(Scene: A rather moth eaten chair placed in center stage. A man clad in simple clothes is standing beside it, apparently waiting for someone. Soon enough, a man enters from LC, and sits on the chair.)

Lord Rama (who has just entered stage, speaks with enthusiasm): How are things, Narad, since I left them?

Narada (being just promoted to the level of H.A., Head Assistant, is torn between nerves and worry): T-the solar planets are doing fine, sire� ever since Kepler -  

Lord Rama (sounding highly amused): Kepler indeed. One of my � ah, finer creations. You will be surprised, Narad, to know how much my ingenuity surprises me sometimes.

Narada (not listening): Wonderful indeed, sire. But if you will permit me to draw your attention to more pressing matters, earth ha-

Lord Rama: Earth, you said? (mildly interested) Wasn�t it there that we placed Kepler?

Narada (impatiently): Kepler, sire, I must remind you, has been dead for many � many hours!

Lord Rama (sounding genuinely sad): Ah� that�s bad, bad news, Narad. It�s one of the things I have to put up with, makes me sometimes think of resigning� its like making a painting which has to be destroyed� testing my creativity, all this business� when I can keep my painting if I wish to, I cannot, because as things are �

(Narada clears his throat significantly, and Lord Rama must force himself to forget his emotional distress)

Lord Rama: All right. What of Kep- earth?

Narada (in a very straightforward voice): They seem to be keenly intent on finishing each other off.

Lord Rama: So?

Narada (sounding completely frustrated): So? So, you must begin to take things into your own hands. Only yesterday someone criticized you because you didn�t put your feet down. You have to agree, sire, the time has come to take things into your own fee- hands, sire. They seem to have an idea that you are too weak to do anything, sire! (He adds, sounding extremely hopeful) Your own creations, sire � your own creations!!

Lord Rama (now sounding legitimately hurt): Did they now, did they?? My � my beautiful creations! I should�ve put less of myself in them, you know. Now � now what shall I do? (with a considerable increase in volume) What � do � I � do?

(begins to pace back and forth)

Narada (backing off, looking alarmed. He speaks in a voice that he hopes is comforting): Sire, sire, there isn�t any point, crying over spilt milk-

Lord Rama (distracted): Milk? Narad, you�ve taken me for a child, have you? Do you � (he pauses, stands frozen to the spot. Narada is in a state of confusion, having never seen his master this way before, considers it best to do nothing. Hence he stands, patiently waiting for something to happen. Then-)

Lord Rama (sounding positively delighted): That�s it. Fetch me the map, will you??

(Narada, not wishing to argue for a variety of reasons, scurries off hurriedly without saying a word. He is presently back, carrying what looks like a yellowing mass of paper.)

Lord Rama (for the first time, angry) : My plan! Is this the way you maintain it?? My most beautiful, innova-

Narada (retorting with a lesser force, but sounding sulky all the same.): Sire, it�s been a good many years since � er � the earth, you know, was �

Lord Rama (calming down considerably): All right. This one time. Spread it now, will you?

(Narad obediently spreads the vast mass of paper on the bare floor)

Lord Rama (after carefully scrutinizing the �map�): Ah, good. I see a girl who remembers me. In her dreams, at least. I�ll go to her, I will indeed. Narad, get my clothes!

Narad (now completely puzzled): Clothes, sire? And what�s this � (Leaning closer, speaking slowly) Sire, are you sure you � I mean your mind � it isn�t overstressed, sire?

Lord Rama (speaking with deliberate calm): Narad, I hope you don�t need reminding that � well, I assure you, though I am grateful for your concern, I don�t need it � I am more in need of � clothes, I said! (seeing Narad beginning to protest again) Honestly, Narad, you think she will recognize me in this?!

(Now enlightened, Narad goes off, saying behind him): Indeed, sire, I�ll bring clothes fit for the most honorable of kings!

Lord Rama (to himself): Krishna had to leave me now! In such a tight fix� I fell for his arguments� till he comes back�

(Scene: A reasonably furnished room. A young girl lying on a cot, RC. Lord Rama enters presently, looking nervous and doing his best to handle his clothes. He finally stops fumbling when the girl opens her eyes and sits upright. She looks around; her gaze freezes on Lord Rama.)

Girl (rubbing her eyes wildly): Am I d-dreaming?

Lord Rama (shrugs): Perhaps.

Girl (takes one of her hands off her eyes, and holds them out): Give me a pinch, will you?

Lord Rama (taken aback): What?

Girl (now both hands in her laps): I mean � well, you look so real.

Lord Rama (Meditatively): All reality lies in a dream, don�t you see that?

Girl: I see no one but you.

Lord Rama (proceeding to explain): Well, put it like � (suddenly breaks off, and clears his throat loudly) I am here for matters of greater importance, not to discuss dreams and �

Girl: But who are you?

Lord Rama (sounding greatly disappointed): Did � didn�t you recognize me?

Girl: How should I?

Lord Rama (puffing up with importance, speaking slowly, melodramatically): I am Lord Rama.

Girl: You? (pause) Are you sure?

Lord Rama (defensively): Of course. What do you expect, huh?

Girl (quietly): I didn�t quite expect you�d be like this� (sounding very angry, as if she has only just seen Lord Rama before her) You! It�s you � behind all this! Can�t you keep people alive for sometime?? Or are you feeling lonely up there? Or �

Lord Rama (interrupting, trying to justify himself): Look, I wasn�t even there. I was away on � well, some rounds. I come back to see this. Look, I want to see people alive as much as you do. I have plenty of work up there without them bothering me.

