Malavikagnimitram (5 page)

Enter Kaushiki's attendant.

PARABHRITIKA
: Sister Kaushiki ordered me, ‘Go and fetch some sweet limes
⁴⁶
so I can present them to the queen.' I'll find Madhukarika, keeper of the royal garden.
(
Moving around and looking.
) There she is, staring at a golden ashoka tree. I'll go to her . . .

Enter Madhukarika.

PARABHRITIKA
: Madhukarika, are you happy tending the garden?

MADHUKARIKA
: Oh, Parabhritika, welcome, my friend!

PARABHRITIKA
: Friend, the Sister said, ‘People like me shouldn't greet the noble queen with empty hands. I should bring her some sweet limes.'

MADHUKARIKA
: Of course, the sweet limes are right here. Tell me, after seeing the performance of the competing dance masters, which one did Sister Kaushiki like?

PARABHRITIKA
: Both were scholarly and skilled in performance, but Ganadasa was judged better. It was his student's special talents.

MADHUKARIKA
: So what's this gossip I hear about Malavika?

PARABHRITIKA
: Well, the king is totally in love with her, but to spare the queen's feelings he doesn't come out with it. And now poor Malavika looks like a garland of withering jasmine, put on and rejected. That's all I know. I should go.

MADHUKARIKA
: Take this ripe sweet lime hanging from the branch.

PARABHRITIKA
(
gesturing to take it
): Ah, I hope you get a nicer fruit than this for helping a nun.
(
Starts to go.
)

MADHUKARIKA
: We'll go together, friend. I have to ask the queen about the needs
⁴⁷
of this golden ashoka tree which is late to bloom.

PARABHRITIKA
: Right, that's your duty.

Exit.

END INTRODUCTORY SCENE

Enter the love-struck king, and his counsellor.

AGNIMITRA
(
looking at himself
):
The body may thin
without the pleasure of a beloved's embrace,
eyes may fill with tears
when they fail to see her for a moment
but my dear heart, you're never separated
from her deer-like eyes.
Why do you suffer
when you have this ultimate happiness?
⁴⁸
//1//

GAUTAMA
: Don't lose strength and whine, your majesty. I saw Malavika's favourite maid Bakulavalika and gave her your message.

AGNIMITRA
: And what did she say?

GAUTAMA
: She said, ‘Tell the king I'm honoured, but the queen watches over the poor girl like a snake protecting its treasure. It won't be easy, but I'll try my best.'

AGNIMITRA
: Oh, great God of Love, you've bound me to an unattainable object! You cause me such pain, I cannot bear this longing.
(
Astonished
)

O Manmatha, what a difference there is
between the tortures of my heart
and your sure-fire
⁴⁹
bow.
I see in you what is both gentle and cruel. //2//

GAUTAMA
: But I've laid out a plan, my lord, so rest easy.

AGNIMITRA
: But how do I pass the rest of the day when my mind ignores official duty?

GAUTAMA
: My lord, earlier today Iravati offered you a gift of red ashoka blossoms as a token of spring's arrival, and sent a message through Nipunika about her wishes for the new spring: ‘I want to enjoy relaxing on a swing with my lord.' You promised her the same, so let's go to the pleasure garden.

AGNIMITRA
: This isn't right.

GAUTAMA
: But why?

AGNIMITRA
: Women are naturally intuitive, my friend. Even with all my caressing, how will she not see that my heart is given to another?

Though it's a genuine request,
it's best to refuse her.
Rather than pretending to be polite,
I can find many reasons
to reject such vain women,
for whom I have even less affection than before! //3//

GAUTAMA
: My lord, you shouldn't dispense with all the women of the harem in one go.

AGNIMITRA
(
thinking
): Then lead the way to the pleasure garden.

GAUTAMA
: This way, this way, my lord.
Both move around.

GAUTAMA
: Here is the pleasure garden, my lord. Blossom-tips swaying in the breeze invite you in. Do enter, my lord.

