y t and of

1
and
candal in Fairyl a nd

BADAL SIRCAR

Translated from the origi,nal Bengali

by Suchanda Sarkar

CALCUTTA 2003
 'Ir;lns l ~ ti 11 ~ I l in Lr It ·L ry 111 ~ L rial
©S a r tll oks, :al Ulla 200J

P fi n nan righ ts in English c ntr Ile I

by the a uth or an d th e translator

Cover design: Sunandini Ban erjee

First published 1992

Reprinted 2003

ISBN 81 7046 091 3

Published by Naveen Kishore SeaPUll Books Plivate Limited

' b
26 Circus Avenue, Calcutta 700 01 7, India

Prin ted in In dia by Rocllwel Offset

55 M irza Ghalib Street, Calcutta 700 01 6, India
 I t ts

ntr d u ti n vii
amih Baud)1opadh)1ay

Beyond the Land of Hattamala 1

(Hattamalar Oparey)

Scandal in Fairyland 39
(Roopkathar Kelenkari)
 Introduction
Bad al Sircar (b. 15 July 1925) is one of In dia's maj or play-
wrigh ts and a pioneering figure and ideologue in what has
now co1ne to be known in this country as the Third Theatre.
By the early seventies, Sircar had given up the proscenium
theau·e, and begun acting in natural and created environ-
1nen t spaces alike, in small halls where about ten backless
benches could be arranged and rearranged in different for-
mations to define and redefine the auditori'um and the act-
ing area; and in parks and open spaces almost anywhere. He
was discovering audiences never exposed to theatre. Sircar
and his s1nall theatre group, Satabdi, keep theatre out of the
co1nmercial system by refusing to advertise in the media,
and by not charging for admission (the performers would
go out at the end of a p erformance to the audience to make
a collection, and the spectators would pay whatever they
liked, usually small su1ns). The battle against the media, and
the battle against money have been battles that Sircar and
his group of dedicated, ideologically com1nitted volunteers
have been fighting from the seven ties onwards in their ver y
experi1nentation with theau·e form and idiom, in their pas-
sion for reaching out to and going right into the audience.
Perfonning on Saturday afternoons in Curzon Park, an
apology for a p ark at the heart of the city, with all kinds of
transport from ancient u·amcars to sleek limousines raising
a m addening din all around, they n eed ed a wide enough
range of 'plays for the park' .
Roophathar Kelenhari (Scandal in Fairyland) was written
in 1974, 'for the park'; a fairly close ad ap tation of a story for
viii I bad a I sir car

ch ildren written b) Pre1nendra lVIio-a (1904-88); although,

as Sircar told ine in an interview on 19 Jul} 1991 he has ne'er
written a play specifically for children because 'its so l~ard to
wri te for children . .. vVhateYer is then1atically valuable in
1n y play came from this story. The paperbo) howe\ er , a
m y improvisation . If I had written it for children I could not
h a\ e used the idiom of the popular pres so extensively.' But
wfiu-a 's m o d ern fairytale of a P1ince virtual1) created by th
Press and an ogr e made to co 1npromi e and pla had
'd ying and vanishing g ame closel; mon i tared b) 1
on ly to be exposed a t the e n d b) the Pre itself i a brillia 1
critique of the m e di a in their machi tion for n r 1
an d money. Mi tr a called h i pre baron I , c ub rrc 111
Phatkabaaj, and, sen t n eed t xile h m r I h h in1 a
'Give m e the price for my forty p r c n t. k to
th e stock m arket \! "th h
Be n gal. To th ·n 1 ut t
pieces and cl an n sm
Si rear add d , ' I m
te mples ... ·
Wh il
lf.

fo rm an ces in th ,r m
eve r yday cloth s, wi ll · ta · i l n if in h Ki g,
th e l\tlinistcr, th f fir. t · t r ' h played
Prince T hun d erb It h ad }·, r c c ' rin figur and pres-
e n ce, but wh e n h e I ft th up, h was replaced by an
actress ''ho app eare d in salwar an d kameez, her hair tucked
unde r th e collar of the kameez, an d the tag on he r back
ide ntifying her as \ ajra kumar.
Hattam alar Opari , (Bevond the Land of H attamala) wri t-
te n in 19i7 was a take-off.from H attamalar Deshey, a n ovel by
Premendra Nlitra and Leela ~1ajumdar, serialized in the chil-
dre n 's magazine Sandesh, edite d b} ralini D as and Satyajit
Ray. T h e story, with its title , spi1it a nd main char ac ters had
been conceived by Premendra Mitra,' as Ms Maj um d ar
 intr o cJu tio n I ix

.k1 wlc. lg ·s in a n t • i1 th · fifth vol 1m · f h ·r Co ll ~ Le I

\ rks, hi h in lu l '. thi ' wort . Somclim · in th · fi ni " S,
:h' ,' a 7.\ thrc' instalm . . nts had c- I p c r · l in serial s qu ·nee
in ~ 1 l ul · r hit lr 1 's m nthly, an 1 there l , 1 :.n noth-
in · · l . ~ that. hirty y ars lat r l\lli ra s ig st d that M
i ~jum l r u lcl arry n wi h it: 'Premen-bal u s id he
uld ha\ 1npl t cl the story if he remembered the end-
in.,. a he had conceived it. T hen I took the story up and ear-
n it t it n ly possible conclusion. However absurd it may
b , this is a story close to my heart. It goes to the limi ts of
in1agination and idealism.' Sircar recalls that he had read
only a few of the San desh instalments, and that h ad been
enough to spark him off.
For Sircar, this story of two thieves who, fleein g from
their pursuers, ju1np into a river to save their skins and sur-
face in a land where people have never known what money
is and live by the principle of 'from each according to his
capacities, and to each according to his needs' becomes a
myth of possibility. As he told me, 'This is one of those plays
in which I take genuine pride. I was upholding a possibility
that I had projected in my earlier Prastaab (Proposal) with
ahnost missionary zeal. At a time when defining
Communism anew ahnost looks like a counter-revolutionar y,
act, I have overheard people in a village discussing the play
after a performance and saying, "Well, there's no reason wh}
it can't be like that!" Ifwe can set people thinking, isn 't th at
the most we can achieve?'
In Sircar's 1-lattamalar Oparey, the thieves are conv r ted
to the eth os of th e other coun tr y, and j oin in th celebrato-
r y chorus at the e nd. In Majumdar's 1-Ja ttnmnlnr Desh 1, the
thi eves , re for m ed, co m e bac k to th ir wn 'illag·
Bhuin tarasi (li terally 'panic in th soil' ). T h y b com use-
ful citizen s in th eir com munity. Bu t on in a wh il th Y
take off fro m th eir work fo r th re r C ur day , and go a\\ ay
the two of them , and com ba k a little d pres ed . They
h ave scoured bo th th e banks of th e riv r, th y hav searched
x I bad a l s ir ca r

thoroughly for th re wh l lays, l king for and never find-

in g the h ady rch rd f th ran -n ng uffuse 1 with
their exqui it r ina. \tVl n it r ally I irts I p clown,
Bhuto con 1 R Vi1al 'I-I y r y u u r it' r ally th re?
' Nh r you surfac in h alf an ho ur, and th n an 't fin l it
again in thr d ays? Ar you sure it wa n ta dre m?' Rakhal
sa) , 'Dan11nit, ar tiv m en s e a drea1n for fifteen days?
Th plac inust be there, bu t maybe just deep in our hearts!'
Bhuto chuckles, 'v\That things you say!'
Although these plays were n ever intended specifically
for children , Sircar sees the possibility they h ave in a theatre
for children. 'They have adult themes,' he says, 'but children
should become aware of these.' In the theatre which Sircar
h as served all these years as playwright, director and actor,
he has pursued simplicity in theatrical means and ideas
alike, in his urge to take theatre to the people to conscien -
tize them to social change with a 'missionary' dedication to
the cause of propagating the essential values of a revolu-
tionary project. In both the texts offered in this volu1ne
Sircar exposes politics to its bare bones-and at a level
where it has the same message to offer to adults and chil-
dren alike.
SAMIK BANDYOPADHYAY
 Be and the Land of Hatta1nala
(Hattamalar Oparey)

First performed on 22July 1977 at the Theosophical

Societ Hall Calcutta in Bengali, by Satabdi.
 !t11hi11.o~ a .~ re 1/ hull ibrzloo houl of 'Th "ej! Cnlch the Tl ief!' TwrJ
11
1.

thin 1 r~· ·r.narzm mul B r:harmn, are fleeing in jJan'c. They llirle in rt
·n ·1= Four villagi r enle r i11 /Jl r uil.