Girl (entirely unconvinced): It�s your business! Rounds, you say? Don�t give those excuses to me, I know all about it. Rounds indeed! It is your responsibility. Can�t you do anything? Just sitting up there, doing nothing all the while �

Lord Rama (feeling guilty but insulted, interrupting hastily): You are oversimplifying the whole thing. Don�t you see, it�s a very complicated thing, to handle this kind of a universe? I have my limitations, and besides, I am just filling in. It�s Lord Krishna who is really supposed to be here, but he left me with this whole � business. I �

Girl: Ah, always the same! Like creation, like creator! Always giving names� �he must be doing it�� I�ve seen so many people do it, but now the Gods have learnt the tradition too � oh, what are we to do now?

Lord Rama (seizing the opportunity): That�s the point. What are we to do now?

Girl (sneeringly): So I must tell you that too?

Lord Rama (pulling himself together): Er � no. That�s what I�m here for, all the way from � your own depths. I have just the two options before me now. If things go on the way they are, then I�ll have to resort to destroying everything. I�ll explain to Krishna later. He�ll understand.

Girl (quite horrified): Y-you can�t do that� no � what else?

Lord Rama: Else I�ll leave it to you. Sort it out. You�ve no idea how sorry I feel about all this, but I don�t have a choice. It�s an internal matter, confined to the earth. Solve it here, and soon.

Girl: What � how?

Lord Rama (fumbling): Well, - you know, you�re always welcome to come up here, I wouldn�t really mi-

Girl (coldly): No thanks; we�d rather be here. Is that all that you�ve got to offer?

Lord Rama (quickly): No � there�s something else. Stop leaving everything up to us. It�s tough going anyway, with one thing and another, without worrying about all this. I�ve put some of the best of myself into you� only so that I wouldn�t have to bother in the � long run, if you like. If this is what I get for all my trouble � the point is, you ought to be able to drive some sense into yourselves. And � leave me out of all this. It�s quite impossible to imagine � to even think of � it�s absurd, the very idea of �my own name, destroying my own creations! Precious hours of hard work, toil, all my creativity, the genius, being butchered, for a name!

Girl (indifferent): Not that you care, do you? You�ve no idea, lost your touch in a long time� you�re more than a name, or even a faith. No � it�s far, far worse. You�re a pretext, an excuse, for fun. You don�t see, you don�t. Forgot about us, I gather. And then you come and talk of creativity! Talk of limit!

Lord Rama: Forgot � yes. Yes indeed, and I am going to forget again. There�s nothing we can do about that. All I can do, perhaps, is to ensure that the dead, at least, get an advantage, yes � I think one can arrange that. The rest of it, we�ll settle the accounts later. And how�re my contemporaries getting on?

Girl (in a dry tone): It�s the same everywhere. All your names are equally disgraced � people are equally intent on finishing each other off. What accounts will you settle?

Lord Rama: That�s just delaying my homework, the good the bad, and calculations that follow. I�m not in a particularly great mood to do that now, particularly when the emotions are so complex. (yawning) The calculations get longer, you know�

Girl: But � but what about the future? Our future?

Lord Rama: It�s all in your hands� the present, the future. You wouldn�t perhaps know what is right and wrong. No, even I have difficulties. But between the difficult and the easy, you know what you want, don�t you?

Girl: I think I do. I hope I do�

Lord Rama: And finally -  I am speaking on behalf of all my contemporaries; clear our name out of it, it�s so contradictory. And we Gods, you know, we dislike contradictions. Tell them that, tell them we hardly care about ourselves, and it�s about time they began taking a couple leaves out of our books. I�d have done it myself, but I hardly have the time�

Girl: I told you, you don�t matter. None of you matter. Your name matters because it�s a good old mask to wear and go a-killin� and still being the most respectable person around. (pause) Oh, can�t you leave us alone? Go away � go away clean from our minds, from our conscious, our subconscious! Let us believe in unity, in eternity! In the stars, in the soil! But leave us!

Lord Rama (quietly): You think that will help? You�ll still have a pretext if you like. Or you mightn�t even need one. You wouldn�t care about respect � even less than you do now, which is saying something. It�s all pseudo, now and later, with me and without. I myself wish I could sink into the happier realms of non-existence, but to my great misfortune, I cannot.

Girl: Oh, things are as bad as they can possibly get. Humanity is religion, everyone knows it, but no one accepts it, it doesn�t serve a good excuse� but I�ll do my best.

Lord Rama: You�re welcome at my place, if you ever should want to relax�

Girl: No, I�d rather survive for a while. You�ll come back as soon as possible, won�t you?

Lord Rama: You�ll make thing better by then, won�t you?

(A tall woman enters, standing opposite to where the girl is.)

Girl (upon seeing the woman): �morning, Mother! Look who�s been to see us�. Lord Rama!!

The woman (sounding disgusted): How many times, how many times, should I tell you not to utter that name! You�re out of your senses� don�t you understand religion, girl?

Girl (puzzled): No � I mean yes, but � (changing the subject) you didn�t come in to say good morning, did you?

Woman (distracted): Oh no� just that our neighbor lost one of her treasured costumes, some royal dress or something.(Lord Rama trips on the hem of his robes) I was wondering if you knew