niddrita o shuptotthita - Surreal Dream

A Musical based on two poems of Tagore. Inspired by a dream, a prince went to find his dream princess.

Act 1 Niddrita: The Sleeping Princess

[Flute and Sitar: ahir-voiro, recitation from back, curtain drawn]

Mood: Long ago a prince suddenly awoke from a sweet dream. Outside, the evening star had started fading, the day was breaking in the east. There was awakening in a corner of the sky while the world was still in deep sleep.

[tabla 1-2-3; 1-2-3 (2); 1-2-3-4]

(As Curtain lifts, Prince enters with song)

Male Solo

(aj tarae tarae tarae ..... nidrabihin gagontale (1st stanza)

Bright galaxy of stars celebrate the celestial fire

Under a sleepless sky

I was invited to the court of heaven

At the feast of light

I didn’t feel like it and so

I crossed the sea of destiny to return

Under the sleepless sky.

[aj tarae tarae repeats until Prince exits]

[Companions enter: in queue]

Female Chorus

hetha måndo-modhur ….. shyamål matir dhåratale (2nd stanza)

Here is the sweet whispering of land and sea

On the green earthly meadow

Here the colourful floral décor on grass

The embrace of light and shade on forest trail

I liked it and so

I spend my time in playful chore

[hetha måndo modhur repeats until Companions exit in queue]

[Recitation]

The Prince looked at the tree-lined desolated street and thought: where in which unknown land, at the end of yet another night as the dawn ushered in, was the pretty princess of his dream sleeping lazily across a snow-white sheet.

[Prince enters, goes around the stage and exits]

[tabla choutal]

[Prince re-enters]

Male Solo

Choli-go Choli-go … Charån ghae mårån måre påle påle

Here I go, here I go

The street lamps under the sky, there they glow

Playing the marching tune, cascading down the laughter of moving on

Unraveling my colourful spread, I traverse the land and the ocean.

The world loves one who moves on

Welcoming in such inviting rhapsody

My journey is hailed with flourishing seasons

At my every stride, death dies.

[Choli go Choli go repeats until Prince exits]

[Tabla : Horse riding]

[Recitation]

On horseback, the prince left at once. He travelled far and beyond, many lands, many seas. Then on a bleak evening he reached the land of sleep.

[Mondira – 1, Dream Sequence]

[Companions enter in queue]

Female Chorus

aj jotsna rate såbai gyache … jabo na ei matal såmiråne

On this night of lovers’ moon, all have gone to the woods.

Intoxicating is the spring breeze,

I shan’t go, I shan’t go,

Amidst this solitude, I’ll stay in my lonely corner.

I shan’t go though

Intoxicating is the spring breeze.

[Companions exit]

[Princess enters]

Female Solo

amar e ghår båhu …. matal såmirone (Contd.)

With so much care

My room’s done and cleansed

I got to stay awake should you come.

Should you remember me now

Intoxicating is the spring breeze.

[Princess exits]

Flute : Purobi

[Princess enters]

Female Solo

oi malotilåta dole ….. tomare ki jae bole

In the eastern breeze

The Maloti swings from the arms of the Piyal tree

Lost in romance, my heart sways

Like a passing cloud, my thoughts lose way.

By a tranquil window

Listening to the jilted lover’s tearful voice in the evening air

Where are you now awakening – my far away love?

[Princess exits]

(Mondira-1)

[Companions enter in queue]

Female chorus

kotha baire dure …. mora hetha hothae (1st stanza)

Alas in astray, far away

Your sprightly eyes, a wild bird flies to the woods

When the flute will play at the heart

Willingly you’ll stroll to the gallows

No longer you will wonder in the meadows

But today your sprightly eyes, a wild bird flies to the woods.

[Companions exit]

[Recitation]

There all were deep asleep. On the bank of the river stood the palace in deep repose listening to the melodious tune of the lapping water. In that eerie silence where even a footstep noise could rudely awake the whole sleeping town at once, the prince entered the sleeping palace and his worries lingered ahead of him. The king was sleeping. So were the queen, the crown prince and his brother. Then in a ornate-lamp lit room was the princess, fast asleep.

