence, unworthy of competition. She turned then to Kamadeva, the God of lust. She prayed for an exterior worthy of wooing the great archer. What happened next is what the play is all about.

Chitra 02

Sir?

The flight purser called Chitra. Half asleep, ensconced in the business class seat inside her hoodie, she looked up.

Sorry!

Chitra’s pursed lips slid a smirk at the pretty brunette. Her frame sprang open, stretched sideways, stood up.

What can I get for you, Ma’m? Hindu meal?

A IIM-MBA and five years of consulting experience later, perks and cognition in the men’s world was default.

Grow you hair longer, Chitra!

Amma had stopped telling that after she had completed her engineering.

You look like a boy, hope you do not feel like one.

Last time she lusted for a man, a batch-mate, she had to hear this. They joined the same firm and within a couple of years, she ensured that he reports to her.

Sun was direct on the window. Heat was on the rise. Chitra removed her hoodie, turned around to unwind her six hour old fatigue and who was it two rows behind her?

She squinted against the blinding rays, Arjun Mirchandani, tycoon par excellence who took over the mantle of their woollen empire when his father had a sudden demise. His business lectures inspired many, models of his transactions were the stuff of business schools. He featured in almost every mags cover page, the leader of the most followed Forty below forty. Last heard, he was a bachelor and a Casanova.

Twenty minutes later, Chitra slumped in her seat, hoodie up again. Her fifteen minutes of prep to walk upto Arjun and introduce…

Er.., I am Chitra from B&A, have been following your journey…

…went bust with the first look of annoyance she had received.

I am resting, if you don’t mind. Please?

Tony is a magician, her BFF Dharani would always say. First thing upon landing at Mumbai, she booked a slot at his Salon.

So, did Chitra in the ages of Mahabharata, in the realm of Manipur. Rebuked and let down by Arjuna, the second Pandava and the great archer, this princess prayed to Kamadeva for the lusty exterior that would melt Arjuna. What happened next, is the play all about.