1 : • \ TI i h way did th y ?
TW . T h y ca1n thi way.
THREE. Are you sure?
F UR. I think they went that way.
o E. No, no, this way.
n ·o. Don 't be silly. I saw them go that way.
TH REE (spotting them). No, no. There they are.
They chase the thieves, and in the act of doing so, they f all, while
Kena and Becha slip away. They pursue them crying 'Thief! Thief!'
Then they become cows in a cowshed. Kena and Becha ru n in from
the other side.

BECHA. Oh Dada! Now where do we go?

KENA. Into that cowshed, quick.
They go in among the cows.
BECHA. I told you not to rob th e zamindar 's ho us .
KENA (grimacing angrily). Then where do y u wan t 111 t u nw
'
j emmy? On Dukhiram Bagdi's th at h l hu t?

BE 'HA. But in a ho unds' d en li k that ...

KENA. How would I know that th lan dl - r l k I t h un l ·?
know?
 4 I badal sircar

BECHA (after a while). Dad a there m u t be tho usands of tnosqui-

toes here.
KEN\. '~T}~at do ) ou L p ee in a cow h eel fairi flying about?

BECHA. But hey're killing n 1e l

KEN . Sop it up a 1110 quito n etI Or bit tl in yo ur Ifl ·

BECHA. What are you ge tting so an gry fi r?

KENA. My liver, stupid!

BECHA. Oof! (He slaps at a mosquito on his arm and the cow start low-
in<T at the disturbance.)
b •

KENA. Fool! Now you've done it. Here, here, shh!

Five, a housewife, comes out, as if holding a lamp.

FIVE. Death! Why are these cows lowing so at night? Here, shh!
shh! (Her eyes almost pop at seeing the two.) Th-th-thiefl

They leap to their feet, run out, and hide in a corner. The fo ur vil-
lagers come in shouting 'Thief: and go about in a cirde as if looking
for the thieves. Five has left. Kena and Becha also slip into the circle,
shouting 'Thief' in turn. After a round or two, they slip out and
escape. The other four stop, looli around a bit, and then go out, still
shouting 'Thief!' Kena and Becha come in from the other direction.
BECHA. Which way now, Dada?
KENA. That way.

BECHA. But there's only the river that way.

KENA. So we'llju1np into the river,
BECHA. Are you inad? We'll drown.
KENA · The1·e's no way out. We won't fight the current. Just go
'vherever it takes us.
BECHA. But ...

KENA. Save your b I-ea th an d stop nattering. Run now.

 b yond the land of hattamala I 5

They are alrerul)' running a Llw·y Lalk. Tlze;· stop, seem to arrive al
the river banh, and dive into lhe wal r. They ma fw swimmin
motion . T he /Jur uen; arrive and land al the edge of the 1iver:
NE. 1-1 rl Th r · th 'g ::i
'
TW th y finally jump l int L} n v r.
h r th y go . Th re. h , tl ey'r sinkin g.
FOU R. l , th y'v co1ne up again. There.
E. They'll drown for sure. There's no hope D r tl em.

T WO. v\Touldn't it have been better to h ave done tim e for a cou-
ple of years instead?
THREE. Easy come easy go . That's how thieves live.
FOUR. Give the devils their due . They knew how to handle their
j e1nmy all r ight. Both of the1n.
THREE. You'll not find experts like the1n around.
ONE. After all, they' re our own Hatua village boys.
T \ r\10 . Now let's say Hari for the1n and go home.
They chant 'J-lari Bol Hari, ' the usual chant that accompanies a
corpse being tahen for cremation. Then they face one another in two
rows and become the river undulating their arms like waves. Three
others join them to rnal<e the river. Kena and Becha are struggling in
the water.

BECHA. Dada! Are you alive?

KENA. Yes . .. Still .. . glug .. . glug (sinhs).
BECHA. I can't . . . much longer ... glug . .. glug (sinks) .

KENA (floats up again). 0 Becha . . .

BECH:\ (floats up). Dada! . . . wa .. . wa ...

KENA. I know, 1'1n wet too.

BECHA. No, not wet .. . water . . . I keep-swallowing water.
 6 I badal sircar

KENA. Really? I'm having ... ice ... ice ... cream.
BECHA. Oh Dada! ... I'1n gone ... glug ... glug (sinl<s).
KENA. You won't believe this but ... I'm gone too ... glug-glug.
They sink. Both slowl)i sink to the ground and finall) lie down as if
at the bottom of the river. The seven members of the Chorus now stand
around and become trees. There are bird calls from the trees. Kenaram
opens his eyes first.
KENA. Where am I? (Sits up.) There's no one here. Who'll tell 1ne
where I am then? Darn it all. It's all nonsense, 'vhat the} show
you in films. (Sees Becha.) Hey! Here's Becha. (Nudcres him.)
Becha! Just look at that. Has he gone and died on n1e?
BECHA (opens his eyes). Where am I?
KENA (making fun of him). \There ain I? Think it's a film?
BECHA (rises). Oh Dada ou? n aram Dada?
KENA. No, I'm the king f th n r
BECHA ( lool~ing around) . u ... '' h r ain I?
KENA. v\Thy don't u k th la d filmmakers?
BECHA. Film? All th t-th rh r th c w hed, the dogs-don't
tell ine we aw all th t in th m vie !

Kenaram walks around :..ploring.

KENA. I wish that were true.

BECHA. But-I can't make out where we've come. Where are we?
KENA (With a fiery glance). 1-2-3-4-5.
BECHA. What are you doing?
KENA. Counting. 6-7-8-9-10-11
BECHA. Counting? \i\That are you counting?
KENA. Nothing. Just counting. 12-13-14-15-16
BECHA. Why?
 be y ond the land of h at t a m a la I 7

My guru used to tell me when you fee l

KENA (standing fa cing him).
like inurdering someone count slowly fro1n 1 to 100.
BECHA. Oh, you're angry, are you?
KENA ( countirig Jaster) . 23-24-25
BECH.A. V\Tith 'Whom?
KENA (racing). 28-29-30-32-36

BECHA (suddenly, !oohing into the distance). Dada, loo kl

KENA ( stoj;ping). VVhat?
BECHA. Smoke.
KENA. Smoke?
BECHA. There. Way off there, near the horizon.
KENA. Where there's smoke there must be fire-they say so in the
scriptures.
BECHA. Smoke from a chimne . Perhap a rice mill.
KENA. Silly ass. As if you onl h a chimne on a rice mill.
BECHA. You think that's at wn?
KENA. 'Course. A railway t ti n at l t. Good. Now we'll go to
the town. Be city slickers. There' no profit in these blasted
villages.
BECHA. But there are plenty of cops in the city and sergeants too.
KENA. Trust your skills. We'll beat them hollow. The cops will call
you father, and I'll be their elder uncle. Come on, walk now
and stop blathering.
They mime walking while the trees move about as if they are the ones
who are changi,ng their positions.
BECHA. Dada, see. This isn't farm land, and it isn't jungle. It's like
a huge, lovely garden.
KENA. Rot! as if we've got anyone rich enough to lay out such a
big garden in these parts.
8 I bada l s ir cJ r

BE HA. I d n' thi k Lh tr per ' a . I can t r ecogn ize

a thing. Ll · Lr r like tl at.