[tabla 1-2-3]

[Prince enters]

Male Solo

ami elem tari dare … phire jae sudur pare

At her doorstep, calling to her from the dark – ha re.

I knock – time passes by, no response

Don’t see her – ha re.

I leave behind a parting note

Whether I see you or not, you’ll know that I came.

And now I return to the distant shore – ha re.

[Prince exits]

(tabla choutal, mondira –1)

[Companion enters in queue]

Female Chorus

pantho tumi panthojaner … jar pårane laglo tomar haoa (1st and 2nd stanza)

Oh! Friend of the travelling souls

Found only by passing through

He who sings the ballad of the journey

Sings only to greet You.

He looks not back

He sails not close to the shore

The storms invite him to the ocean deep

His heart feels the wind that comes from Thee.

[Companions exits]

[Prince enters]

Male Solo

oshru nodir sudur pare … binar tare

Beyond the melancholic stream

On your doorstep, I catch a glimpse of the shore.

Bound by myself, split in half – the home and the world -

I now unfurl the sail in the evening breeze.

Time has passed, like the market day

Collecting a dead weight of platitudes.

Shun them listen deeply in silence to the veen,

Playing, the song of the nearing shore.

[Dark, prince waits on side, light fades away from Prince]

[Companions enter in queue, light focuses on their entrance and gradually lights up]

[Mondira 1-2]

Female Chorus

joy jatray jao go … tomae hridåe boria låbo (1st stanza)

Be victorious! Ride the chariot of victory.

Victory garland in hand, we shall wait to greet thee.

Spreading our robes, carpeting the dusty road

We shall await your return after your ascendancy.

In our heart to welcome thee.

[Prince and Companions exit]

[Princess enters in dark, Blue spot light gradually focuses]

[flute : Behag]

Female Solo

bisso jåkhon nidra … pai ne dyakha tar (1st stanza)

When the world sleeps and the sky’s dark

Who so passionately strikes the string of my harp?

Sleep broken, I leave my bed

I open my eyes but all is fled.

[Princess exits]

[Prince enters]

Male Solo

mone holo jyano periye elem … låjja diyo na tare (1st stanza)

From the dreary desert to lush green meadows

As if I travelled an endless journey to reach you

On my way, I have knitted a garland of wet Juthi

Scented by my tender devotion,

Oh! don’t you make me feel shy.

[Prince exits]

[Recitation]

On a rose petal strewn bed, like a delicate creeper slept the Princess. A soft pain of happiness enveloped his heart as he gazed intently at her pretty face. Her rain-cloud like hair cascaded from her shoulders to the floor. One arm lay across her chest, the other by her side. Her sari had slipped, so that her tunic seemed to burst, baring the pair of virgin flowers as though hidden behind leaves. He gazed at the breathtaking beauty, of the sleeping princess in her luscious solitude. She seemed the personified dream of the slumber. He clutched his passionately pounding heart, and as he bent down to kiss her lightly closed eyes he tried looking deeper inside – as if to see the serene interior through a door ajar.

[tabla 1,2,3,4]

[Prince enters]

Male Solo

mamo joubono nikunje ….. sokhi jago (1st stanza)

In the garden of my youth, birds chirp

Awaken darling, awake!

Open your love-filled eyes

Awaken as spring sings

In this charming evening.

Oh! you doubter of first flush of love,

In my joyous garden cuckoos coucal

Awaken darling awake!

[prince exits]

[Companions enter in queue]

Female Chorus

Cheye dekhis …. pakhi bone palae (2nd stanza)

Don’t you see the love at your heart’s door

Brought by the southern breeze, don’t you hear the note

Written on fragrant flowers, smiling faces and cheerful songs

Eternal spring has arrived looking for you at your heart’s core

Frantically you looked far and beyond

Your sprightly eyes, a wild bird flies to the woods.

[Companions exit]

[tabla – drumming – (4)]

[prince enters, light only on Prince all along]

Male Solo

he nirupåma gane jodi lage …… tole badolbyatha

Oh inimitable,

Lest my song should lose its rhythm, have mercy.

The sound of heavy showers, the gurgling river in its banks

The murmur of the new leaves in the forest

The wet breeze proclaiming all around - the rain-ballad.

