Ramayana 2020 - A Play in 4 Acts

(Karthik Narayan)

Act 1 – Scene 1

Curtains up!

Two young men with bows and arrows walk across the stage with a young woman following them.

In come two Vanaras (monkeys), hair well combed, wearing Rayban sunglasses sliding down their face so their eyes pop up from behind. They are on their feet, wearing Raymond suits.

The monkey on the left pops a bubblegum into his mouth, as the other pops a question,

Vanara 1: Say, dude, who are these folks?

Vanara 2: They are Rama, his brother Laxmana and Rama’s wife, Sita

Vanara 1: Who is this Rama guy?

Vanara 2: Long ago, in a Kingdom called Ayodhya, there lived a King called Dasharatha along with his three wives.

Vanara 1: And why was he called Dasharatha?

Vanara 2: King Dasharata got his name because he could drive 10 Ferraris at the same time!

Vanara 1: Oh, and what happened to him?

Vanara 2: Nothing. That is, the king didn’t have any children, so he sought divine help for begetting children. With the help of a Magic Potion, he got four children, named Rama, Laxmana, Bharata and Shatarughna.

Vanara 1: Wow, four in one shot. Talk about wholesale! Where did they school?

Vanara 2: At Cybernet School of Browsing. In due time, the kids had access to the Internet at home, and also learnt how to wield the Cell Phone and write messages.

Vanara 1: That was smart.

Vanara 2: They were smart, you know. Even though they were kids, Rama and Laxmana very cleverly used the Nokia Ringtones to scare away the Demons that ruled the thick and dense forests! The sages had brought Rama and Laxmana to protect themselves from the Demons.

Vanara 1: What happened after that?

Vanara 2: They attended the swayamvara of Sita, daughter of King Janaka of Mithila.

The condition was: the beautiful hand of Princess Sita will be given to the man who can compose and send an SMS in the fastest time!

Vanara 1: Really?

Vanara 2: Yes. Thanks to his intense training, Rama naturally won the Fastest Fingers First contest and thus also the Princess!

And they returned victoriously home, along with free goodies such as lifetime prepaid SIM cards and MP3 and camera mobile phones each.

Soon after, the other three brothers also got married to beautiful princesses.

Vanara 1: Really? If they were all princes and princesses, what are these three doing wandering in the forest, and dressed like this?
Vanara 2: Ah, there lies a tale (waves his tail). Rama, being the eldest son was due to receive the first laptop of the family. However, Bharata’s mother Kaikeyi’s jealous maid hypnotized her by showing her Sunny TV news and made her ask Rama to go to the forest for 14 years.

Vanara 1: But why?

Vanara 2: So that her son Bharata would get the first laptop. And so Rama left for the forest, and Laxmana and Sita followed him. And this is where you see them.

Act 1 – Scene II

Vanara 1: What did Bharata do?

Vanara 2: Look for yourself – there he is (points to a clearing in the forest)

Enter Bharata.

Bharata: (Embracing Rama) Oh dear brother, all this has occurred on account of my mother Kaikeyi’s maid.

Rama: Don’t fret, Bharata.

Bharata: I love you so much. Please take the laptop and keep it.

Rama: No, no, my dear brother. You keep it and make the most of it. Surf the net during the night hours and download lots of movies.

Bharata: I cannot use that laptop. Instead, to remember you, I shall take your Rado watch and keep it near the laptop.

Rama reluctantly gives his watch to Bharata. And before Bharata leaves back for the city, they both sing the Official Family Song – Yaadon ki Baarat.

Exit Bharata with laptop. Vanaras flee for shelter – the singing felt like the sky was falling on their heads!

END OF ACT I
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