--·NA. h th e: t' wha

c
rn · lli - v ·- \\ha s 1 ~ ar e n \ ?
I'v ~-n hun Ir s.
IF H, . ;-\n l th a t 01 ? n witl tl ~ th -y 1 av ?

KEN A. I uh! c 111ing a r uddy p

BE ,H . Nly 1 gs don't see1n to inove . I'1n awfully Ll irsty.
l' -NA. You dran k gallons of th at river water, and y u 're still
thirsty?
Four comes ou t of a group of trees.

BECHA. Dada, so1neone's coming.

KENA. So what! No one knows us here. (Four has come quite close to
them.) Hey, listen, brother, can we get a diink of water any-
where?
FOUR. Tap water you can get only in town. There 's a little prob-
lem here with good water. But if you go ahead a bit, there'll
be green coconuts.
BECHA. Green coconuts?
FOUR. Yes, very sweet too. Go ahead.
Four leaves. Becomes a tree again.

KENA. I'm looking for water and he shows m e green coconut .

BECHA. By gad! And not even a brass far thing to our nai11es.
The Choru~ imitates musical instruments to ind irate a change of
scene. Five sits under a tree dressed as an old woman.

FIVE. Would yo u like a green coconu t, son? It's v ry '' eet.

KENA. H ow 1nuc h?
BECHA. Dad a, h ow can you?

KENA. Shut up. How m uch is a green coconu t, old mother?

 beyond the I nd of hatta ma la I 9

FI 7 (laua'hi11(]') . vVl al l y 'h w 11U ·h'? A much

tl 11 'U y u
n lrink. ( h prt par , to cnl o/Jen ri g;r n c con ul.)
1

13 · :HA. ' 1\TaiL, w·1i L. \1Vhat r in ?

Fl \' : . \ t\ h I m u ttin :r a gT .,irH! } ena one.)

BE :HA. ,I 111 an ...

FIV . . tak n . ( iv 1
Becha n loo.) T h r w th husk away
in th at h 1 th r .
Both of them (b Z:nh coconut water.
KENA (seriously). How inuch was it?
FIVE. How much was what?
KENA. Never 1nind. Why should I bargain with you? Becha, give
me my wallet.
BECHA (rattled:). Wallet? What wallet?
KENA. My wallet. The one I left on the shelf. Idiot! ( W inhing).
BECHA. On the shelf1 (Understanding at last) Oh! I left it at ho1ne.
KENA (mocking). Left it at home. Now what? We've drunk the
water.
BECHA. What'll we do?
KENA. Never inind, old inother. We 're coining back again this way
tomorrow, and we'll give it to you then.
FIVE. Give what?
BECHA. The cash.
FIVE. What's cash?
KENA. Whatever you say. I won ' t bargain.
BECHA. No, we won't bargain.
KEN A. Becha, c01ne on, move it. W 're lat already.
They walk off
FIVE. Hash? Or did they say ~sash ' or 'ash '? God kn ow !
10 I b a d a l sirc .H

In ir. J\ town i.\ m ul . /n11 .~r' n 'fr rd ,u, fm ntnins, (fflfPs. Becha
mt! ~1'JW <ut1 r !hr In 011.

IE ~ l l \ . "' lJ , h· t http , h< 11. ' ·'· , ~ tdct r, f lt J rain. , ~1rr r ar ,f

It s , 11 si anl it jr 11 , r. h ' 'are\ a d ~1, Ca l _ l'-?
r ii-

tri
lll 'c llt f · tty thi v s l' ke un l . s y ' re
t t."

hi ·h la s con1nan , y u ca ' t et s n
jail .
BECHA. But this is such a big town .
KEN\. Calcu tta's much bigger. Besides, there are tramcars in
Calcu tta. Have you seen any trams here?

BECHA. But this is such a big town.

KENA. They're like railway trains, only there's no smoke or coal.

BECHA. You've seen them?

KENA. Yeah. No. Well my-t~at is, 1ny uncle 's guru saw them .

BECHA. Ha!
KENA (annoyed). If this is Calcutta, then wher e are the p olice
Don't you know there's a cop at each street crossin cr i
Calcutta?
BECHA. That's true. But even if it's not Calcu tta, d
say there's not one policem an in su ch a lar et wn ?
KENA. They're all 'sniffers' I thin k, going ar und in
I guess they're all hig h lass th i v s h r ·111 th ~
arc only sniffcrs in th e poli e.
BECJ-IA. Th )n th is p la \ won't sui t. ns, Da la.
K JNA . Wait, let m ·ask som ·c n ·.

Three and Four are walhing alou!!.~

KENA. I I y broth ·rl Can yo u t -. 11 m , wh )r.. h ti . St"ltl 11 i ?
 beyond th e la nd of hattamala I 11

THREE. I lie le. ti 1 ? I l i 't think I kn w at y I 1 c call d the

p 1i ~ s ta i 1 • ( To Fi ur) 1 you?
F

l ENA. 's n t . ~1 ti I , y k W. p li t-
u I lZZ 11' ll?

uzz?
1 ,N . ratl k, can y u tell m e wh re tl pris n is? The j ail?
Y. u 1n w, like a dun geon?
TH REE . Lunch eon? You wan t to eat? Just go straight on, take the
first turn left, and you '11 find the eatery.
They !,eave.
KENA. My god! We've come to a country of idiots! Why're you
stopping?
BECHA. I'm thinking.
KENA. Thinking? You? About what?
BECHA. I feel awfully faint. I think I'm hungry.
KENA. We ate only some stale rice last night. We've been on the
run since then. Let's go and see where this eatery is.
BECHA. Money?
KENA. Oh, we'll manage somehow. Like the way we did with the
green coconuts.
BECHA. As if all of them will be like that dum b old wo1nan.
KENA. Come on.
They go. Music. A kind of restaurant. Som people ar ating. Four
and Five are serving. One is supm vising. Kena and Becha arrive.
BECHA. Mmml Dada l Have you ever s1nelt such rice?
KENA. Basmati.
BECHA. How do you know? I-lave you ever eaten basmati?
 1 .... / bad.JI sire.Jr

KE • . . , ut I\ · 111 1t it.
E . H .~ . nuI ~ wi h 1, h h · ls ·111 l "h;1t l ks lik Ja I· r tit
urr ·. ;

. nan a l llT . I (_ v n1 , --n h ' lish s?

h 1. I rtli l\\ n )-
fi y r u p t.

BE 1-L . Yu1n1ny-R hu fi h curry! Hovv inu

1n I like this ''ill co st?
KEN . God knows! If we can pinch a bout te n d ish an l tw n )
glasses ...
BECHA. Rats !

KENA (angrily). V\'here?

BECHA. In my tum1ny. There 's one within doing exercise . A real
big one. A wrestler rat.
KENA. Humph. Come on , le t's it down.
BECHA. But ...
KENA. Oh, do come on. (Both sit.) Hey brother! Two meals here,
please.
They are served. They fall to, ravenously.
BECHA. It's jackfruit curry. I told you.
KENA. Hmm1n.
BECHA. Dada, see, they're serving yoghurt and sweets over th ere.
Shall we have so1ne?
KENA. Eat whatever they give you.
BECHA. Then?
KENA. Then-then-that man seems to be the proprie tor, don't
you think so? The one who's supervising?
BECHA. Nope. See, those two people just left. He didn ' t ask the m
for their bills.
 b er o n d t h e IJn d of hattam al a I 13

hf..':\. The ' mu~ b r g ular u t m r. -pay b 1 c m nth .

