Playwright: Kallol Nandi
SCENE (1) – CORONATION OF SULTAN AND EXPEL RAJA GANESH
Setting:
- The throne hall in full ceremonial order.
- The throne is elevated.
- The court stands. No music yet.
- At center: HAMZA SHAH
- To his right: IMAM
- Behind the throne, slightly to the side: RAJA GANESH
- To the front row: PHULJANI
- At the far edge, almost hidden: SAFA, dressed in mourning white.
IMAM
By the will of the Almighty Allah, by the consent of the court and land, I, the Imam of Adina Mosque of Pandua,
(He lifts the crown and places it on HAMZA SHAH’s head.)
place the crown upon your head – sovereignty and responsibility.
(IMAM steps back.)
From this moment forth, Saifuddin Hamza Shah, the son of late Sultan Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah is the Sultan of the kingdom of Gaur, guardian of law, answerable to God alone.
(The court bows.)
And by necessity of governance—
(gestures toward Ganesh)
—Raja Ganesh is hereby confirmed as Regent of the Sultan, custodian of administration, until such time as the Sultan commands otherwise.
HAMZA SHAH
So declared.
(He looks briefly at Ganesh.)
(Ganesh bows—not deeply. Perfectly.)
IMAM
Let the court now witness celebration—for a kingdom must rejoice before it learns obedience.
(Musicians enter. Music begins—restrained, dignified. Dancers enter in symmetrical formation.)
(The court relaxes.)
(PHULJANI moves to take her seat. Her ankle falters slightly—barely noticeable.)
GANESH
(instinctively)
Careful.
(He steps forward and slides a cushion beneath her seat—a simple, domestic gesture, but too intimate for a regent. PHULJANI sits. Her fingers briefly rest on the edge of his sleeve. She notices his collar is slightly misaligned.)
PHULJANI
You never fix this properly.
(She reaches up and straightens his garment. It is done in one breath. They separate.)
(THE DANCE BEGINS – Their movement is celebratory, controlled—not seductive.)
(Suddenly SAFA cannot contain herself. Her grief cuts through rhythm.)
SAFA
(quiet at first, then breaking)
Does the kingdom dance for the dead?
(Music stops. Dancers freeze.)
IMAM
This is not the hour—
SAFA
When will it be?
Sultan Azam Shah is dust—yet no one here has washed their hands.
HAMZA SHAH
This is my coronation.
SAFA
That is why I speak. I watched loyalty become convenience. I watched his ring fall from his finger when they washed his body.
(She looks directly at PHULJANI, then GANESH.)
PHULJANI
Grief does not excuse disorder.
GANESH
Not all wounds heal in public.
SAFA
Then why are crowns placed there?
HAMZA SHAH
This court will remember Sultan Azam Shah with prayers, not disruption.
IMAM
Continue.
(The dance resumes, but the joy is fractured.)
(As the music plays, HAMZA SHAH watches. GANESH and PHULJANI—now careful, distant.)
(When dance ends. Dancers and Musicians exit.)
IMAM
With your permission may I return to Adina for the khutbah.
HAMZA SHAH
Go. I will attend.
(Imam bows to Sultan and exits.)
(HAMZA touches the crown.)
HAMZA SHAH
This crown is heavier than I imagined.
GANESH
Power always is—when it is first worn honestly.
HAMZA SHAH
I issued an order this morning.
GANESH
Without my knowledge!
HAMZA SHAH
Intentionally.
GANESH
Sultans consult. Regents advise.
HAMZA SHAH
Or to the sovereign.
GANESH
Careful. You are still learning which words bite back.
HAMZA SHAH
I am learning something else—that obedience was my training, not my destiny.
The court is dismissed.
(Everyone leaves. HAMZA is alone on the throne. Outside of the throne hall, courtiers speak in low voices.)
COURTIER (to another Courtier)
He signs orders without the regent’s seal.
(Hamza listens and goes close to courtiers.)
HAMZA SHAH
Continue. I enjoy hearing truth when it forgets manners.
(Courtiers freeze.)
COURTIER
My Sultan—we meant—
HAMZA SHAH
You meant survival. That is always honest.
COURTIER
Raja Ganesh has ruled long.
HAMZA SHAH
Too long.
COURTIER
Without him—
HAMZA SHAH
—there will be clarity.
Tell me—when I was placed on this throne, did you see a Sultan…
(leans closer)
…or a placeholder?
(No one answers.)
(A MESSENGER comes, bows and gives HAMZA SHAH a letter. Bows down and leaves.)
(HAMZA returns to the throne hall, sits on the throne and reads the letter. Phuljani is not present—but her name is everywhere.)
HAMZA SHAH
(reading aloud, voice breaking)
“…before the regency, before the crown—their meetings were known …”
(crushes the letter and calls out.)
Bring the woman.
(A beat.)
No—bring the regent.
(One courtier leaves and returns with Ganesh. He stands calmly. Hamza paces like a caged animal.)
HAMZA SHAH
Did you think I would never learn?
GANESH
Learn what?
