The Mortal's Birth

Read through the whole thing yet again. You are right, it's easier to read as chapters, with the blurbs providing lot more focus. This is not a play that can be "finished" in one setting. Fresh perspectives can be had with every reading and every reader. A very nice piece of art. Perhaps you could give a few notes about the various Hindu gods for those at writer's cafe who are not well-versed with hindu mythology?

And yes, welcome to Writer's Café! :P

Posted 13 Years Ago

Dear Agni,

I do not think this play is too long.

There is so much here. Where to begin with this remarkable piece? Kali, of course, is such a powerful figure, strongly associated with Shiva and death. Kali, only arose distinctly around 600 CE, so doesn't have the lineage of Agni, mentioned in the Rig Veda and probably dating to ~4000 BCE, or Shiva. Still, with these powerful figures in the play, it makes one expectant of great and powerful insights.

But all that the reader seeks, the insights that he wants are not apparent. This is like life. Rather this play is about change (as expected from Shiva/Kali). And yet things do not really change since change is the only constant. The actors move through time, they change, but will change again, and then again. Gods, animals, mortals, life, death, rebirth, change, change, change. It is the processional of life, death, existence.

This is a magical story. It held me captive. And there are absolutely beautiful parts:

"Heed me o blade of grass
In sun and rain thou standeth
Erect and still in thy penance
An undisturbed pool
A cloud not yet rained
Glorious is thy stillness
Glorious the boon of thy dew

Heed me now o fellow ascetic
In sun and rain I sat
Erect and still in my penance
An undisturbed pool,
A cloud not yet rained.
But now he has cast his glance
And my heart is pierced.
But tell me just this
If his was the arrow that roused my sleep
Then why do I burn in this curse?"

Technically, there are issues of whether this can actually be staged. However this is of little matter. Because I can easily see there are stagings that will work without loss of the power of the piece.

I am impressed, my friend. This is going to get one of my rare 98 rating. My friends know I have never given higher and how rare these are. This deserves it.

This was a very thought provoking piece. I can't claim to understand all the motivations and reasons for what happened in this piece, but then I've learned to live with this in my life, and for many things there are no reasons. Things just are.

Welcome to WritersCafe.

Very best regards,

Rick

Posted 13 Years Ago

Read through the whole thing yet again. You are right, it's easier to read as chapters, with the blurbs providing lot more focus. This is not a play that can be "finished" in one setting. Fresh perspectives can be had with every reading and every reader. A very nice piece of art. Perhaps you could give a few notes about the various Hindu gods for those at writer's cafe who are not well-versed with hindu mythology?

And yes, welcome to Writer's Café! :P

Posted 13 Years Ago