. -E. H ·11 , h 11 . \-< u r " n ~,, h u ? -I w l y t lik

h ')

E HA. m-1 n.

KE. 'A. "m- n t 1 ad.

r -bting the dessert here.

e sert? v\ ell.

. ·E. Th , don't you like chilled sweet yoghurt? Or have you got
a ore throat?
KENA. o, no, he can serve us.
They are served. One has gone in another direction. They get up and
wash their hands.

KENA. He's not looking. Let's slip out. We'll go out like the oth-
ers.
Before they can do this One has come towards them, blocking their
escape.

ONE. So, have you eaten well?

KENA. Oh yes, very.
BECHA. I haven't had such a full tummy since I swallowed all that
water yesterday .
.KENA. Have you got some aniseed?
ONE. Yes, there you are.
KENA. Oh, yes, here-we ll-is the shop yours?
ONE. Shop?

KENA. Yes, the eating house. Whose is it?

ONE. It's everyone's. Belongs to anyone who eats here.
KENA. You are a high class businessman, I guess you're the owner.
1 4 I badal sircar

ONE. Not ovmer. M} naine i Konar, Shashadhar Konar.

KENA. Oh well, Konar-da we like the food in your hotel.

BECHA. It's quite good .

KEN\. We re thinking of eating here every day.
ONE. Fine fine. Ha\ e yo u ju t come to these parts?
KENA. Yes, we've just arrived.
ONE. Fine.Join us. There are still, a few places. Give me your
names, please. I'll write them down in the ledger.
KENA.Yes, yes, write them down. We'll pay you at the end of the
month.
ONE. Pay? Pay what?
KENA. Whatever it costs. v rite our names down-Bechara1n and
Kenaram. (At the end of each sentence they try to sidle out.) OK,
see you in the \enincr.
ONE. Ben.veen eight and ' n h n. vVe close at ten.
BECHA. Yeah, sure.
ONE. But the big eating hou eat the centre is open all night.
KENA. No, no, we'll come by ten. Come on, Becha.
They slip out. Nlusic. The others become a garden. Kena and Becha
enter from the other side.

BECHA.Everyone seems to be foolish. Like the first old woman we

met. How do they make any money?
KENA.They must be slick guys, these. Look behind you. Think
anyone's after us?
BECHA. I can't see anybody.
KENA.Anyway, at least we got one good meal free. Even if we
don't get one at night, it won't matter now. And from tomor-
row we don't need to worry at all.
BECHA. Why? Are you going back to that restaurant?
 b yon cJ the la nd of hattama la I 1 5

I •NA. f urs . n1idn igh L.

l at 11 ?
~, ~ HA. u in m you'r th pla ~?

A. t yo u ~ poker? r left i in l e riv ·r?

BE HA. No I'v got it.
OK, let's go to that garden and rest a bit in the shade .
I' NA.
Then we 'll do a little sightseeing.
The)' lie down below a tree. Music. Some people arrange a fruit stall.
One supervises. Kena and Becha are exploring the town when they
c01ne to the fruit stall.

BECHA. Dada, I'm hungry again. We've walked so much.

KENA. You'll get plenty to eat soon, don't worry. Let me nab
those dishes and you can have four me~ls a day from tomor-
row.
BECHA. Dada, look.
KENA. What?
BECHA.Bananas, mangoes, tangerines. God, tangerines! No'' 1n
summer?
KENA. It looks like a fruit market.
BECHA. Yes, but where are the shopkeepers?
KENA. There's a man on t~at side, keeping watch .
BECHA.There's no one on this side . Shall I p inch a bunch of
banan as?
KENA. Careful. That 1nan m ay be a sniffe r.
Becha steps forward a couple of places but comes back again.
BECHA. A sniffer? Forge t it, th en!
KENA. Stupid coward. Move, I'll go.
16 I badal s ir c ar

t o n a hP lift n bunch ne .nme.\ /Ja ch. I~ na j; uts the bunch bad~.

N, . \1\Th , n t u t k , in ? h --y r r m th · s u th rn
- r hard.
r ·N . No-·· th y l n ' t l ok too go d- Ll s l a an a .

1 iE. N d I Eat one first, th n Lalk! (Gives Kena one.) Yo 1 eat

t ·
one too . (Give Becha one.) So, are they go d?

BE HA. Ver y goo ...

lffi\JA (kicks him f rom behin d). How can you tell from tasting just
one?
O NE. So eat another one.
BECHA. Can I have one too?
ONE. Yes, yes, eat. (They eat.) The best banana plantation in this
town is the southern one. Right?
KENA. Hm-how much is a dozen?
ONE. You want a dozen? Take this bunch. There are a few more
than a dozen in this one. (He gi,ves it to them. Seven enters. )
SEVEN. Hi, brother! Any lychees?
O NE. Yes, inside. Caine I'll show you.
They go inside.
KENA. Come on, let's scram.
As he is abou t to ste/J Joru)arrl, One comes bach urith a lw ~
f ruit.
ONE. Listen, broth r.
1
IlECM A. N w w " rc lo n e for.
O NE. Arc you g ing that way?
KENA . Yes. No. I mc a n-y s, th at way.
ONE. We ll , th r 's a ·Iini · a t th . n l of th at r oa l. ,an u iv
thi · j ackfr ui t to th · d octor th "n? H h ad ~o m ~ I ki n · fi r
 b yo ncl t h e I J ncJ of hattama la I 1 7

n rli r, bit. ·I r w r 1 ' Lcny I n.

lie hand it to E )dw anrl returns. J\!lnsir:. The clinic. The doctor is
cxa1lli 11 in g J ath n ts.

B. ~H \. vVhat s h Pl 0111 ' a la? I j lSl l r 'L 'L iL Is v rything

11 lrtrity h r - r what?
. . ~11 yb - th y'r . inistrtking is for tl r p opl .
B · .HA.T hen don' t le t's wait, Dada. They' ll beat us to cl ath if
th y c tel us.
KENA. Yeah. Let's scra1n.
They walh on. Becha stops at the door of the clinic.
KENA. What's wrong? Why are you stopping?
BECHA. Here's the clinic Aren't you going to deliver the jackfruit?
KENA (pulling him away). You ass. You've come to a land of idiots
and become one yourself. Such a lovely ripe jackfruit. Is it
likely I'll give it away free? What do you think I am? Come on .
Music. The chorus are all singi,ng and dancing in groups. Kena and
Becha are walking around amongst them, grinning stupidly. Then
every one leaves except One and Six who take up positions at the
restaurant gate.

KENA.Oh God! Does no one in this town ever go to sleep?

Dancing here, singing there, 1nusic, laughing, hubbub, chal1!
BECHA. Everyone seems to be in high spirits.
KENA. Come on, let's go to that lane over there .
One and Six move bachwards and sit down to become th bar.k wall.
Kena and Becha go there.
KENA. This is the best place. Caine on, get going.
Both of them take out pohers f rom their waistbands and start picking
out a hole in the wall. Five and Six use their arms to show the ho!R.
being niade.
18 / bJdJ I sircar

NA. h bTl· kw r k IS
· n <.!Q
v
·tr n . p k r' g ing through
lik butt i.
13 • .JtA. \•Lthl

Both of th em l gin to in T quite out of tun ".

r ·NA ·lnd llE HA (singirig). ay the natn f Ran a br th :.r,
l\1ake th - poker fly, broth er.
l\1ake a h ole in th e wall
And enter one and all.

