ICE CREAM IN FEVER - An Original Play by Arani Ghose

 

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Sethji: A rich moneylender

Akhil: A middleclass Bengalee man from Kolkata. Had borrowed money from Sethji.

Madhu: Akhil’s wife

Sunil: Akhil’s elder son

Supriya: Akhil’s younger daughter.

SCENE – I

(Empty stage. Sethji is standing on the left side of the stage. Yellow spot light directly over his head)

Sethji(on phone): Areh haan bhai! You told me about your situation. But you have to think about mine too. This is my profession, my only source of living.

 (Pause. Sethji listens to the person on the other side of the phone. He spits some betel juice from his mouth and starts speaking again.)

No, no, no.. I mean to say that.. Yeah, yeah.. I absolutely understand, but.. See I need the money otherwise..

(Light fades out. Again glows over the middle of the stage where Sethji is sitting on a chair.)

Sethji(on phone): ..See Akhil, you told me the same thing even in the last month as well. How            am I going to trust you? Everytime I meet you, you say this or that to avoid giving me my money back.. No, no, no, your financial trouble is not my issue..

(Light fades out. Again glows over the right side of the stage. Sethji is leaning over a desk with his hands folded while talking excitedly on his phone.)

Sethji(on phone): Hello Akhil? Is this you Akhil? This is not done man! You cannot take my money and just keep it to yourself forever…

(Lights out.)

 

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SCENE – II

(A room. The typical dingy bhara ghor of Kolkata, stuffed with furniture and goods, overcrowded with people. A door at the right side of the stage, a bed at the left, with a small table beside the bed. Another comparatively larger table somewhere in the middle. Supriya, Akhil’s daughter is ill and lying in the bed half-asleep with jol-potti over her forehead.

Sethji walks in through the door behind Sunil, the elder son.)

Sunil: Baba, Sethji is here.

Akhil: Oh bhogoban! Not now please.. For God’s sake not today…

(Sethji trying to say something in reply but only managed to fumble a few scattered words.)

Sethji: Yea.. I mean.. No, no, I mean.. No pressure for now.. I was just passing by.. But, you know…

(Madhu suddenly bursts into tears.)

Sethji(cleary embarrassed): I mean.. I should leave..This is not the right time.. Maybe sometime later…

Akhil(voice choking): What can I tell you Sethji? If bhogoban is not by your side, what can a petty mortal like me do? I was about to call you to return your money when my daughter fell ill. It’s been a day since she is lying there, in the bed, senseless. The doctor says, if her condition does not improve, we might have to shift her to a hospital. I am not that type of a person who has large savings. If I had why would I have borrowed from you in the first place? I don’t know what’s going on…

(Akhil breaks down into tears as well.)

Sethji (disappointed): Okay, I’ll see you later.

(Sethji leavers. Light fades out.)

                                                                       

 

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SCENE – III

(Sethji was sitting alone in the middle of the stage. His head hung over, supported by his elbows,on a desk in front of him. Yellow spotlight over his head. He was deeply engrossed in thinking. The voice inside his head is represented through a voiceover of his own voice through the speakers. An echo or reverb has been added to his voice in the voiceover to generate an effect as if the voice is coming from a faraway place of something deep.)

Sethji: Such a bad day. Neither could I get my money, nor do have a chance of getting it in near             future.

(Sighs. Short pause. His head bowed down on the desk. Suddenly sits back straight with his eyes bulging out.)

 Oh no, no, no, no… How could I have been so stupid. I have totally missed this thing. I clearly saw a packet of Belgian Chocolate Ice Cream on the table, wet with perspiration. That clearly means that packet was not at all old but taken out of fridge just before I reached there. Akhil’s current financial condition won’t allow him to have a delicacy like Belgian Chocolate in the midst of his daughter’s fever. That means…(shudders, stands up) They were faking it the whole time! The illness, the mourning and crying were all staged!

(Sethji jumps out of his chair while dialing on the phone. He was hurriedly searching for his wallet and watch as he was about to leave. The light slowly fades out. “The number you are calling is currently unavailable. Please try again later” plays in the background.)

 

 

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{ NOTE: I WROTE THIS PLAY AS A PART OF MY COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT AND I INTENTIONALLY LEFT IT HERE BECAUSE MY ASSIGNMENT HAD AN AFOREMENTIONED WORD LIMIT WHICH I HAD TO FOLLOW. THIS PLAY CAN BE PROCEEDED FROM HERE IF NECESSARY.}