Nihinsa takes the letter and exits.
The phone rings. young Radha answers.
YOUNG THIRRU: Radha!
YOUNG RADHA: Love? Are they near you?
YOUNG THIRRU: They’ve already passed through—
YOUNG RADHA: Thank God.
YOUNG THIRRU: They came up to our office and demanded the Tamil workers. My colleagues told them that there were no Tamils here, and then they took scissors and rulers and blocks of wood and pushed them in the mob’s faces and the mob left. I’m alright. I’m going to be alright.
young Radha is too relieved to speak.
Radha?
YOUNG RADHA: Yes?
YOUNG THIRRU: If something happens today, and we can’t call each other— let’s meet in the little mechanics shed, behind Saraswathi Lodge. You remember?
YOUNG RADHA: Your cousin’s shed.
YOUNG THIRRU: Yes.
Beat.
Are you okay?
YOUNG RADHA: Yes. So, you’ll stay inside the office?
YOUNG THIRRU: For now. I’ll come back home as soon as it’s safe to do so. I love you, Radha.
YOUNG RADHA: I love you too.
She hangs up.
APAH: We are moving back to Jaffna.
YOUNG RADHA: Absolutely not. I will stay in Colombo.
APAH: Don’t be stupid, Radha.
YOUNG RADHA: No. I will stay with my countrymen, not my race. They saved Thirru.
The phone rings. Apah answers.
APAH: Yes?
WELAWATTE SHOP OWNER: அப்பா.. நான் இன்னும் வெள்ளவத்தையில தான் நிக்கிறன். பொலிஸ்காரன் ஒருத்தரும் இன்னும் வரயில்ல. காவாலிகளிண்ட சண்டித்தனம் கூடிக்கொண்டே போகுது. (Sir, I’m in Welawatte. No-one has arrived. The hoodlums are becoming increasingly violent, they’re harassing my staff … )
Beat.
APAH: Yes?
WELAWATTE SHOP OWNER: நீங்கள் ஓம் எண்டு சொன்னா. … நாங்கள், நாங்கள் யாரெண்டத அவங்களுக்குக் காட்டுவம் அப்பா. (With permission Sir, I can teach these hooligans the lesson of their lives.)
APAH: கையில என்ன கிடைக்குதோ அதால அவங்கள போட்டு சாத்துங்கோ. (Lay it thick on them with whatever you have.)
Apah hangs up. They look at the phone, but it does not ring. Nihinsa returns.
Young RADHA: If they defend themselves with violence Apah, won’t more violence ensue?
APAH: What are the options Radha?
YOUNG RADHA: I will call ten, twenty people—Tamil and Singhalese—and we will go into the middle of Colombo and fast, unto our deaths if necessary. Imagine the attention we would get, in the community, all over the country. The whole world would sit up and take notice—
APAH: Do you know those twenty people Radha?
young RADHA: / I— yes I could—
APAH: Would you lead them by example?
young RADHA: / I—
APAH: Even if the whole world took notice: they wouldn’t act upon it. What do we know of the struggle of other people around the world? Who do we really care for, but our own?
The phone rings.
We cannot look to the world for help, darling. Today, we cannot even look to our own government.
Apah answers.
PRIEST: Apah. We have a situation here—
APAH: Ayar? What is it?
PRIEST: A Tamil man was set alight on Galle Rd, and—
APAH: / —my God.
PRIEST: A few incensed Tamil youth have pulled a Buddhist monk out onto the street and are threatening to set him alight as revenge—
APAH: You can see this? You can see them setting the monk alight?
YOUNG RADHA: / Mooroha—
PRIEST: From my window.
APAH: Get out. Run screaming into their midst telling them to stop. Become livid. Then fake a heart attack. Die, Ayar. Fake your own death in the middle of the crowd. Those young men will run away.
PRIEST: Very well then.
APAH: Go!
He hangs up.
YOUNG RADHA: You order the shop owners to defend themselves—and then tell the ayar to stop these other men from taking the same initiative?
The phone rings.
APAH: What did that monk do to anyone?
young Radha nods. Apah answers.
KUNTHAVI: Aiyo, Apah! It’s Kunthavi here. Mobs are marching down our street!
APAH: What?! [To RADHA] It’s Kunthavi Mami. The mobs are on her street.
YOUNG RADHA: / On Jaya Rd?!
Apah nods. young Radha and nihinsa walk to the front gates and look outside.
KUNTHAVI: The hooligans are going to every Tamil house and ransacking the place! One has been burnt to the ground! Our house is next—
APAH: Get out of there immediately. Go to your brother’s place!
YOUNG RADHA: [rushing back] Apah! There’s no time. Tell her to go to her neighbours!
KUNTHAVI: Nowhere that is Tamil in Colombo is safe anymore, Apah.