Take all the swag you would

And scram while the going's good -
KENA. A few 1nore good jabs and the job's done . Meanwhile why
don't you take a look around and see if anyone 's awake?
As soon as Becha gets up, Five and Six get up too and become the
door again. Kena freezes in the position of wielding the poker. Becha
approaches the door and is startled. He peeps around the door and
then scampers to the back. One and Six move back and become a hole
in the wall again.
KENA. There. Done. Stick your foot in and see, Becha.
BECHA. Put your feet in where? The main door-the 111ain door-
KENA (rising to his feet). What? What's the 1natter?
BECHA. The inain door is wide open.
KENA. What? That m eans som eone's gon e o u t for sure.
BECHA. I waited for so1ne time bu t no one was around. E\en
peeped aroun d th e door. Al l q uiet. No one. KENA. Ha\ e th
sprung a trap for us?
BECHA. T hey 1nigh t have . You said the police1nen h re are all snif-
fers .

KENA. C01ne on, let's go and see. Careful now.

 be y o n d t h e land o f hattama la I 1 9

Both of them creejJ slowl) forward. Two enter from the other side. H e
sees the hole and lands sloe/ till. Then h sees the two thieves.
T\\ o . \ r\ ow how lid ) ou n1ak u h a perfect hole in a brick wall?
(Kena and Becha are stumjJed.) With only that thin stick there?
(They quickly hide their pohers behind them.) Bravo, what skill! But
what sort of a ga1ne is this, fr iends? Making h oles in walls at
night? ( They are silent.) Do tell me what you are doing.
KENA (bitterly). v\That do you think? We were testing how sound
your wall was.
TWO (with simp"le trust). Oh, then you ·must be architects.
KENA and BECHA. What ?
TWO. Experts. You go around testing the soundness of buildings,
don't you?
KENA.Look, if you're going to send us to the clink then go
ahead. There's no need to make fun of us and abuse us.
TWO. Abuse? Make fun? What's that?
KENA. You've caught us red-handed. So do what you want, but fin-
ish it, man.
BECHA. Yeah, yesterday we were almost caught. We might as well
be caught properly today.
nvo. Caught? Caught what? What are you talking about? Who's
catching what?
KENA.You're catching crooks, that's what. As if we don ' t know
that you're sniffers.
nvo. What are sniffers? They don't sound pleasant, so1nehow.
They sound insulting.
KENA. Well you called us 'narky tees'. Wasn 't that insulting?
By now two others have arrived, Three and Four.
FOUR. What's up?

THREE. Have they made this hole?

 20 I badal sircar

TWO. Yes, with those two ticks. I n 't that fan ta tic?
FOUR. But wh) inake a hole in the wall at n1idnight?
KENA (shouting). Oh.. lau~h.Ju t b cau c yo u\ caught us red-
hancled once yo u can lau 0 h at u .
BE H \.'\'.es.
Wh don't you do what you have to do? We know all
about) our con tricks to trap runaway .
T\\O. '\t\That are you losing your tempers for?
THREE. Who are you?
KENA. v\Te're thieves, satisfied? Pokermen. I tell you a hundred
ti1nes, a thousand titnes: We're thieves. Do what you want to
us. What do we care?
TWO. Oh, now I get it, you· must be coming from Hatta1nala.
BECHA. Hattamala? vVhere 's that?
TWO. How do we kno"? But we've heard that everything is topsy
tu1=vy there.

FOUR. Ye-e-s. I ren1 e1nber hearing stories fro1n iny grand1nother.

TWO. Con1e, let's go in.
KENA (breathing a sigh of resignation). Let's go.
The;' go in and the other two follow.

BECHA. How many years do you think, Dada?

KENA. How do I know? Back home it would have been three at
least.
BECHA. They've gone on ahead. Shall we make a break for it?
KENA. The whole town is bristling with fuzz. They're bound to
catch us, and then they'll cut us up.
Nieanwhile One comes in through the door and goes to sleep. The oth-
ers call him.

TWO. Shasha-da, Hey Shasha-da.

 be y ond the la n d o f h a tt a mala I 21

Five and Six lea ve.

o E (gets up) . v\Th o's th at? (Sees Kena and Becha.) Oh I know you
didn 't ) ou co1ne to the eater y this afternoon?
KE A. Yes we ate and we didn t pay. So wh at?
BECHA. Yes \\ e\e eaten lots m ore too- coconu t, j ackfrui t, the
doc tor s j ackfrui t- so "hat? v\Th at can yo u do to us? v\Te don 't
care.
o E. v\Th ~t are you talking about, pal? You've eaten. So wh at?
The others pull One to one side.

TI\ o. They' re Hattamala people.

ON E. Hattamala? You 're joking!
FO UR. Yes, reall) they are. The} \ e m ade a huge hole in the back
wall.
ONE. A hole? Vl h y?
THREE. They say they're- wh at did the say? Pokennen, thieves.
ONE. Thieves? Po ker m n? I eem to h ave h eard those words
somewhere.
FO UR. Yes, in th o e Id t r i we heard from Grandma.
THREE. Right. The} make h ole an d en ter houses through them.
ONE. Why? V\ hy d o n 't they come in through the front door? Why
do they n eed to go throug h all the trouble of making a hole?
Kena and Becha overhear all this.

KENA. Yes. "'e needed to. v\Te needed to take those dishes of yours
too. ' Vould you gi\e them to us if we went by the front door?
1

BECHA. Yes, would you?

ONE. 'iVhy not? If vou needed them, why not?
TI\O. But what would you do with them? You would have to come
here to eat anyway.
 22 I badal sircar

T HREE. Yes, why should you carr th at heaV) load about?

KE A. Load? Here Becha, pinch me \ ill ·ou? Le t s be sure I'm
not dreaming. (Becha pinches Kena's ann with great enthusiasm.)
Ooh-oh-ow-ouch-(Pull.s awa) his ann and gi,ves Becha a
hard slap. )
o E and TI\O. Hey! Hey.
THREE and FOUR. What are you doing?
BECHA. \i\That did you slap me for?
KENA. Why did you pinch me so hard?
BECHA. But you told me to ...
KENA. How was I to know that I was a''ake?
ONE. What's all this?
FOUR. Maybe this is an o ther game .
THREE. Hattam a1a , , , e d n t eem to be fun.
TWO. They ne d
KENA (fright ned) . Tr tin nt- ' h .
BECHA. H ave we g t me ' ful disease ?
ONE. Oh no, n o t a disease-just-
TWO. Why don't' e just go along and meet the doctor-h1n! Get
to know him?
KENA. Doctor? Which doctor?
BECHA. The one whose clinic is at the end of that road?
THREE. Yes. I see you know it. Come, let's go.
BECHA. Oh no. We 've eaten his jackfruit ...
• KENA. He's not letting us off so easily if he catches us.
ONE. So '\\hat if you've eaten ajackfruit? I eatjackfruit too. I love
iL
BECHA. You don ' t eat the doctor's jackfruit.
 Y ncl t h la nd of h att a m I I 23

THR · •.

11 ~ I ha l su h a r nn1 y tum . . .
K ·NA. B \ .h· ~ rs lan d ~ tl it r. T h ~ y 'r · bl kl1 ca ls!
-; HA. th fr uits 11 i ? 1 h n wh s sh p is in tl at mark t?

T\\ . l\rf ark t?