[mondira 1,2]

he nirupåma, chåpolåta aji …. bårondala

Oh inimitable

Lest I should be frivolous, have mercy.

The intense rainy days have come, the woods too numb in joy

The Bakul shrub is intoxicating

The fragrance of the new Kådambo is inebriating.

[mondira 1,2]

he nirupåma, chåpolåta … akul kåre

Oh inimitable

Lest I should be capricious, have mercy.

On your dark eyes – the shade of the rain-cloud has fallen

Locks of your black hair decked in Juthi-garlands

On your feet the greetings of the new rain.

[he nirupåma repeats until Prince exits]

[Recitation]

With the kohl of her eyes, the Prince wrote on a birch leaf, who he was, and where he came from. He wrote – Oh! sleeping beauty, I give my life to thee. With care he strung up a garland and stitched his note with golden thread. In the slumber land slept the princess as the prince put the garland round her neck.

[tabla – kaharba – 8, 64 matra]

[Companions enter]

Female-2 Solo

purno prane Chabar jaha …. shunnodhulae påther dhare (1st stanza)

Desired profoundly, she ought not to be sought empty handed

I should not go lounging wet-eyed at her doorstep.

When the jewelled garland is brought – it must be exchanged.

Will you place your queen’s throne by the dusty wayside?

[Companions exit]

[Prince enters, sunilo sagore…. repeats until Prince is at centre]

Male Solo

sunilo sagore shyamålo kinare …. behage bahare

On the lush green shores, beyond the ocean

I have seen her traversing – the exquisite one

She shall not be forgotten.

She shall remain the universal sweetness of love

I have taught my bina to play

The tune that depicts the one I knew so well.

My music will tell the tale

Of the fruits of my dream – Of her

Who brings ripples to chasing honey bees

Who swings in the fragrance-laden breeze

Who showers down in Shrabon

Who floats in the light clouds of Autumn.

Oh you! delineated in melancholy recollection

I’ll rediscover you in lapses

In raptures of melody.

[Prince freezes]

[Flute: Kedara]

[Curtain Drops]

---

------Intermission-------

---

Act 2 Suptotthita: The Awakened Princess

[Curtain down, Song from background]

Female-2 Solo

bimål anonde jago re

Awake in pure joy

Immerse into the sea of elixir

Bask in the hearty sunshine

Enjoy the first light of day.

[Mondira: Dhamar]

[Curtain lifts, Princess and Companion on stage, Morning light only on Companion]

Female-2 Solo

subhro ashone birajo …. jågåto bikashilo

Seated on a white throne, bathed in crimson light

Against a backdrop of blue sky – what a glorious sight.

The dazzling sun shines the crown

At your feet myriad stars drown.

The universe is bright

In glow, in love and in delight.

[Light pales, Companion exits]

[Recitation]

The slumber land awoke from sleep. Sounds returned – the voices, the chirping birds on trees, humming bees on flowers. Horses woke up in the stables, elephants in their enclosures. Wrestlers puffed out their chest again, awaking from long slumber. The guards got up, the sentries stood once again at doors. The king woke up – so did the queen, the crown prince and his brother.

[Light increases, the Princess wakes up, adjust clothes and reads note, tablo]

[Recitation]

In a fragrant room where the jewelled-lamp lit, the princess woke up and asked – “who has garlanded me?” She put her sari aside and trembled coyly looking at herself. Anxiously she looked around – the room was empty, the jewelled-lamp shone steadily. She held the garland in her hand and read the note stitched in golden thread. She read the name, where he came from. She read the missive, spreading it on her lap, many times. Sitting on her bed the princess thought – “I was sleeping alone in my forlorn room – who has garlanded me?”

[Princess Dances]

Female Solo

amar ånge ånge … batashe jae bhasi (1st stanza)

Who plays the flute on my flesh?

In gaiety and sorrow I am distracted.

By the rapturous blooming flower, the heart is filled

Enchanting is the scented breeze.

[Princess exits]

[Flute: Birds chirp, morning noises]

[Recitation: male]

Birds sand at the new awakening of the woods. Spring had benumbed nature with her kisses. The wind entered the room in a rush ecstasy bearing the fragrance of fresh flowers. Amidst the pleasant chanting of sages, the mellifluous sound of a flute, the jingle of the ankle-bells of the passing damsels carrying water from the river, the murmuring of leaves – with her eyes laced in dream, the princess wondered – “who has garlanded me?”