AGNIMITRA
(
gesturing the pleasure of touch
): He's so sympathetic. Look, my friend . . .

With the sweet call of cuckoos in love
Spring tenderly bids me
to endure the pains of passion.
The southern breeze on my arm,
fragrant with mango blossoms,
like the soft touch of his palms. //4//

GAUTAMA
: Come, come in and relax.

Both enter.

Take a good look, my friend. Clearly the lady of this place wants to seduce you, my lord. She wears spring blossoms that shame even a young girl's dress.

AGNIMITRA
: Indeed, I'm taking it all in . . .
⁵⁰

The bright red ashoka outshines the crimson lac
on their full red lips like bimba fruit.
The green, yellow and orange hues of the kurabaka,
⁵¹
and the black bees
hovering around tilaka flowers
surpass their decorated brows
and collyrium-painted eyes—
as if nature's bounty was mocking these women
as they try to adorn their faces. //4//

Both enjoy the garden's splendour. Enter Malavika in despair.

MALAVIKA
: I'm so embarrassed with myself. I love the king, but who knows his heart? How do I find the courage to tell my friend about this? How long will Love subject me to this incurable agony? (
Taking a few steps
) But oh, where am I going?
(
Thinking
) Oh yes, the queen said: ‘Malavika, it's Gautama's fault I fell from the swing and hurt my foot. You must take care of the golden ashoka. If it blooms in five nights
(
sighing heavily
) then I'll give you a gift that will fulfil your desire.' First, I'll go to the exact spot. And Bakulavalika will follow behind with ornaments for my feet. Until then, let me take a shameless moment to be sad.
(
Walks around.
)

GAUTAMA
(
watching
): Ah ha! Here's some molasses for those rum-drinking woes!

AGNIMITRA
: Oh, what's this?

GAUTAMA
: Why, it's Malavika! She's not far off, all alone, simply
⁵²
dressed and looking sad.

AGNIMITRA
(
with excitement
): Are you sure it's Malavika?

GAUTAMA
: Absolutely!

AGNIMITRA
: And so my soul finds sustenance.

My dejected heart skipped a beat
⁵³
when I heard my precious was near,
like a thirsty traveller finding water
by the call of woodland
⁵⁴
cranes. //6//

So where is she?

GAUTAMA
: There, she's coming from that row of trees. And it looks like she's turning this way.

AGNIMITRA
: I see her, my friend!

Broad hips, thin waist, full breasts and bright
⁵⁵
eyes—
my very life is coming! //7//

But, friend, her disposition seems different now than it was before.

She's modestly adorned, her cheeks pale as reed stalks
like an oleander vine
ripe with spring leaves but only a few flowers. //8//

GAUTAMA
: Could it be, that like your majesty, she too suffers from the wounds of love?

AGNIMITRA
: Only friendship sees it so.

MALAVIKA
: Waiting for a gentle bloom, this flowerless ashoka reflects my longing for love. I'll rest on this stone seat in the cool shade and wait.

GAUTAMA
: Did you hear that, your majesty? She said ‘I'm in love.'

AGNIMITRA
: Your logic isn't enough to convince me.

This Malaya
⁵⁶
breeze,
carrying the pollen of amaranth flowers
and dewdrops from soft, unfolding petals,
arouses my longing without even a reason. //9//

Malavika sits.

AGNIMITRA
: Come here, friend, let's hide behind the creepers.

GAUTAMA
: I suspect Iravati is near as well.

AGNIMITRA
: But once he's seen the lotus, an elephant pays no heed to the crocodile.
(
Stands looking out
)

MALAVIKA
: O heart, quit this impossible desire. Why torture me?

Gautama looks at the king.

AGNIMITRA
(
to himself
): My dear, look at love's perversion.

You speak not the cause of your longing,
nor does reason reveal the truth,
but even then, my beauty,
I take myself as the object of your lament. //10//

GAUTAMA
: Things will clear up now. I gave Bakulavalika your love message, and isn't that her approaching this secluded spot?