F R. Shop?
KENA. Yes, yes, shop. Like you have this hotel, a food shop.
ONE. But this is an eating house.
BECHA. That's what I 1neant. You sell food here, don't you?
ONE. Sell?
KENA. Don't people pay for their food?
ONE. Pay?
FOUR. I think all these words were in Grandma's stories.
KENA. Dqn 't people give anything for the food they eat? They j ust
go away after their meals?
ONE. What else should they do? They just come here to eat.
THREE. What should they give?
KENA. Then how do you manage?
ONE. Manage what?
BECHA. How do you live? Eat? Fill your sto1nachs?
ONE. Oh. I eat here.
KENA. And your fainily? Your wife and children?
ONE. The children eat at school. My wife works at th e library in
Shiulitala, so she eats there. At night we all co1ne here to eat.
24 I badal sircar

BECHA. Don't you have to pay any money anywhere?

ONE. Money?
FOUR. Oh, I think the) 're talking about those ornaments-round,
flat discs-1nade of silver I think.
THREE. I think there are even some 1nade of paper, with pictures
on them.
FOUR. Oh, I ,\ish Grandn1a were alive, I could have told her.

KENA. Becha, I think I'm going mad!

BECHA. Yes, your uncle was mad, wasn't he? The eldest one.
KENA. What? My uncle, mad? I'll give you such a slap!
BECHA. But-you told me yourself.
KENA. Look here, Bech . (I-le rushes at him.)
ONE. See, the r' e tart cl pla · ng that Hatta1nala ga1ne again.
TWO. You better call h re.

BECHA. Oh, Dad Th ringina the doctor here. They'll put

us in ho pital n I injections. (I-le leaps on to Kena 's lap
in flight.)
KENA. Hey, no. Li t n, pleas . Don't go. Let me explain.
ONE. Tell us. (TIU!) come bach. Kena puts Becha down.)
KENA. Becha, tell them.
BECHA. Yes. v\That? Tell them what? I don't understand anything.
(He pushes Kena forward.)
KENA. OK I'll explain. What do you want to know?
n vo. Why did you make that hole? I still don't understand.
1

KENA. To get in.

BECHA. Yes, and then take the dishes.
KENA. Then we would use the hole to nip out again.
ONE. But why not go in through the door?
 beyond the land of hattarnala I 25

FO UR. Why didn't you ask for th e dish es?

KENA.How would we kn ow th e door 's o p en ? No one keeps a
door open at night.
BECHA. Whoever h eard of people giving things away if you ask for
th e1n?
T HREE. Wh at would you do with the dish es?
KENA. Sell then1.
TWO. What does 'sell' inean?
BECHA. We'd give them to someone in return for money.
FOUR. Money? Those round discs?
THREE. Or those picture papers?
TWO. But no one has those things here. Though I've heard that
there're some in the museum.
ONE. But even if someone had them, what would you do with
those discs?
BECHA. Dada, they don't have any money in this country. How'll
you explain?
KENA. Now I get it. They haven't invented money yet.
BECHA. Yes, they're terribly backward.
KENA. Well, if you don't have money, we'd take something else in
return.
nvo. What else?
BECHA. Oh, something-say food.
ONE. But you get food here.
KENA. Then-say clothes.
FOUR. Why don't you go to the clothing store to take what you
need?
THREE. Yes. Why do you need dishes for it?
 26 I b a d a l s ir ca r

KENA. Do y u g t v ryth ing fr h r ? ipp se I want a gold

rin ?
Il · HA. Yc ah r · wat h or g Jd Ji nks?
TW . If you wan t~ n rdit ary watch, y t an g t i t at the fancy
g d store.
THREE. If you want gold stuff- things to deck up wi h- you'll
have to go to the Central Library. Sign and take what you
·want.
FOUR. Yes, and use them for as long as you like .
BECHA. But isn't a library a place where you have books?
KENA. And don't you have to pay subscriptions? We pay twenty
paisa a month at our Jagattarini Library at home.
ONE. Of course, you can get books too. But also clothes and jew-
ellery for special days.
THREE. Yes. Lovely pictures, statues, knick-knacks for decorating a
.house. You can get all of that at the library.
BECHA. Jewellery? Gold jewellery?
KENA. Which way is the library?
ONE. The nearest one's when you turn right at that corner, walk
two blocks, turn left, and then, after six houses, there it is.
KENA. First right, two blocks, turn left, after how many houses?
ONE. Six. There's a signboard.
KENA (reciting).After six houses, first right, walk two blocks, turn
left, six houses. All right. See you, then. Nice n1ee ting ) ou.
They start out.
THREE. But you didn't tell us wh at you'd do with the dishes.
KENA. Oh, we'd just play with the1n a bit.
BECHA. Yes, we've got a ga1ne back home, the plates-and-glasses
garnet
 beyond th e land of hattama la I 27

FOUR ( nthu~ ia ti all ) . h lo L ·11. us what it i .

m r w.
BE .HA. '\'. s w ·'r awfully sl py n ow. (They go on.)
T\\ . But why di l y u rnak th h l ?
KENA. V\~ n -cl n for the garn =- , y us c. me on, Becha.
They '1 ush out.
ONE. Terribly ill. I think it's something ch ronic .
FOUR. I wish Grand1na were here.
Music. They leave. Morning. On one side is a barber's saloon and a
shoe store with someone on duty in each._Six is sekcting shoes~ Kena
and Becha arrive.

KENA. First right. Then walk six blocks. Then left. Second house.
One. Two. Hey, this is a barber's shop.
BECHA. Did he say left or right after six blocks?
KENA. Left, I think. First left, then right.
BECHA. Let's go and see what's after the sixth house.
KENA. Ok. Five. Six. A shoe shop! (Six comes out with new shoes.)
SIX. What are you looking for, friends?
BECHA. The library.
SIX. The library? Turn right at that comer, walk three blocks, and
then turn right. It's the sixth house after that.
BECHA. Are you sure? Someone else gave us directions like that,
and we went and found a barber.
SIX. But I work in th e library. I should know.
KENA (eagerly). You wor k there? The n can you tell us wh at} ou
have in th e library ?
SIX. You don't kn ow wh at's in the library? \\'h ere do you co1ne
from? I-Iatta1nala?
 28 I b a cl a l s ir ca r

KENA. No- y s-1 in an-well, we're fore igners. Tell us what's

th ere, pl -as .

SIX. '''~ keep wh atever's b autiful, fin , int resting there. Things
th at are 111ad in ou r country. Books, pict ires, trin ke ts, maps,
e1nbroidere d quilts, d olls, so many things I can't possibly tell
you about all of them . Why d on 't you come and see what we
have? vVe _open at ten.
BECHA. Will they let us enter?
SIX. Why not? It' s inean t for everyone to see and read and learn
from. Everything is arranged on open shelves.
KENA. Are there no valuable things?
SIX. Of course, there are very valuable things.
KENA. Even those are left on open shelve.s?
SIX. Are you crazy? If you leave those in the open someone migh t
pull at them carelessly and tear a corner off or something.
KENA. Tear what?
BECHA. What corner?
SIX. Why, all those thousands-of-year-old pictures, designs, maps,
scrolls, tapestry, manuscripts, books ...
. BECHA (despairingly). Books!

KENA. But someone told us that you can get gold j ewelleq fro1n
the library.
SIX. Yes, why not?
KENA. That must be locked up, I'm sure.
SIX. My goodness, no. If you locked those up, th en all ~h e locks
and keys in the country would not be enough. These ordi-
nary things are left in the open. They can be replaced any
time. We only lock up precious things, things we can never
retrieve if they break or tear.
KENA. Are there any gold orna1nents left? I suppose everyone's
borrowed everything.
 b yo nd th I. n fh a · t ~ ,l a / 2

IX. Oh n . WI wan ilv r nd I wl 1 y l

fresl fl wer rn a1nen , ? A u pie
borrow ti e1n in tim w tl ·m
for fun . l\tlo tly th y ar ju t I n th sl Iv .
KENA . vVh en d e the librar y cl :>

IX. Ten .
BEC HA. That la te?
SIX. Even then we've almost got to push th ose b o kw rm ut
before we can close.
KENA. Is the door closed a t night?

