In the beautiful India where our play takes place lives a very old demon. Sitting on his sacred throne he feeds only on hate.
He divided the world in four Varnas:
"At the height of purity are the Brahmins; below them- Kshatriya, the warriors, then the Vaisya- the merchants and, finally the Sudras- the servants.
There should be a fifth category that needs to be added - of those who are totally impure to touch, the Chandalas. They are excluded from everything because they can pollute the purity. Purity of the objects they touch, the places they pass by, the earth they walk on, water they drink, air they breathe,..."
An angel no bigger than a butterfly
Will face this eternal demon
Nimble on his wings, he will harass the demon with his arrows
He is Kama, the Cupid…
Tonight we will offer to the insatiable appetite of this monster
two mythical lovers: Romeo and Juliet
renamed as Jack and Janani
The death of countless lovers has never
buried with them in their tomb the hatred of castes ...
because the monster has cleverly broken himself in pieces
and hidden them deep inside our hearts.
For next three hours, if you lend us a patient ear
we will play for you the story of Jack and Janani
We will make love flow through your heart
to cleanse the pieces of this monster ...
and our zeal will fill the void with Anantha*
*According to the Natyasastra, the oldest of the theatre treaties that dictates the rules of dramatic art and advocates as an outcome the state of Anantha (bliss), implying a happy ending for all plays.