Saved, At Last

A play in one act

By

Pushkar Bajpai

Character List

VIVEK: A thirty something man with clean shave and three small suitcases that are stuffed

MAN/THE MAN: An enigmatic looking thirty year old man with blue beaded string around his neck.

Fade In.

— (Start of Scene 1) —

INT: A TRAIN COMPARTMENT – DUSK WITH LAST RAYS OF SUNLIGHT POURING IN THROUGH THE WINDOWS

The train stops at a train station of a small town. A man walks into the compartment; looks around for the seat number then places his almost torn & tattered bag underneath the seat. The man looks at Vivek and they exchange a slight nod of heads.

MAN

Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t see you were here too.

VIVEK

It’s alright, nice to have some company finally.

MAN

(Smiles) Where are you going?

VIVEK

New Delhi. How about you?

MAN

I’m going to….. (The train horn drowns the next few words)

(Vivek opens his mouth to say pardon but is interrupted by The Man)

MAN

It’s awfully hot in here, do you mind if I open a window? (Pauses and hits his forehead slightly with his fingers) Where are my manners?  (Long pause) And what name should I use for you?

VIVEK

My parents called me Vivek and it has managed to stick with me (he smiles)

MAN

Nice to meet you Vivek! (The Man sits down after taking off his jacket. A string of blue beads pops out, dangling in the sunlight)

VIVEK

Nice meet you too.

MAN

So where is this train taking you?

VIVEK

I’m just going to see a few friends in Delhi. (Pauses, looks at the dew drops on the window) At least I hope so that they would be still there.

MAN

(Looks at the window) Good luck with that! (Long pause) You know I’m hoping for something good too. (Laughs)

VIVEK

(Smiles slightly) Amen! I hope our hopes are fulfilled. (Begins to laugh loudly)

MAN

(Laughs back, then take a deep breath, followed by a long pause) You know life is a series of hopes chained together. That’s the best thing about life. You can always HOPE and DREAM however buried-in you are right now!

VIVEK

Yeah, I’ve seen people do amazing things with some hope and dash of dreams.

MAN

Tell me about it. I’ve seen you change your life with same combination in 1921!

(Vivek looks at The Man with wide eyes filled with bewilderment and his mouth opens but another train passes by and the windows rattle loudly)

Fade Out.

— (Start of Scene 2) —

VIVEK

Did you say you knew me? (Pauses) Did you say 1921? (Stutters for a few seconds) I was born in 1983 and I’m 31 years old not eighty!

THE MAN

YOU are ageless, my friend. You were never born and have never died. (Laughs slightly)

VIVEK

What did you say your name is? I think we have a problem here. You are not making sense and I don’t need this gyan right now. I appreciate your wisdom but if you can leave me on my own.

THE MAN

Vivek, my dear son, I know you’re going through a tough time right now. But you know this is temporary and this life is temporary too. You’ve forgotten me but I haven’t. (The Man smiles and his face radiates from the light reflected from the mirror on the side wall of the compartment).

VIVEK

Umm…you’re scaring me a bit now. (He begins gathering his things from the berth)

THE MAN

I’m your companion from the beginning of the beginning. I’m the one who nudged you in your past births when you were down. And here I’m again to help you in this birth. Is it really that difficult to understand? (Smile slightly)

VIVEK

What past births? I don’t get it. And how did you help me?

THE MAN

Vivek, as your name means, have some vivek, my friend. You said your name is Vivek, right?

VIVEK

(Nods)

THE MAN

That’s the name of your body, my son. You’re a soul – eternal and imperishable. Vivek is the name you’ve taken this time for this current body your soul resides in.

THE MAN (continues)

In the year 1921 you were a poet who lived in a small town in England. You wrote about me (laughs) and about your beloved too. You realized that you can’t love both, both us want exclusivity (chuckles slightly).

VIVEK (with face filled with curiosity)

What happened to me then?

THE MAN

What “me” are we talking about now? (Eyes twinkling with curiosity and anxiety)

VIVEK

There is only one you!

THE MAN

Ah! The “me” can be very confusing. It could be many things. But let’s continue. So you want to know what happened to you in 1921.

VIVEK

(He fervently nods his head in affirmation.)

THE MAN

You were the best poet in the town. You wrote beautiful lines. Everyone adored your work. But then you met some obstacles.

VIVEK

I met who?

THE MAN

Not someone, you met your own devil. You began indulging in things that brought your downfall. Your thought a block can be flushed through some liquid courage (smiling at the choice of his words).

VIVEK

I began drinking, is that it? I can handle a few drinks. I don’t let the drinks rule my mind.

THE MAN

Rule your mind! You let it rule everything even your intellect. You lost everything. I had to change a lot of things for you.

VIVEK

(Anxious) Then what happened?

THE MAN

I had to make you poor. I gave you another chance to straighten yourself up. But you became miserable. I had to provide you just enough for you to survive. Finally you came to your own rescue and you never gave up on yourself. You died soon after but I knew you were on right track for you wrote “in this life I tried & survived for in other life I can be revived”. I realized that you still hoped for something that was beyond all that was around you.

VIVEK

So would I be revived in this life?

THE MAN

Yes, I have come here just for that. You don’t have to go on this journey. I’m here now and this time I want you to trust me and leave it all behind. The baggage you’re carrying is meant for only this journey and there is a journey beyond this. You just need me for that journey.

Fade Out

Fade In

EXT: The train stops at a train station. A porter looks inside through the windows and sees an empty compartment. A blue bead rolls out underneath the seat and THe suitcaseS UNDERNEATH lAY untouched.