SIX. Oh yes, otherwise those crazy sch o lars would all tri ckle back.
KENA. Becha, all tha t work yesterday was for n othing . Bl as t! Such
a big hol e only for the d ish es. If the poker 's go o d fo r any-
thing we']] use it to br ak into the librar y.

BECHA. But what's th us ? ' can ea ily borrow the stu ff from
the librar y and n t i it back.
KENA. It's n o t that impl , p I. If ou borrowed that there '11 be
sniffers e t o n you. Th libr ry people are n o t so careless.
They lock up a t ni . ht.
BECHA. But that's becau e f th ch o lars.
KENA. Rot! Too clever by h alf, that's what these p eople are. Ge t
it? They look very simple, but these cops are sharp. How else
did they nab us last night?
BECHA. But-
KENA. Now what?
BECH...\. No, I was just thinking.
KENA. '!\That's come over you? I haven't seen you think from the
moment you were born, and here, in one day, you've thought
twice.
BECHA. No, listen. Suppose you break into the library.
 30 I bada l si r car

KENA. upp ? v\That d y u inean , uppose? Of course we 'll

br · akin. T ni ht we will ...

B ·Cl A. k supp w cl , and w tak th rn aments.

KENA. Every last one.

UECHA. Ok. Then- what ar you going to do with th em ?

KENA. Sell then1, what else?

BECHA. Bu t wh ere? No one knows the meaning of selling here.
Kena stops dead.

KENA. You think one really gets everything free here?

BECHA. That's what it looks like, and everyone says so too .. .
KENA. But all the trouble we took to con them-to eat lunch, the
green coconuts, the bananas-all wasted?
BECHA. What else?
KENA. Then that hole we made in the wall was useless too.
BECHA. Sure it was.
KENA. I don't believe it.
BECHA. Yeah, it's kind of hard to believe.
KENA. Do you think they'll give us free shoes? And shave us for
free too?
BECHA. That's what it seems like.
KENA. Ok, let's go see.
Both of them go to the shoe store, select shoes, and come out. Th e)'
go to the barber's shop and are shaved. No one asks them for any
payment.

BECHA. See?
But j ewellery? We've been all around town, bu t
KENA ( thin/ling) .
h aven' t seen a single jewellery sh op.
BECHA. We saw lots of shops with flower ornainents.
 beyond the land of hattamala / 31

KENA. Don't be silly, who wants flower ornainents? Have you seen
any gold stuff anywhere?

BECHA. But they said that in the library ...

KENA. See? They don't give those away like they do .s hoes and
u1nbrellas. Oh no , you've got to sign for those, and you can
only borrow the1n.. They even lock the library at night.
BECHA. That's true.

KENA. That's the joint we'll have to case. C01ne on. Turn right,
walk three blocks, after three blocks ... Damn. I've forgotten.
BECHA. But-

K.ENA. Wait. Don't confuse me-walk three blocks-

BECHA. Listen, Dada. Suppose you do steal the gold, then what?
You can't sell it.
KENA. Of course I can. What people can't get free they've got to
buy.
BECHA. What will they pa} with? Bread and rice? Shirt and dhoti?
Shoes and urnbr 11 ? · u g tal l these things free here. What
will you sell the gold fi r?
KENA (after a pause) . 't\Tell then I'll take it home.
BECHA. Home !

KENA. Yes, they'll kno'v how to pay for itl

BECHA. They'll just take the gold from us and clap us into the
lock-up. Don't you remember we broke into the zamindar's
house?
KENA (pauses a moment and then !mrsts out angrily). We'll go to
Calcutta then. We'll go to Englandl America( Stop getting at
me, Becha. Let me think coolly. (He sits and sinks into deep
thought. Becha stares for some time.)
BECHA. Dada, oh Dada. What's the use of sitting here like this?
Let's go and see the library at least. (No response from Kena.)
32 I b d I ~ ir ar

y 1 it an I tJ ink. I' J) ta c a k > • I Ie lea11es. Two pen/ l vi. it t/zP,

l trbf'1'' . and t.lw shoe store. 1 echa , lurn.~. I It! i.~ radiant.) ,. c ·
I I A li, n1ond rin I A gol 1 al J ( rma jumj1s to hi1 f eet
111 I sin t h .. ut '11~~ hanrls.) I 1 rr ) v ~ J th ~ or Ji , y.
( f<.t.n t i m.mt haftd withdraws his hrtnrl an d rne. hadl l o . itti r g,
l nri d i 17 tlwu rht.) I t l l th In th ' t I' ( k - -r t
· s , n I th 'Y - aid it wa ' p r £ tly 11 ri :rh . V' r

\\ ar th n1 ? Tak th in, ~ 'm n, why le n ' t y ? (No re,J;ori c;e.

Th n let' go and at. I'm h tngry. m e n . Ah, .c n JTI.
rn! (Becha leaves. More jJeojJle come and go from the shoe tore
and the barber's. Becha returns.) Dadal Still sitting her ! n't
you going to eat? It's late. They've got fried hilsa d ay.
Magnificent. Get up, Dada, do. Blast! (He leaves again. Peryple
come and go, Becha retruns.) Dada, I saw a movie. Th n I ate
popcorn, chips, ice-cream-there's everything here. It w a
lovely fihn too, but there weren't any fights or murders r
killing or anything. (Kena is as silent as before.) Are you going
to eat or not? You haven't had a bite since morning. Drat.
He leaves again. The two on duty shut up the barber's and the shoe
store and leave. Becha returns.

BECHA. Dada-listen to the ·menu: luchi, potato curry, split pea

curry, meat, yoghurt. Are you going to sit here for the re t o
your life? It's ten already.
Kena looks around at last.

KENA. What's the time?

BECHA (looking at his newl)' acquired watch). Ten past t n .

KENA. At night?
BE ,HA. Wh at do you think?
KENA ( ri es). Let's go.
BECHA. Where?

KEN~ The library has cl sed n w. Let' g th -r . ( Talws out hi

jemniy.)
 b e yo nd the la nd of h attama la I 33

BE HA. Ar you re zy?

KENA. N , 1n IL

13E HA. What ar y u ing t ?

r <' NA. Break in. Tak th - gold.
nECHA. Go ldi Goldi 1-Ier 's gold. A watcl , a ring. Why don 't yo u
take these?
KENA. No. Those are borrowed. I want my own.
BECHA. v\Thy do you need your own?
I need them. I love them. I'll
KENA (turns on him with fiery eyes.)
sleep with the1n under 1ny pillow. I'll bury them in the
ground. They'll be 1ninel All mine!
BECHA. Dada, Iisten-
He goes to catch hold of Kena 's hands, but Kena leaps to one side
and lifts the jemmy threateningly.

KENA. Don't you dare touch me! I'm Kenaram the poker man.
The poker robber. No son of a fool can turn me into any-
thing else.
BECHA. Dada. Listen ...
You fink! I taught you how to handle the poker
KENA (shouting).
and now you wear borrowed gold, eat fried hilsa, see movies,
wear shoes-take your blasted shoes. Take them. Take ...
He takes off his shoes and throws them at Becha. Some people come
running.

TWO and THREE. What's wrong?

FOUR and FIVE. What's happened?
KENA (lifts the poher threateningly and )ells). Beware, you fools. Get
out.
TWO. It's that Hattamala Man.
KENA. Yes, I'm a Hattamala man. So what? Blast you, all 1ny life
 34 I bada l s i r c Jr

I'v. 1 r k l it I la s n d m h r SLU f. Bu t wh a t s the wag

l 'v he: ul 1? At h · n < st , J • i . il v r nklc s. h y've
n g \ l m ' '111 1 nun m in l lli . la1 l · r; e m e work
li k a h r.' · an l I'v t v r Jai Jn y l lin · e ,
1
, d rop of
g·o.1 l. hi11 k I' 11 iv Lh al up now? Bh · y ll AB l n :r as I hav
my p I ·r-
71vo of them catch hold of hirn aroun d the wai l.
KENA. Lcav n1e . Le t go of m e. Id. I want g I

The Doctor enters.

