NOON a short play for three women

Cast

MOTHER:                              Strong-built, once a beauty, grizzled hair, in a cotton sari

DAUGHTER:                          Young, svelte, sexy, in jeans and T-Shirt

GRANDMOTHER:                Old, white-haired, stooped, with orthopedic walking stick, in faded Japanese silk kimono with dragon design.

                                               

Place

Apartment in Indian Mega-City

Time

The Present

THE SETTING:                      A large dining-cum-kitchen, conventionally furnished for an upper middleclass Indian family. Cooking range at back. Two closed doors, one at right back, and another on right wall, leading to inner rooms. Left open door leading to sunny balcony. Door leading out of apartment presumably at front of stage.

AS LIGHTS COME ON:        The MOTHER is boiling milk on the stove. DAUGHTER is sitting at table immersed in playing with her Ipad. Cell-phone beside cooking range rings. MOTHER picks it up.

MOTHER:                              Hello! Hello! Can’t hear you! Oh, it’s you, Anant! I’ve been trying you since yesterday – how can you keep it switched off? What? I can’t hear a word – this stupid room – wait I’ll go to the balcony.[turns to DAUGHTER] Look after the milk for a minute while I speak to your uncle.[goes out into the balcony and stands with back to room] Anant! Can you hear me now? That’s better – why do they build apartments like this? What?[listens]  Never mind, why aren’t you here. You should be here now. Your mother expects it – what? You know that very well!

[Another cell-phone rings, muffled. DAUGHTER searches through her bag and pulls it out]

DAUGHTER:                          Fay-yaz! What do you mean calling me at this hour? Bad boy! Wait a minute! [runs to door at back right, opens it, disappears inside, closing it with a bang]

MOTHER:                              [still with back turned to room] Anant! No explanations! Drop whatever you are doing, or pretending to do and come right over.[listens] No, that won’t do. Your mother wants you here – final![listens] No, I am not Shankar’s keeper, just his wife. He should have been here, I reminded him a hundred times, but he calls last night and says he is stuck in London, what can I do?[listens] Listen, don’t try and be facetious – if Shankar is having it off in London, good luck to him! I don’t care! Might be less of a nuisance when he does get here. Listen, Anant, you mother has always wanted her sons to be with her on her anniversary – is that too much to ask? [listens] I am losing patience – it doesn’t bloody matter how many years ago daddy died – your mother is very much alive, and wants to see her sons and be maudlin on this special day, that is all that matters. Shankar has dodged out, I know, but you can’t. Just come for an hour – and then you can go play golf ![listens impatiently] You can’t bluff me Anant, I’ve know you too long. You have no urgent appointment. You want to go to the club, pretend to play golf and booze with your friends. I expect you here in half-an hour, with a big bouquet of flowers. Bye!

[MOTHER switches off, and comes into the room to find the milk has boiled all over the cooking range and onto floor. Runs over, switches off the gas, and bangs on DAUGHTER’s door]

MOTHER:                              [shouting through the door] Come out of there immediately!   God-damn it! I ask you to do one simple thing, and you can’t! Come out ! Come out! Now!

DAUGHTER:                          [flinging open door, hugging cell-phone, angry and hissing] I am talking to my friends, can’t you see? Good God! This is not boot camp!

MOTHER:                              [deliberately yelling at top of her voice] You are always talking to your worthless friends! What do you think this is – a hotel?

DAUGHTER:                          [pressing thumb on cell-phone] Mother! Don’t you shout at me! What’s wrong with you this morning? If you are mad at grandmama, you can’t take it out on me! Take it out on her!

MOTHER:                              [thrusting mopping cloths on her] Clean up this mess! Do something useful. All the milk is boiled over! I was making kheer for your grandmother, now what am I going to do? I will just have to run across to the shop and get some more!

DAUGHTER:                          Daddy isn’t back from London, so what’s the point?

MOTHER:                              Doesn’t matter, Uncle Anant is coming. [comes to the front of stage on way out, then turns to address DAUGHTER] If he calls with some excuse, don’t say it’s okay – I expect him here in half-an-hour to be with us and celebrate, that’s final!

DAUGHTER:                          Jawohl, mein General!

MOTHER:                              The place stinks! Use a room freshener! Good God![goes out]

DAUGHTER:                          [throws down mop cloths, slouches into a chair, and presses on cell-phone] Fayaz! Did you hear any of that? Yes! It would be comic if it were not so tragic![listens] She’s batty as hell like grandmama! Hope I don’t get that way when I am ancient.[listens, smiles, runs fingers through hair] You’re sweet – but listen, boyyo, I just can’t come out, is all.[listens, then dramatically] You don’t know her, she will murder me! Listen – listen – listen. It’s not rational – complete nuts – my family is complete nuts, why you want to have anything to do with us…[listens, smiles] Flattery will get you everywhere, but enough for now. Listen, grandpapa died before I was born, and my batty old grandmama still celebrates their wedding anniversary, can you beat that? [listens, laughs gleefully, rises, pours herself a coke] That’s true love is it? Well, when I am widowed, I’ll marry immediately…[listens] What! Bad Boy! I am not… you are lustful![listens happily] As if I don’t know! Anyway, I can’t come out till all this drama is over, and by then I will just flop into bed… No! You can’t come round![door to right opens, and GRANDMOTHER comes out walking slowly with difficulty, using her stick] Oh, Grandmama! My grandmother is here! Call you later!

