My translation attempt of Marathi Drama एकच प्याला (Only one glass) written Ram Ganesh Gadkari)
Please suggest better option for words and phrases.
Episode II
(Venue: Taliram's house. Characters: Taliram and Bhagirath)
Taliram: (Holding the bottle in both feet and bending, he is trying to remove the cork.) It is said that drinking(alcohol) habit cannot be abandoned! Once taken, it does not go away! And why to criticise it and call it so bad! " Take it! (Both drink.) Bhagirath, many of those who gossip about alcohol do not even know what alcohol is! Well, I say, don't give up, let us just assume that once you get drunk, it doesn't go away! But how can alcohol be termed as bad? Bhagirath, you are a university graduate. Once you get a degree by giving examination in four days, it sticks to your name permanantly! So has anyone decided to stop taking a degree? The same is about wife! Once you just put on the necklace (marry a woman, whole life she remains your wife, doesn't it? So has anybody stopped marrying? Degree is not bad, wife is not bad, then why is alcohol so bad?
Bhagirath: Taliram, even though there such similarity in these three things, how can they all be compared? Do graduates and having wife have such bad consequences?
Taliram: The consequences of these are even more worse than alcohol. I can show many graduates by holding their hand that if there was no hollow basis for the name of the degree, they would not have dared to present their stupidity to the world. It is true that no one else understands irrelevant talk of drunkerd; but he also cannot understand the graduate's babble! Degree and love are the foremost among many of the calamities that have befallen our poor country since the beginning of English rule. As soon as one starts school learning he begins to build his views with growth of mustache. Based on knowledge gained foolishness prospers and growing mustache in style move to love affairs with girls.
Bhagirath: You are ridiculing the noble sublime love!
Taliram: Bhagirath, you take one drink. Then the words like 'noble' etc. will be washed away from your tongue. Do you not see that love is ridiculous? Alas, if there was no lotus in poetry, revenge in drama, cave in novels, special editions in magazines, special correspondents in newspapers, love in the married life, co-operation in industrial movement, patriotic self-sacrifice in reform and parabrahm in Vedanta, there would be no room for mockery.
Bhagirath: Let it be. Tell me how the effects of love are worse than alcohol! What is the value of this wine in front of the love of beautiful women?
Taliram: Yes, what is there in love? Alcohol is superior to love in every respect. Behold, in love a king is a slave, but in wine a slave is as free as a king. While love teaches begging, there is no limit to the generosity of alcohol. For love, one has to suffert the kicks of a lover, but with the force of alcohol, one can kick the whole world. Love makes you feel good, while alcohol makes your imagination grow. Whats more, If you love too much, you can earn a woman with eyes like tempting wine, but if you drink alcohol and your eyes become red, then you can become with similar eyes yourself! Say now-
Bhagirath: It is true. I did not realise these things. Another effect of falling in love is that can’t sleep at night after night but due to alcohol we can go to sleep not only at night but also during the day. Well, what do you think alcohol has to do with morality?
Taliram: Alcohol is very supportive to gentlemanship. Listen how. An alcoholic never lies. Because he can never tell a lie! Alcoholics never deceive anyone. Because he doesn't remember who said what! He never betrays anyone, because no one trusts him!
Bhagirath: All right, Then what?
Taliram: In case of theft, he is completely ignorant! He can't conceal even a small thing from another - he tells it all.
Bhagirath: Indeed, he can't even digest stolen liquor.
Taliram: Don't make such a joke! Once at our drinking meeting, a friend of ours wanted to steal. Then he snatched the ring from my finger with a big bet; But in the end, in the influence of alcohol, he give it to keep with me again. However, he warned me seriously that the goods were stolen and should not be shown to anyone.
Bhagirath: Great! Satisfaction for both of them in this case! Satisfaction of stealing to one and satisfaction of getting the stolen item back to another!
Taliram: Look at that in the case of love! Someone steals someone's mind, while someone meets secretely! Even stealing to look at each other! Thus it is only the whole market of thieves!
Bhagirath: It is like a love trap. Love unites two souls.
