Saadat Manto - My Name Is Radha

‘Now I get it! That’s what all the fuss was about!’

‘What fuss? I roasted in the kitchen all that time. . and this means nothing to you. You love turnips, so I decided to cook some myself especially for you. The cookbook was in my hands. . I just dozed off for a minute and the damned turnips turned into charcoal. Where do you see my fault in all this?’

‘No, of course not. No fault at all.’

‘All right, then, get up now. Let’s eat. Rats are gnawing at my stomach.’

‘And there are alligators in mine.’

‘Will you ever stop joking?’

‘Joking or no joking, come over here. Let me have a look at your turnips . Let’s hope they haven’t turned into coals.’

‘We’ll see about that after eating.’

Characters:

BEGUM, the mother

AMJAD (a crippled young man) and

MAJEED (a stout, healthy young man), the Begum’s sons

SAEEDA, Amjad’s beautiful new wife

ASGHARI, a maid

KARIM and

GHULAM MUHAMMAD, servants

KAMAL, a chauffeur * ACT I

A room in Nigar Villa. Its beautifully paned windows open on to hilly slopes that extend as far as the eye can see until they blend into the greyish-blue sky. The silk curtains on the windows are rustling in the gentle morning breeze. The room’s furnishings give the impression that it is being converted into a bridal suite. A canopied teakwood bed is on the right near the windows. In a corner near the bed is a small glass-topped side table with a crystal decanter, a goblet and an alarm clock on it. At the back, two servants are arranging cushions on a sofa with beige-coloured taffeta covers. A short distance away, a young, plain-looking maid is trying to rearrange some items on the mantel above the fireplace. A virginal silence, so delicate that it would lose its innocence at the slightest touch, pervades the room. The sound of wood slowly tapping on the tiles outside is heard. The three domestics react slightly and then resume their respective duties. A dignified middle-aged woman enters through the door, propelling herself on crutches. She scrutinizes the room and evinces a feeling of satisfaction.

BEGUM SAHIB ( hobbles about the room, making sure that everything is in its proper place ): Looks fine! ( She removes one crutch from under her arm, leans over to set it against the arm of the sofa in order to sit down, but then changes her mind. In doing so, her hand leaves a smudge on the shiny surface of the armrest. She uses one corner of her dupatta to wipe it, then puts her crutch back under her arm and addresses the maid ) Asghari!

ASGHARI ( facing her ): Yes?

BEGUM SAHIB ( suddenly realizing she has forgotten why she called asghari): What was I going to say?

ASGHARI ( smiling ): That you aren’t satisfied. I feel the same way, Begum Sahib. Really. The bride is very beautiful. All of the room’s decorations will pale before her. ( She looks at the bride’s portrait hanging from silk cords in the centre of the wall above the fireplace. )

BEGUM SAHIB ( smiling, slowly moves towards the fireplace and looks closely at her daughter-in-law’s portrait, beams but then suddenly feels anxious ): Asghari!

ASGHARI: Yes?

BEGUM SAHIB: I’ve been feeling sort of uneasy since this morning.

ASGHARI: But of course. Amjad Mian is coming with his bride.

BEGUM SAHIB ( lost in thought ): Yes. He should be along soon. Kamal has taken the car to the station.

ASGHARI: Next year get Majeed Mian married, too. The house will really brighten up.

BEGUM SAHIB: God willing! God willing that will come off too, nicely. ( Under her breath ) God willing!

ASGHARI ( looking at the bride’s portrait, obviously impressed by her beauty ): May God protect her from the evil eye.

BEGUM SAHIB ( almost screaming, without meaning to ): Asghari!

ASGHARI ( startled ): Yes!

BEGUM SAHIB: Oh. . oh nothing. When does the train arrive from Karachi?

ASGHARI: I don’t know, Begum Sahib.

