Cast & Setting
EPILOGUE
I finish this possible future scenario on a most auspicious day, Shivaratri, God’s birthday here in India, and as the temple bells ring and the conch horns reverberate across the Ganga, Shiva comes into every pious Hindu’s home to smoke ganja, drink bhang and celebrate this most holy of days.
Thousands of small fires dot the city and banks of the river inviting the Great God to come and partake in this humble house of devotees and the streets are filled with smiling faces and music and chanting can be heard everywhere as the people rejoice and share a pipe or glass of sweet nectar; mother, father, small children and grandparents all join in sharing the Flower of God.
A family walks by my window on the way to the river for their morning bath. "Jai Shiva!", they shout, "Jai America!"
"Jai Shiva!", I shout back, "Jai India!"
yes, Jai America, I think, America needs lots of jais in the coming years for it has lost that mystic potency that envelopes everything here in the East, that spiritual vibrancy our forefathers brought with them when they came to a strange land to start a new life of religious freedom. Maybe we will find it again as the new American Renewal rings out the old. Let us hope. Let us pray.
BOM SHIVA!
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PROPERTY AND COSTUME NOTES
Illegal substances are a part of this play. Daring directors who want to challenge the prevailing laws in a more dramatic and vigorous way will use the real thing. More timid directors who feel they can convey the spirit and message without breaking the law may substitute oregano, tobacco (ugh!) or other legal herbs for marijuana and store bought mushrooms and cacti for magic mushrooms and peyote and legal, garden variety leaves for coca and khat.
Chillums are tubular clay pipes resembling a small ice cream cone with the bottom end cut off and they are used everywhere in the East for smoking tobacco, hashish and other mixtures. A small rock is put inside to filter out hot particles from entering the mouth of the smoker. They are usually made from clay but other materials can be used such as metal or wood. Since in many states even these are against Caesar’s law, falling under the misnomer of "drug paraphernalia", there may be difficulty in locating a source. However, they are easily made and local potters have been known to make quite good ceramic ones decorated with snakes and Sanskrit religious symbols.
Rubberized camouflage coverings, the real thing that you've seen draped over the big guns in the newsreels and movies, can often be purchased from army-navy surplus stores especially those in the vicinity of army bases. Enough to cover back wall and side flats should cost not more than a hundred dollars. Less expensive plastic fish net or aviary netting from your local nursery that can be interwoven with leaves and branches and can look quite authentic.
Plastic marijuana plants may be difficult to find but paper mache can easily be constructed. Someday an enterprising young entrepreneur will mass produce injection mold pot plants and make a fortune since there is a demand for their use as alternative Christmas trees, lawn and garden decoration as well as a means to confuse and outwit the Czar's air surveillance.
Sound effects for helicopter and airplane in I-I and III-II and wind, rain, thunder and lightening for III-II can be obtained from professional sound effects companies in major metropolitan areas. Colleges, local libraries and television stations can also be helpful.
Indian costumes, posters of various Indian deities, Shiva, Parvati, Ganesh, etc., cooking pot for the dhuni fire can all be purchased at Indian grocery and general stores in the Indian neighborhood of any large city and those in the vicinity of a Hari Krsna temple might call on them for assistance since many have adjoining retail stores that sell kurtas, pajamas, lungis, beads, sandalwood paste for Shiva’s head and body markings as well as a large selection of sitar, tamboura and tabla music. A trident, similar to Neptune’s pitchfork, can easily be made by a tinsmith or in the wood shop and painted in such a way as to resemble metal.
The characters in this play are generally a scroungy bunch, living on the road, seldom bathing or changing clothes, without launderettes or dry cleaners, often living with animals and without the cosmetic niceties of modern civilization. They had few mirrors to gaze into and drug users tend to be more disinterested in outer appearances and more interested in inner experience than other people so their beauty would radiate from their eyes and auras rather than well coiffed hair or Tide-sparkling costumes.
The large crucifixion plant that Beary will be tied to can be made from paper mache but must have sturdy 2x4 bracings and a crossbar in order to safely hold his weight.
A large electric fan will be needed in III-II to simulate the strong, whirling blast of wind coming from the helicopter as it lands and takes off.
GOD BLESS AMERICA
All inquiries should be addressed to
INDIA JONES, Pralaya Institute
Fax U.S. 001-808-237-8895
Web Home Page: www.americanpassionplay.comEmail: (indiajones@rediffmail.com)
India Jones is the son of Indiana Jones and the Maharani of Shadrapur. He was educated in India, Washington D.C. and Paris, graduating from the Sorbonne at age 14 and receiving a doctorate in Philosophy at age 16. Upon graduation, he returned to India to live and study with his guru, Hakim Kutta, high in the Himalayan range near Tibet.The Hakim, alleged by some to be an ascended master, taught India many secrets and instructed him to return to the West in order to educate the so called developed countries about the visionary substances that have for so long been used in the East. India lives in California when he is not in India
Hakim Kutta (loosely translated as Doctor Dog) is a little old man with white beard who lives and studies the esoteric wisdom of the ages high up in a secret valley near the Tibetan border. It is the home of the tiny blue bindi flower that blossoms for only four days a year and contains the most powerful and meaningful visionary experience known to man…if prepared correctly. The Hakim's preparation is the result of centuries of refinement.