Taliram: Two souls do not become one, but from two souls of a couple, only ten to fifteen souls are produced! In case of Hindustan, the family tree of the top Aryans was loaded with 33 crores of fruits, not because some alcohol was sprinkled on its roots. Irrigation of love water has made it flourish. That being said, alcohol will be more important in terms of reducing life expectancy. It is not doing a partial job of uniting two souls like this! Alcohol has so far wiped out many such lives.
Bhagirath: Then you might be hostile to the love marriage which is now becoming popular due to love?
Taliram: Between the audience and stage, there is a fiery line of lights. When love marriage cross this limitation of drama and come to a reality, they become equivalent to children's games are not worth watching even at half price. People say that drama is a picture of the world. But I would say that nowadays the world is becoming a picture of drama! The relationship between the first half of the love affair and the second half has no relevance to each other or may be only at a casual level. Love marriage is a joint of two words which need to be separated by lawyer.Bhagirath: Before marriage, the lovers are craving for walking with hand in hand, Even to see the dust of their footsteps they wait looking at street for many hours, the same search for opportunity to trick by each other by putting dust in their eyes trying to bring face to face for kissing before marriage, become furious to bite iif happen to see each other and instead of biting other have to finally bite .their own lips and toung.
(don't likese things like Taliram, Abru, Kirti at all. What good is a web site if it simply "blends in" with everything else out there? He told me to go to Bhar Chowk and have a drink, but I am still ready.)
Bhagirath: It seems your mind is polluted to have a bad opinion about the present social progressive changes . You may not be against old style marriages.
Taliranm: Now a days I am also becoming against such things. Married couple deciding to remain united for seven generations at the time of marriage, have started giving impression like they will carry enmity with each other for seven generations. Just as priests are necessary for conducting marriage ceremony, lawyers and judges are becoming necessary to break them apart. We often see that now a days legal quarrels between husband and wife are increasing beyond limit The secred strings wound around couple on the marriage stage have to untangle in legal courts. Just see it. The attitude of husband towards his own wife has changed so much that person looking in the same way to other woman has to be termed as gentleman behavior and his own wife is getting status of mother.
Bhagirath: As you are talking in casual mockery style, there is no need of answering in same strong note. However, it is true that the present life is showing discord in relationships and the responsibility of this must be attributed to our forefathers. It seems that our older generation is determined to ignore present changed circumstances while arranging marriages.
Taliram : You say like that. But by seeing present collapse of marriage system, thought comes that the person on the journey of married life should adopt other social way instead of getting chained in heavy marriage handcuffs.
Bhagirath : No. I don’t think there is any bad deed than prostitution.
Taliram : You are still ignorant. In such outside relationships one doesn’t have to keep any relation even limited to name with children and their aftercare. Moreover if she is dishonest we can drive her out. Our government has not paid attention to care for their living. Hence if found cunning, we don’t have to pay any money for her future even if we drive her out.
Bhagirath: Let it be. We should live for enjoying our days in happiness. Why to follow such dirty troublesome practise. Its not that I talk against drinking, but it is not true that drinking reduces one’s capability to work.
Taliram: Ask this question to English rulers, The entire intelligent Aryan community waits outside their bunglows in clerk status and those bosses do not find time to meet them while drinking pegs over pegs. Bhagirath, you are asking such foolish questions only because you are sparing yourself in continued drinking. You are not beginner now. See Bhagirath, even beginner also need not be afraid about his image and status. We take care of beginners for that for four to six months
Bhagirath : OK then what?
Taliram : Then he himself doesn’t care about his image.
Bhagirath: Taliram, I do not care now about my image and social status. Why the one, who has sacrificed his world permanently while living , should care for such things. Even if somebody asks me to drink in busy square, I am ready for that.
Taliram: Well done Bhagirath, we should get enthusiastic people like you. We will soon be launching an Alcoholics Association to eliminate this problem of eating and drinking freely. The main purpose of this group is to stop the criticism of alcohol consumption by respected community and give it a respectable status as alcohol drinking has gone mostly in the hands of bad people. We have named it 'Arya Madira Mandal' because it includes people who drink alcohol of all religions, all sects, all castes and sub-castes. We have to establish it on the strong tall foundations by publicizing all its objectives in detail. I will tell you about this at the right time.
