SCENE 6 — BODHISATWA IS COMING TO KOLKATA
CHARACTERS
- SWAYAMPRABHA
- CHAT VOICE (BODHISATWA)
- ARUNDHUTI
SETTING
SWAYAMPRABHA’s home, late afternoon. The living room-kitchen is the same— but the emotional weather is different: quieter, watchful.
SFX: kettle simmer, ceiling fan, distant neighborhood sounds.
(Lights up. SWYAMPRABHA does routine work: sorting dal in a steel plate, wiping the counter, folding a towel. Her phone lies face-up now.)
SFX: Messenger “ding.”
(The phone lights up. SWYAMPRABHA pauses—breath catches. She wipes her hands, picks it up.)
CHAT VOICE (BODHISATWA)
SWAYAMPRABHA… good news.
I’m coming to India next month for a conference and an art show.
I’ll be in Kolkata for one week.
I really want to meet you.
(Silence. The ceiling fan squeaks like punctuation. Her face stays calm, but her body reacts: a subtle straightening, tight throat, heat behind the eyes.)
SWYAMPRABHA (low)
Coming…
(She reads again. Fingers press the phone too hard. She sets it down, then picks it back up—as if magnetized. The domestic room suddenly feels too small, too bright. She stands, walks, stops, walks again—skin restless.)
SWYAMPRABHA (whisper)
Why now…
again?
(She catches herself in the mirror—just a glance. Looks away, annoyed.)
SWYAMPRABHA (scolding)
What are you doing?
(Her body doesn’t listen. She adjusts her hair—then freezes: she’s preparing without deciding.)
SWYAMPRABHA (typing aloud)
Of course, meet—
No. Too eager. (delete)
(Doorbell buzz. She drops the phone onto the sofa, stands straight, restless, opens the door. ARUNDHUTI stands there. SWYAMPRABHA stares—doesn’t move.)
ARUNDHUTI
Hello.
SWYAMPRABHA (still—zombie-still—then jolts.)
Sorry, sorry.
How did you know I was about to call you?
ARUNDHUTI
What happened? Your voice—
SWAYAMPRABHA
He’s coming.
ARUNDHUTI
Who’s coming?
SWAYAMPRABHA
BODHISATWA.
ARUNDHUTI
To India?
SWYAMPRABHA (too fast)
Yes. Kolkata. Conference. Art show. One week. He wants to meet me.
ARUNDHUTI
And you?
(SWYAMPRABHA looks around: steel plates, folded cloths—the life she built. Then at the phone like it’s a doorway.)
SWYAMPRABHA (innocent truth)
And me…?
I feel… foolish.
ARUNDHUTI
Foolish?
SWAYAMPRABHA
I can’t explain, Aru—
I’m standing still and my heart is running.
ARUNDHUTI
That is not foolish.
SWAYAMPRABHA
Aru… I want to see him.
ARUNDHUTI
Of course you want.
SWYAMPRABHA (sits. Voice drops.)
It’s like—
for years I was a machine.
Now suddenly… I feel I have skin.
ARUNDHUTI (goes quiet—protective.)
When is he coming?
SWAYAMPRABHA
Next month.
ARUNDHUTI
Whatever you do, do it with clarity—not rebellion.
Do it because you’re a person.
SWYAMPRABHA (closes her eyes.)
He may want more than tea or talk.
ARUNDHUTI
What if you don’t meet him, and you spend the rest of your life wondering?
Both have costs.
Choose carefully.
SWYAMPRABHA (reads the message again.)
I’m… more afraid of myself than him.
ARUNDHUTI
Good. That means you’re not careless.
Let me make tea for you today.
(ARUNDHUTI goes to the kitchen.)
SWYAMPRABHA (typing aloud)
BODHISATWA… welcome to India.
I’m glad you told me in advance.
We will meet.
(pause—thumb hovering)
… It has been a long time.
(She sends. The “sent” sound is small but decisive.)
(SWYAMPRABHA sets the phone down. Stands very still. The fan squeaks. The kettle simmers.)
(Lights fade.)