DOCTOR. What's th e matter? What's this rump us in h e middl e of
the night?
TWO. Oh Doctor, sir, this is that Hattamala man we told you
about.
DOCTOR. Hey, let go of that poor chap. He'll get hurL vVhy,
you 're almost choking him.
FOUR. Doctor, if we let him go he'll hit us with that thing he has
in his hand.
DOCTOR. No, no. He won't hit you. Let him go. Come on. Leave
him now. (They release him.) There, let me have that, my
friend, please. Won't you let me have it? (Kena swi.ngs the poker
as if he is about to hit him. But the doctor keeps going towards him.)
Please I (Kena doesn't gi,ve it, but he puts his arm down. H e stares
as if quite hypnotized.) Didn't you have someone else with you?

BECHA (scratching his head sheepishly). Yes, me.

DOCTOR. Oh, I heard that you ...

BECHA.Yes, Doctor, sir, we've eaten up yourjackfruit, ) OU see.
Then we ...
DOCTOR. Jackfruit? Oh, so I had another on brought for tne.
From th e sa1ne tree too. Wasn't it sweet?
BECHA. M1n1n, yes.
DOCTOR. But I wasn't asking about the j ackfruit. I've heard that
 b Y nd Lh land of hattama la I 35

y u an mal · a auti 11ly -'al h J in c I ri k waJI . Is that

u·u ?

I' :NA. '\'. s w an. f • 1rs w ~ an. '( what?

BE .HA. u' l . ar y,
D , quit ' ri ll . Yi U h uld b p ud f doing s m ._
R. 1'111
thing w 11. I was thinking of learning ti is woncl _.rful kill fr m
) OU. Will yo u teac h me?

BECHA. You-you want to learn to work a poker?

DOCTOR. Oh, so that's what you call it, a poker? Do you need any
other tool, or do you use just that?
KENA. Nothing else. If you know how to use it, you can cut
through a mountain.
DOCTOR. I suppose it takes a long time to learn to use it?
KENA. Of course. I've taught Becha here from scratch, with my
own hands I taught him. It's taken him four years to be as
good as I am.
BECHA (embarrassed). Oh no, Dada. It'll be ten more years at least
before l' m as good as you are.
DOCTOR. Oh then ~ I don't suppose I can learn. I'm not too young
as you can see.
KENA. Well, if you're really keen, you can learn the basics in a few
days.
DOCTOR. Really? Then why don't we start? (To Becha) Can you
lend me yours? ( Becha takes out his poker and hands it to th doc-
tor.) Here, let's start on the wall of the shoe store here. (To the
others) Can you tell the Architects' office that I've requested
them to send son1e masons to repair this to1norrow? OK le t's
start.
The others /,eave. Kena teaches the doctor; Becha watches.
KENA. No, you've got to hold it like this. Ah , like this, yes. Now
tui·n it this way a bit-now that way. Now like this. Yes, there
3 s ir r

r . (Thryworh i/,e1t0. 1 is is\ ha Y t ra

l ri k w· ti I. F r mu I wall it' '" di f' r n L t c n l · e.

D W i ·. t m
R. rn l is firs ,. I n' · ·hink Im tn
v ry w 11 , a1 I.

K .~ u 11 g Lit. It k i Ii Iik tha .

Sp p rt nL i [ . k ach bl w
" tru ne. Hit traigl t.
(sjJeahing on each blow). ' h bl w-
c..1· R - · ig ht n -a
straight one-hit straight- s raight w rk-w rk' k- - man
and work-man works-why d s he-wl y d s h '
KENA (lihe him, in rh)1thm). He ha to work-
- that' why-h w can
you live-without work?
DOCTOR (putting down the j;oher). Right, you can't ju t tay idle.
Man has tow rk. H w rks, and through hard work he \\hee-
dles treasure fr th r arth-breacl and salt, rice and
'4

oil, clothes and h , h us and homes, books and p ens.

Since all of us work · th r t make all of thi , all of us can
enjoy them tog th r, can't'\ ?
KENA (rises) . n
. . Ifw c hat w uld we need t
steal to go to prL n? B fl thieves?
DOCTOR. But, just think, whatever we n eed we can make it all in
two months fl at. Tl ·e r t of th ten months we can just work
at something we like, not need.

BECHA. Then why do people like us starve to death?

DOCTOR. Yes, that's really something worth worrying about. Why
do they die? They are not supposed to starve.
KENA. All those blasted rich people hog the lot.
oocroR. But how much can they eat? Look at us. We alI eat and
eat well don't we?
KENA. I haven't eaten all day today.
BECH . But that's because you didn't want to. On purp se.
 be yond the land of hattarnala I 37

DOCTOR. Haven't you eaten? Then let's go and get you something
to eat. Let's go home to my place. ( The)I walh on.)

KENA.Say, Doctor, does everyone really get everything free

around here?
DOCTOR. No, not free.

BECHA. Why, '' e 've been eating free since we ca1ne here-
· then we
got free shoes, a free shave-
DOCTOR. No. It isn't really free. We all work to the best of our
abilities. That's why we get everything we need. If we didn't
work, you'd get nothing.
BECHA. But we didn't work at anything. Still we got everything
free.
DOCTOR. You didn't work today. But }OU will tomorrow. Didn't
your dada say man can t Hve without work?
KENA. But we don ' t kn ' th r ' ork except how to use the
Jem1ny.
DOCTOR. Well, that' n n II kill. It' t asy to work it well.
1

Your assistant' taken fi ur I arn. I don't think I'll

learn, not even in t n . r ·.
BECHA. But what good can you do wi h a poker?
DOCTOR. So1neone who's learnt one skill won't take long to learn
another.
KENA. But will we learn?
DOCTOR. Well, tomorrow morning the builder will come to repatr
the hole. You can learn masonry if you want. Or why don't
you look around a couple of d~ys, or even a couple of
inonths? Time enough to decide what you'd like to do.
BECHA. No, no. Just sitting around living like parasites for a cou-
ple of 1nonths, that's terrible.
KENA. Becha, what do you think about a builder's job?
38 I bad a l sircar

BECHA. Da l , hall I t 11 y u what I want t do? What I really

" ant-w 11 I saw th n r p lanting fl wers this after-
no n. Di gin li ttl - l 1- v r car fully ...
D T R. \ r\ Ti n l rfull That' 1 - ally a n1arvellou occupation. We
all I ' fl w r in thi ~ ountry.
KENA. But I think I' cl pre£ r to b a buil ler.
DOCTOR. Why ?
KEN.\.I don't know. I think perhaps-well, I've ruined so many
walls, inade so inany holes-so I thought-I don't know. I
can't say really . . .
DOCTOR. You were wondering how you could repair all those
holes? You'd like to build something for a change.
KENA. Yes. Exactly, Doctor. I couldn't put it all into words as well
as you have.
The Chorus enters holding hands and singing. As the doctor silently
beckons, Kena and Becha also hold hands and join in.
CHORUS ( singi,ng). Whatever we need in this world, whatever,
We can make it all if we work together.
We'll work our best indeed,
And take whatever we need,
We'll share everything we have together.
Come, let's share everything together
Whatever we need in this world, whatever,
We'll make it all if we work together.
Why go on shopping rampages?
Why do we slave for mere wages?
We'll share what we have together.
Co1ne, let's share everything together.

THE END