GRANDMOTHER:                [surveying the room with a sniff] Where’s your mother, darling? Gone to a kitty party, I suppose?

DAUGHTER:                          [sniggering] You know her, Grandmama, never happier than when out of the house. Look, she asked me to clean up the mess she made.

GRANDMOTHER:                Poor darling, you shouldn’t be doing housework at your age – you should be out enjoying yourself! But women these days are selfish.

DAUGHTER:                          You bet they are!

GRANDMOTHER:                Can’t quite blame them, it’s the training they get, my dear, and that depends on the class of their parents. But who cares, in these days of socialism. I warned your father, I pleaded with him, but he was headstrong, like my own poor departed Rajiv.

DAUGHTER:                          What was grandpapa like?

GRANDMOTHER:                He was a true gentleman, oh, we were all gentlefolk those days! He made me feel like a princess on our wedding anniversary – today darling, did you know that? I am sure your mother has forgotten, why should she remember, she is not of this house. But this afternoon, after I have made myself some soup - or maybe your mother has some leftovers in the frig - I will show you all the old photographs. You should know, you have to carry on our traditions.

DAUGHTER:                          Well, if I have any strength left, after cleaning up here.

GRANDMOTHER:                Darling, give me those cloths, I know how to clean.

DAUGHTER:                          Well, I don’t know, I am supposed to call a friend…

GRANDMOTHER:                Yes, darling, you go and call your friends, I will clean up, no trouble at all. Must be useful to earn my keep, you know.

DAUGHTER:                          All right, grandmama, just for a bit. I do need to make this call. See you in a jiffy.[gives her the mop cloths and runs back into her own room shutting the door]

GRANDMOTHER:                [moaning dramatically, bending to clean, and muttering] Dirty, smelly, filthy! Hasn’t been cleaned for ages. Who is to blame? Nobody! It all depends on your class! If you have never known what it is to be in a clean well-managed house, how can anyone be blamed? I must be blamed, for permitting a disastrous marriage. Look, this stain is ages old. Going out wearing a smart sari while keeping your house like a pigsty only shows up one’s class. Look at this! My mother would have died of shame, but I am quite, quite shameless. Well, dirt is one thing, but wickedness? Keeping poor Shankar away on my wedding day, that just shows what kind of person she is. [MOTHER comes in from front with carton of milk and stand looking on]Poor boy must have been given a long shopping list – but all the perfumes from London cannot hide one’s true nature, can it? And why isn’t Anant here? Frightened of her…frightened to see his own mother [discovers MOTHER] Why, there you are, my dear? Where have you been? Just trying to tidy up a little.

MOTHER:                              [coming in] I told that good-for-nothing daughter of mine to do it, but no, that Rajkumari won’t lift a finger![goes across and unceremoniously flings open DAUGHTER’s door, who shrieks] Come out! How dare you ask your grandmother to clean up! She could have wrecked her back! You should be ashamed of yourself!

GRANDMOTHER:                Don’t scold her, my dear, poor love, she is not accustomed to scullery work…

MOTHER:                              She is no Rajkumari, Mother, don’t spoil her! And you shouldn’t have bent down like that. If your back gives way, it’s the hospital once again.

[DAUGHTER comes in sulking]

GRANDMOTHER:                I didn’t want the poor child to work like a slave. It’s only old people like myself with nothing to live for, who should…

MOTHER:                              [pouring fresh milk into a pan and lighting the stove] Nonsense, mother, nonsense! This is your wedding anniversary, and we are going to have a grand celebratory lunch. You know we always do, and it matters not at all that Shankar is stuck in London. Anant is coming over any minute now. Go into your room and rest till everything is ready. Now go! I will call you.

GRANDMOTHER:                [hesitating] Well, you are the mistress of the house, and I must obey, so I will go.

MOTHER:                              Have it any way you like, but go and rest. Rest that back! You know how bad it can get.

GRANDMOTHER:                [tragically] I don’t want you to worry on my behalf, I give you enough trouble as it is. [hobbles to her room]

MOTHER:                              Good, good, good. I’ll call you when Anant is here and everything is ready.[GRANDMOTHER shuts door behind her]

DAUGHTER:                          [angrily] Why do you give in to that old bat?

MOTHER:                              [savagely] Don’t ever be insulting to your elders, understand? You have no idea what she’s been through!

DAUGHTER:                          [defensively] She insults you all the time.

MOTHER:                              None of your business. She’s from a different time. Listen, if you don’t respect your elders, you won’t respect yourself! You know what will happen? You will become a slut!

[DAUGHTER suddenly starts to cry]

MOTHER:                              Don’t sniffle – Stop it! Control yourself, always. Come here, help me get lunch ready. Get me some saffron and almonds for the kheer. [Daughter reaches down jars of saffron and almonds] Food in the oven should be nice and warm, check. Take the salad out of the frig and give it a turn. And, oh, lay the table before Uncle Anant arrives!

[DAUGHTER shrugs comically, and turns towards table]

MOTHER:                              Come here! [kisses her daughter tenderly on the cheek. They gaze at each other fondly]   

LIGHTS OUT

END of  PLAY