AGNIMITRA
: Does she remember my request?

GAUTAMA
: How could a servant girl forget your important message? I still remember it all.

Enter Bakulavalika holding an anklet.

BAKULAVALIKA
: How are you, my friend?

MALAVIKA
: O Bakulavalika, welcome friend! Sit down.

BAKULAVALIKA
(
sitting down
): Truly, my dear, you've been appointed by the queen because of your beauty.
⁵⁷
Give me your foot so I can decorate it with an anklet and red lac.

MALAVIKA
(
to herself
): O heart, don't get excited by such praise. How do I get out of this? I could just die!
⁵⁸

BAKULAVALIKA
: Why do you hesitate? The queen is very worried that the golden ashoka won't bloom.

AGNIMITRA
: So this is all about the ashoka tree!

GAUTAMA
: What?! Don't you know that the queen only makes her dress up for a reason?

MALAVIKA
(
extending her foot
): Forgive me, my friend.

BAKULAVALIKA
: My dear, you are like my own body. (
Decorates her foot with gestures
.)

AGNIMITRA
:
Look, my friend, at the fresh red streak
smeared on my beloved's toes,
like the first blooming blossoms
on the tree of Love that Hara burnt.
⁵⁹
//11//

GAUTAMA
: A fine foot fit for the job.

AGNIMITRA
: Well said!

With her bright nails,
and red toes like tender new sprouts
this young beauty is ready to strike two things—
the unflowered ashoka waiting to bloom
and a lover, his head lowered
because of a recent offence. //12//

GAUTAMA
: You'll soon get a chance to give offence.

AGNIMITRA
: I'll take a brahmin's prediction.

Enter an excited Iravati with a servant.

IRAVATI
: Hey, Nipunika! I often hear ‘Infatuation is a fine ornament for a woman'. Any truth to this proverb?

NIPUNIKA
: It was a proverb, but now it's the truth!

IRAVATI
: Forget your affection for me. How did you know that my lord went to the swing pavilion?

NIPUNIKA
: By my unfailing love for you, my lady.

IRAVATI
: Stop being so gracious! Speak plainly.
⁶⁰

NIPUNIKA
: Noble Gautama, eager for spring's gifts, told me. Truly, my lady.

IRAVATI
(
fidgeting
⁶¹
): Oh, I'm wasting away with this obsession. My heart pushes me to find my husband, but my feet won't move.

NIPUNIKA
: You must go to the swing pavilion.

IRAVATI
: Oh, Nipunika, I don't see my lord.

NIPUNIKA
: Look around, my lady. The king could be hiding somewhere for a laugh. Let's sit on the stone seat under this ashoka tree wrapped in priyangu vines.

Iravati does so.

NIPUNIKA
(
moving around and keeping an eye out
): Look out, my lady. While thinking about mango shoots we've been bitten by ants!

IRAVATI
: What do you mean?

NIPUNIKA
: There's Bakulavalika adorning Malavika's foot in the shade of the ashoka tree.

IRAVATI
(
expressing doubt
): Malavika isn't allowed here.
⁶²
What do you make of this?

NIPUNIKA
: The queen fell from her swing and injured her foot so I guess she asked Malavika to look after the ashoka tree. Why else would the queen allow a servant to wear her own pair of anklets?

IRAVATI
: She's been greatly honoured indeed.

NIPUNIKA
: But why shouldn't we look for the king?

IRAVATI
: Well, dear, my mind races but my feet won't budge from this spot. I must put an end to this anxiety. (
To herself, looking at Malavika
) Though it's only natural that my heart is worried.

BAKULAVALIKA
(
pointing to Malavika's foot
): Malavika, my dear, how do you like the design I painted on your foot?

MALAVIKA
: I'm embarrassed to admire my own foot. Tell me, who taught you this art?