HAMZA SHAH
Do not insult me with innocence.
GANESH
Then do not insult truth with rage.
HAMZA SHAH
Phuljani.
GANESH
Say her name properly. She is not a rumor.
HAMZA SHAH
She is my mother!
GANESH
And before that—she was a woman.
HAMZA SHAH
You touched her.
GANESH
I love her.
HAMZA SHAH
You rule through my blood!
GANESH
I rule because you are not ready.
HAMZA SHAH
I’m ready now! You trained me to obey.
GANESH
I teach you restraint.
HAMZA SHAH
You are dismissed. You may not enter the palace unless you are summoned.
GANESH
You mistake walls for power.
HAMZA SHAH
Guards.
(No one enters.)
HAMZA SHAH
Guards!
(Slowly, they enter.)
GANESH
You can expel a man—not his reach.
(GANESH exits.)
HAMZA SHAH
Safa, ask Begun Phuljani to appear here immediately.
(PHULJANI enters – she got the news already.)
HAMZA SHAH
You are not allowed to go out of your quarter without my permission.
PHULJANI
Why?
HAMZA SHAH
You betrayed my father.
PHULJANI
Your father betrayed himself.
HAMZA SHAH
You chose Raja Ganesh over blood.
PHULJANI
You cannot lock me.
HAMZA SHAH
I can lock doors now. That is the difference.
(PHULJANI turns to leave. Then stops)
PHULJANI
Hamza—
(He stops.)
PHULJANI
Power taken in anger always returns as vengeance.
(PHULJANI exits. HAMZA stays on the throne.)
HAMZA SHAH
Call ministers to report here immediately.
(MINISTERS arrive with ledgers and scrolls. Bows and hands one scroll to HAMZA SHAH.)
HAMZA SHAH (reading)
The eastern granaries are to be opened.
The levy is immediate.
FIRST MINISTER
The Governor requests delay.
HAMZA SHAH
Denied.
SECOND MINISTER
He insists the regent’s seal is—
HAMZA SHAH
(slams the table)
There is no seal above my crown!
(Silence.)
Answer me plainly. Who obeys me?
(No response.)
Good. Fear travels faster than loyalty.
THIRD MINISTER
Raja Ganesh once—
HAMZA SHAH
Raja Ganesh is gone.
And yet his absence governs every hesitation here.
(SAFA enters. She does not bow deeply.)
SAFA
I asked for a public council.
HAMZA SHAH
Council dismissed.
(Ministers bow and exit.)
(To Safa.)
I granted privacy.
SAFA
Privacy protects the powerful.
The provinces no longer listen. Orders are questioned. Banners are ignored.
HAMZA SHAH
Then they will be punished.
SAFA
Punishment requires authority. Authority requires trust.
HAMZA SHAH
You speak like a regent.
SAFA
I speak like a witness.
HAMZA SHAH
To what?
SAFA
To collapse.
HAMZA SHAH
Tell me, Safa—when Azam Shah lived, did you speak this boldly?
SAFA
He did not mistake cruelty for strength.
HAMZA SHAH
You mourn him still.
SAFA
Every breath. His death is not provocation.
HAMZA SHAH
Absence is.
SAFA
I did not come to provoke.
HAMZA SHAH
Everyone comes to claim something.
(He steps closer.)
SAFA
My Sultan—step back.
HAMZA SHAH
You forget where you stand.
SAFA
I stand as a free woman.
HAMZA SHAH
There are no free women in palaces. Only unclaimed ones.
SAFA
I am here as counsel. Not as offering.
HAMZA SHAH
You offered defiance.
(He gestures.)
HAMZA SHAH
Leave us alone.
GUARD
Your mercy, Sultan—
HAMZA SHAH
Leave!
(Guards exit. The door closes. Stage becomes dark to barely to be seen.)
(No physical act is shown. The horror is carried by voice, interruption, breath, and silence.)
SAFA
Do not touch me.
HAMZA SHAH
This is sovereignty.
SAFA
(shouting)
Someone—
(Her voice is cut short. We hear breath. Resistance. Then—silence.)
(Door opens, light comes back.)
(SAFA sits on the floor, disordered but upright. HAMZA SHAH adjusts his robe calmly.)
HAMZA SHAH
You will remain in the harem. You live as my property.
SAFA (looks up)
You did not take power today. You revealed it.
(He exits.)
(After a moment, PHULJANI enters—controlled, burdened, dignified.)
PHULJANI
You should not be here alone.
SAFA
Neither should truth.
PHULJANI
I heard—
SAFA
Everyone hears. No one interrupts.
PHULJANI (sits beside her)
Hamza confuses desire with rule.
SAFA
Then this— (this room) —is not desire.
PHULJANI
No. It is conquest.
SAFA
Sultan Hamza Shah listens only to himself.
PHULJANI
Because no one taught him how to be small without feeling weak.
SAFA
They will say I tempted him.
PHULJANI
They always do.
(taking Safa’s hand)
You are not broken.
SAFA
I know. But something has been named.
(Lights fade.)
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