महत्वाकांक्षी – MAIN- THE AMBITIOUS ME
VOICE ARISES FROM NOWHERE-
From the vicinities of the dark, where darkness empowers, there was a sudden jolt thunder struck, and she came, laboured with the sense of being heavy, fraught with difficulties and screamed…”I have not done anything…be just be fair and tell me why am I exiled. The indestructible force of nature, let me know what have I done to receive this? Laughter? you laugh at my plight? who are you? well I am the one whom you do not want to know —dear— there is not way I reason out my existence but I do exist…I am the self-centered, the ghoric woman who wished for the longevity of my son…what’s wrong in it? he deserved it. He was strong and so he won… and I? I was defamed all over just because of my desire to have him? why? It is important that we all engage in ratiocination. Is it bad to be bad? justice is served ONLY when you be vicious.
“Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty!”
“Come to my woman’s breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers…”
“What’s done cannot be undone.” (VERY SOFTLY BUT EMPHATICALLY)
WHY? Why Why do you think so?
I can turn the tables…I know I can plunge on goodness and make it helpless
I can make the good- the CRASS.
(hysterical laughter from nowhere)
Your crudity, got you noseless mind you madam.
It is not crudity that can bring you the filthy victory that we long for since time immemorial
It is diplomacy…the main motto of one’s life should be how to be nasty under the garb of politeness.
The shrewd manoeuvring that can bring marvellous results…
I can motivate goodness, mind you, not provoke it but manipulate it to discard its smooth skin and evince its crudity.
SCENE IN A STAFFROOM-
1- Please dear, understand! I have deleted those files!
2-But you had them with you!
- (diabetically) No dear! There is no way! I do not have them with me at all. It is vital that you understand my issue.
- Oh! No!
- No worries! Call her and tell her!
- But she will be annoyed.
- Not at all. I know she will understand.
- Ok. (calls) Ma’am, I have to tell you that I deleted those files! Sorry! But…
- I will give you a MEMO. I do not want to listen to anything! You are so horrible!
- (sadly) sorry!
- (Calls in a while to 1) Hey! Listen(with a nasty smile) I got the files on my computer. I have them with me. Do not worry. You send them to her.
- Accha? (resigned tone) ok.
(After a few days…)
- I heard 2 got promoted?
- 4-Yes indeed! She had it in her!
- Yes. Indeed. She KNEW HER CRAFT WELL… (Background song- Sabkuch seekha humne…na sikhi hoshiyari…sach hai duniyawalon ke hum hain anari…)
THE VOICE IS BACK-
See! You do not need to be RUDE – GHORY!!!!!! (STRETCH)
You need to be NASTY- BE NASTY-
SCENE IN A HOME
- Hi!
- Hello!
- Your voice is so sweet
- -Oh is it?
- It is music to my ears!
- Why are you doing this with me? Flirting?
- No! I am sincere. In fact, I wanted to tell you… I want a lifetime companionship with YOU!
- OK. So come let us marry.
- Marry? No. No.
- What is lifetime companion then?
- Friendship! Obviously! How foolish of you to think it this way. I never meant it
- But…you said it and I know it that you meant marriage.
- See it is a matter of interpretations.
- But I could hear it in your expressions!
- You are very emotional, don’t be. Enjoy your life.
- (TO THE AUDIENCE) I know he meant it! I could read it in his lines…the way he spoke but I cannot make anyone explain. Anyways, I invested. I am so sorry!
(After some days…)
- What? The show was a superhit? Is it?
- Yes!!! God is so kind. It is very important.
- Yes. God is very kind to give people success…UNDESERVING…UFF!
- Let it be. Leave it.
VOICE- See! Goodness is a piece of ——— whatever you want to call it. It is not important or worthy. Nastiness counts. It is the need of the hour. It is mandate. If you are not nasty who cares for you? Who likes you? Who loves you? Goodness gets paid is a MYTH. The most successful people are those who are nasty- Who is not ambitious today? Everybody is? But is it necessary to be this foul? Well, the answer is YES. IF YOU ARE NOT FOUL…YOU CANNOT BE FAIR—FOR- FAIR IS FOUL AND FOUL IS FAIR.
Enter a beautiful lady wearing a white gown…I have sown the seeds of his downfall. By giving me his word, he has planted his own destruction. My interest needs to be secured. So, Oh! the great King hear now carefully. Your beloved son will be exiled and my beloved son will inherit your property. (silence all around and there enters a haunch back woman. Now she speaks aloud and confidently) So, I fed it in her mind to make him realize he owned her three promises. See! It worked! I knew the King was very true to his word. He would die but break his promise. So simple and truthful…hahahahaha. (a voice utters) I HAVE BRAINS YOU KNOW….YES. I AM NASTY/VERY VERY NASTY.