[Recitation: female, Princess enters, tablo]

Sometimes she wore it, sometimes she held it on her breast. She laid it on her bed as her thirsty eyes remained transfixed on it intently as if desiring to be more acquainted. The world was full of sound everywhere and yet her secret remained unsung. Only a wind blew to her ears and cuckoos incessantly sang. Alone in the room, her mind flustered, she thought – “who had garlanded me?”

Female Solo

kar hate ei mala ….aj phagun diner såkale

On this spring morn

With whom did you send the garland?

The colours signed your name, the smell - your words.

I put the garland on

On the spring morn.

Your songs ring the sky

In the spring breeze

Darling why have you put my name into your tune

Yet you hide behind

This spring morn?

[Recitation: Male, Princess Tablo]

The Princess thought she saw him in an infinite dream. His handsome, strong face was pleasant. His glazed eyes sparkled with an unquenched thirst. He was sitting beside her, holding her hand. She felt his warm touches on her body.

Female Solo

såpne amar mone holo….. ghumer Charidhare

In my dream, I felt you knocking at my door

I didn’t wake up, I did not

And you melted in the dark.

In my numbed mind it jingled rimijhimi

The tall shadow of the woods trembled

I didn’t wake up, I did not. The river flowed to the forest.

He came at midnight with the tidings of the way

Did the silent veena play?

I didn’t wake up, I did not

The wild fragrance deepened my slumber.

[Recitation: Female, Princess Tablo]

She covered her face bashfully. At that moment why did not the shameless lamp blew out? The garland scorched her neck as she lay down on her bed and pondered – “who has garlanded me?”

[Flute – Sibranjoni]

[Princess exits]

[Princess enters]

Female Solo

ogo amar Chiro åChena … holo na ar dyakha

Oh! my darling stranger

From your desolate garden,what brought you so briefly to me?

What you said, I little followed

Just a bell rang in my heart

Like unknown lyrics of the mellifluous flute.

I left the garland that I weaved in the dawn

Under the grassy shade of the tree

But could not find it in the dusk -

And you too have left

As the day draws to an end – I couldn’t see you again.

[Princess exits]

[Prince enters]

Male Chorus

Chole jae mori hae …… udashin

Alas, the end of spring is near

A yearning cuckoo chants incessantly from a far away tree.

An impatient breeze scatters ecstatic bokul

The fleeting fragrance carries the mind away.

A shady mango-grove warmed by the spring

Dances to the humming bees’ song

Unreasonably distraught all day long

Who struck the chords at my heart’s music core?

[Prince exit]

[Princess enters]

Female Solo

aro ektu bosho tumi …. tara jålo jålo

Stay a little longer, say a little more

Darling why so impatient, why moist are your eyes so?

What you wanted to hear from me – can you not sense

How silenly my feeling trembles in my breast.

When you are away

My secret feelings in deep music sway -

When you are near, your eyes wipe them away

Unspoken feelings, twinkling stars of nightly solitude, disappear by the day.

[Princess exits]

[Flute: Bageshree]

[Recitation: Female]

Days passed. Nights followed. Spring went away with its tribute of flowers. The rain came in with her heavily scented air. Autumn came next with smiling moon and enchanted woods. Winter followed with his long sad evenings and dew drops rolling like tears down the flower cheeks. Again spring returned with her casket of flowers. Sitting by the window a pensive princess still wondered alone – “who has garlanded me?”

[Prince and Princess enters in dark]

Male, Female Duet

tumi råbe niråbe … nishithini såmo

[Both] In silence you shall be in my heart

Like the placid full moon on an intense night.

[Prince] My life and youth,

[Princess] My infinite world

[Both] You shall fill up in pride, like the moon fills the night.

[Princess] Your passionate eyes will stay awake alone

[Prince] Your embrace will keep me sheltered.

[Princess] My anguish and pain,

[Prince] My fulfilled dreams

[Both] You shall fill me up as fragrance fills the night.

---

------- The End ------

---