Bhagirath: Well Taliram, I think it's too late, I'm leaving now.
Taliram: There is so much left, finish it and then go.
Bhagirath: This smell causes trouble on the way unnecessarily.
Taliram: Wait, I shall tell you one mantra. Oh ya, come out (Gita comes.)
Gita: (Thinks in mind) Today my name is not called as 'Gita'. I think the mood is not set down yet!
Taliram: Geete, let's get some soup seeds for him! Bhagirath, it is a cure for bad breath. (Gita goes.) So what? Will you support 'Aryamadiramandala'? We need the help of all people.
Bhagirath: In this world, I have no restraint now. (Gita comes. Taliram takes soup seeds from Geeta and gives it to Bhagirath; Bhagirath goes.)
Gita: Did you go to Raosaheb ( Sudhakar) today? Baisaheb's( Sindhu’s) brother Padmakar dada has come to take her to maternal home. Sharadinibai will also go with Baisaheb(Sindhu).
Taliram: They are leaving tomorrow, and why bother today? Well, I want to set up a Club in one or two days, for which I have to pay as much fee as possible; So is there anything in the house?
Gita: Now you and I are left at home! Jewelry and other goods were plenty in our house! My father had made a house of Golden Lanka by giving a pile of gold items; But with your deeds moneylenders looted the entire treasure in the house. Let it be. But I say, how did you sell everything?
Taliram: What was so difficult about it! We became poorer as we sold half of our goods, and as we we sold the rest of our goods as we were poor.
Gita: You had a good habit of reading and writing; But all the books also were sold out by you!
Taliram: You have no vision! This is the age of education, understood? In the days of famine, philanthropists buy grain at rich market prices and sell it to the poor at cheap prices. In the same way, who would say that it is bad to give expensive books to needy readers at a falling price? It is better to give books to students at half price than to allow them to see the play at half price, do you understand?
Gita: Godess of learning, Saraswati is sitting on your tongue ( You are clever to defend yourself)! Even the portraits were not kept in the house. Hey, even portrait of your father who gave birth to you, you have sold it for four annas!
Taliram: So in this did the fame of the father increase or decrease? Oh, nowadays in the market you can find pictures of Mahatmas like Shivaji, Bajirao, whats more, even pictures of daitees are available at two annas. Do you think our father was better than them?
Gita: You have just born as a human being, that’s all! No one should and look at your face in the morning!
Taliram: Yes, you have started talking too much.
Gita: Yes! I have kept respect about you for long time. Tiger eats even if it is called as tiger or even if called respectfully ! That's the case, I shall be talking like this. What you will do? what I'm talking about! What will you do?
Taliram: What will I do? I shall not spare your scolding! If you try to quarrel with me, I shall break your face into two and give back double response. Now keep aside other issues and bring any jewellery that has remained in the house.
Gita: There is only Manimangalasutra (neckless with black beeds and gold beed as a symbol of married woman) left with me !
Taliram: Then give that to me. Making show of single ornament shows our mean mentality with our poverty. The lack of an ornament in the house of the rich adorned with ornaments looks as beautiful as the cresent of the moon. But wearing a single ornament to the poor in the open means that it looks disgusting like a white spot on a black body. What is the point of praising Lakshmi like this? Give me that Mangalsutra to me.
Gita: Oh, keep some respect with people and religion! This Mangalsutra is kept around my neck in your name only?
Taliram: Gold beads are not necessary for married symbol. The thread of beeds in the neck is enough! Am I disturbing your married sign ?, Did I ask for thread of beeds? I shall scrap gold beed only! The Mangalsutra bead of a woman is not like Brahmagatha of some Janava ( secred thread with a knot) that it must be in the neck!
Gita: Yes, that's right. Women are not fortunate in that? Showing the Brahmagatha of Janavya means that Brahmarakshas (demons) like you leave the hand and run away.
Taliram: Yes, that's right! I you show the gold bead of Mangalsutra, the same Brahmarakshas will catch your neck. (Taliram bows his head and starts removing beads.)
Gita: My God save me!
Taliram: God doesn't even have any courage to come to meddle in husband wife struggle! (Breaking the mangalsutra, he starts removing gold beed. Gita starts crying.)
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