ENDING SCENE – DARK HUMOUR, MYTH, AND MODERNITY COLLIDE
(Lights flicker. A low, echoing drum. The white-gowned lady freezes mid-smile. The hunchback woman’s laughter stretches into a distorted echo. Suddenly—another presence. A blazing red light floods the stage.)
ENTER – A WOMAN IN FLAMES (SYMBOLIC DRAUPADI ENERGY, NOT NAMED)
Her hair is open. Her voice—like thunder restrained.
WOMAN IN FLAMES (calm, terrifying):
Cloth…you gambled with cloth once.
Today…you gamble with conscience.
Tell me…how many times will you strip truth…
and still call it diplomacy?
(Silence. The nasty voice chuckles.)
VOICE (mocking):
Oh please…not another sermon.
We’ve moved on. This is not some epic age.
This is performance appraisal era.
Targets. Promotions. Alignments. Survival.
WOMAN IN FLAMES (steps forward):
And yet…
every time deceit wins,
a war begins somewhere.
(A pause. The hunchback woman circles her.)
HUNCHBACK WOMAN (smirking):
War? No dear…
War is outdated.
Now we have subtle destruction.
Emails. Silence. Smiles.
(leans in) CC and BCC are the new weapons.
(Audience laughter—dark.)
CONTEMPORARY SCENE (PARALLEL DIALOGUE)
(Two office colleagues—1 and 2. Soft white light.)
1:
Hey…you handled that meeting brilliantly!
2 (smiling):
Oh thank you! Means a lot.
1:
I told the boss it was all your idea.
2 (genuinely touched):
Really? That’s so kind of you…
(Pause. 2 exits. 1 turns slowly to audience, expression shifts.)
1 (whispering):
Of course…
I also told him she missed the deadline.
Balance, you see.
(Lights dim on 1. A notification sound echoes.)
BACK TO CENTRAL CHAOS
(All characters now on stage. Overlapping voices. The nasty voice rises again.)
VOICE:
See? SEE?
No blood. No battlefield.
Still…complete annihilation.
This is evolution!
(The woman in flames raises her hand. Silence crashes in.)
WOMAN IN FLAMES (soft but piercing):
And yet…
You tremble when alone.
Because somewhere—
you know…
even victory has a witness.
(A long pause. The white-gowned lady falters.)
WHITE-GOWN LADY (almost breaking):
But…if I hadn’t done it…
I would have lost everything…
VOICE (interrupting sharply):
Exactly!
That is the point.
Lose them before they lose you.
(Suddenly, the background song returns faintly:
“Sabkuch seekha humne…” but distorted, almost mocking.)
FINAL TURN – DARK HUMOUR PEAK
(All lights focus on the hunchback woman. She straightens slightly—almost regal now.)
HUNCHBACK WOMAN:
Morality is a luxury item.
Not everyone can afford it.
(She looks at the audience directly.)
HUNCHBACK WOMAN (smiles):
So…
what will you choose?
Promotion…or peace?
(Beat.)
VOICE (whispers from everywhere):
Careful…
Peace has no incentives.
LAST IMAGE
(The woman in flames begins to fade… but her voice lingers.)
WOMAN IN FLAMES (echoing):
Every act writes a war…
even if no one fights it…yet.
(Blackout.)
A FINAL LAUGH—UNCERTAIN WHETHER IT IS TRIUMPH… OR DOOM.
ULTIMATE LAST MOMENT (AFTER BLACKOUT… A SINGLE SPOTLIGHT RETURNS)
(Complete silence. Then—her voice. Not loud. Not hysterical. Controlled. Owning everything.)
VOICE (slow, deliberate, almost intimate):
Mahatvakankshi… main.
(Pause)
Yes… I desired.
Yes… I planned.
Yes… I became.
(A faint, unsettling chuckle)
तुम सब भी हो…
बस स्वीकार नहीं करते।
(दृढ़स्वरमें)
फ़र्क सिर्फ इतना है—
मैंने अपनी इच्छाओंको नाम दिया…
और तुमने उन्हें नीति कह दिया।
(एकअंतिम, तीखावाक्य)
महत्वाकांक्षी मैं हूँ…
और शायद…
सबसे ईमानदार भी।
(A sharp sound—like a stamp of finality. Lights out.)