BEGUM SAHIB ( to a servant ): Karim, call the station and find out. . but the train reached Rawalpindi yesterday. . Majeed’s telegram said so.

KARIM: Yes, it did.

BEGUM SAHIB: Oh, and I’ve sent Kamal to the station. . ( confused ) God knows what’s wrong with my head. Amjad was going to stay overnight in Rawalpindi with his friend Saeed. . They must have left Rawalpindi by now. ( To another servant ) Ghulam Muhammad!

GHULAM MUHAMMAD: Yes?

BEGUM SAHIB: Go look for Kamal. Find out where he’s taken the car.

GHULAM MUHAMMAD: Right away. ( Exits. )

BEGUM SAHIB ( leaning over ASGHARI’s shoulder for support ): I haven’t been feeling well since morning. If I weren’t an invalid. . if that damn Dr Hidayatullah hadn’t stopped me, I would have gone myself to bring the bride home. ( The faint ringing of a telephone is heard in the distance. ) Perhaps that’s Amjad’s friend calling to say that they’ve left. Run, Asghari, run! (ASGHARI exits, running. ) ( To KARIM, to lessen her worry ) Well, Amjad Mian must be here soon.

KARIM: May God bring him back safely.

BEGUM SAHIB ( almost screaming ): What do you mean by that?

KARIM ( scared ): Just that, just that. .

(ASGHARI is heard screaming offstage , “BEGUM SAHIB! BEGUM SAHIB!”)

BEGUM SAHIB ( apprehensively ): What’s happened?

(ASGHARI enters, shaken .)

ASGHARI: Begum Sahib! Begum Sahib!

BEGUM SAHIB ( tightly clutching her crutches ): What?

ASGHARI: Majeed Mian has called. . to say that the train. . the train was in an accident!

BEGUM SAHIB ( grasping the crutches even tighter ): And. .

ASGHARI: Amjad Mian and his bride were injured. They’re in the hospital!

BEGUM SAHIB ( Her grip loosens and the crutches fall from under her arms. For a moment she stands there frozen, then a small tremor runs through her and she moves towards the door. ): Tell Kamal to get the car out. We’re driving to Rawalpindi.

(THE BEGUM is walking towards the door while GHULAM MUHAMMAD and ASGHARI watch her, stunned. ASGHARI screams and THE BEGUM whirls around to look at her .)

BEGUM SAHIB: What is it?

ASGHARI: You’re. . you’re walking! You can walk!

BEGUM SAHIB: Me. . ( Noticing she is no longer on her crutches ) How? How can I be walking? ( All at once she collapses on the floor, unconscious. )

ASGHARI ( to GHULAM MUHAMMAD as she walks over to THE BEGUM): Go telephone the doctor.

(GHULAM MUHAMMAD exits . ASGHARI tries to revive THE BEGUM.) ACT II

The same room as in Act I. The furniture appears dull and devoid of its earlier sheen. Now everything looks well used. It is morning. The silk curtains on the windows are fluttering gently in the light morning breeze. SAEEDA , the bride, lies covered with a blanket on the teakwood bed to the right. On the side table the alarm clock showing nine o’clock begins to ring. There is some movement under the blanket. SAEEDA rolls over and opens her eyes. She looks over at the clock and smiles. In doing so, her thick lashes flutter on her beautiful face. She flips back over, props herself up on the pillows and looks out with childlike glee at the alluring view of the hills spreading out endlessly before her. Then, suddenly, she kicks off the blanket, jumps out of bed, draws the curtains and looks outside. She hears a bird’s musical trilling and becomes lost in her thoughts. She is young. Although the silk nightgown hanging loosely on her body is attractive in itself, it nonetheless shows to good effect the curves beneath it. She is ravishing, and aware of it. Suddenly ASGHARI’s raucous voice rises in the background, contrasting sharply with the sweet sound of the singing bird. SAEEDA starts. When ASGHARI is visible she gives her a look as though asking, ‘What was that?’