APAH: …
young RADHA takes the phone.
YOUNG RADHA: Kunthavi? It’s Radha here. Do you have a neighbour who is not Tamil that you can trust?
KUNTHAVI: I— Yes. Yes I do, Radha darling.
YOUNG RADHA: Go—all of you there—and ask to stay in their house. Now!
KUNTHAVI: Okay. Okay. We’ll go right away.
young Radha hangs up. She starts dialling another number.
YOUNG RADHA: Nihinsa! ඇඳුම් ටිකක් දාගන්න. යන්න ලෑස්ති වෙන්න. පාර පල්ලෙහා ගුනතිලකලගේ ගෙදරට යමු—ඒගොල්ලෝ සිංහල. එහෙ යටමාලයක් තියෙනවා. (Pack some bags. Get ready to leave. We can go to the Goonetillike house down the road—they’re Sinhala. They have a basement.)
NIHINSA: හොඳයි බේබි (Yes Maami.)
No-one answers. She hangs up.
YOUNG RADHA: [whispers] Thirru!
The phone rings. She pounces on it.
Hello?
HASA: Hello? It’s Hasa. Is Apah there?
young Radha gives apah the phone.
YOUNG RADHA: Hasa.
APAH: Hasanga?! Yes, tell me. Quickly.
HASA: I managed to contact that cricket friend—
APAH: Speak up, I can hardly hear you—
HASA: I’m calling from a public telephone—
APAH: Why on earth—
HASA: I’m taking pictures on the street.
APAH: Hasa—
HASA: Apah. Listen. I don’t know if this is true, but my cricket friend. He works for the government. And he said he knew that hooligans would not be punished by the police today.
APAH: He knew that early this morning?
HASA: Apparently.
APAH: You may have trouble getting those photos published, / Hasa.
HASA: They’ve stopped a bus in the middle of the street. It’s packed full of Tamil passengers. They’re pouring petrol over it Apah!
Offstage, many hooligans yell ‘demala’ and other derogatory terms.
APAH: / Hasa?
HASA: / [running offstage] ඒයි! පිස්සුද? නවත්තපල්ලා! කියන දේ අහලා ඕක නවත්තපල්ලා! (Hey! Idiot! Stop it! Stop it I said!)
APAH: / Hasa?! [Yelling] Hasa?! / I’m coming there now, I’m coming there Hasa—
YOUNG RADHA: Hang up the phone Apah! Hang it up! Hang it up!
young Radha grabs the phone and hangs it up. Pause. Total silence.
APAH: Two languages, one country. One language, two countries.
Pause.
Nihinsa returns with packed
bags.
Vinsanda enters.
Beat.
YOUNG RADHA: Vinsanda Mama.
Apah and vinsanda stare at each other.
APAH: Did you know?
Pause.
Did you know?!
Pause.
VINSANDA: You are safe here. Stay at home. Do not leave.
Vinsanda exits.
Apah, shocked, hangs his head in shame. young Radha dials young thirru again.
YOUNG RADHA: Nihinsa. Pack my papers up please.
Nihinsa does. No-one answers the phone. young Radha hangs up.
A messenger knocks on the gates.
MESSENGER: මේ මාණිකවාසර්ගෙ ගෙදරද? (Is this the Mannikavasar house?)
NIHINSA: ඔව්? (Yes?)
He gives a piece of paper to nihinsa.
MESSENGER: රාධා සිවකුමාර්ට පණිවිඩයක් තියෙනව. (Message for Radha Sivakumar.)
He exits.
Nihinsa hands the paper to young radha.
NIHINSA: බේබි, මේක මායා කියලා නෝනා කෙනෙක් දෙන්න කිව්වා … තිරු මහත්තයගෙ ඔපිස් එකෙන් කිව්වා (Maya sent this to you Radha. From Thirru’s office.)
young Radha reads the note. The phone rings. She pounces on it.
OPERATOR: [agitated] Ma’am!
YOUNG RADHA: I’m here. I’m here.
OPERATOR: Sorry if that upset you. I’m fielding so many calls today. The woman who wants to patch through to you is highly emotional—
YOUNG RADHA: Please put the woman through. උදව්කරාට (Thank you) Thank you for helping us.
OPERATOR: නැතුව කොහොමද … මෙහෙම වෙලාවට … (Of course. We have to help each other in times like this.) I have an urgent call for you from Australia. May I put it through?
YOUNG RADHA: From Australia? [Beat] Okay. Yes.
OPERATOR: Connecting you now.
DHAMAYANTHI: Radha?!
YOUNG RADHA: Amma—
DHAMAYANTHI: Are you safe?
YOUNG RADHA: Yes—
DHAMAYANTHI: Thank God. I’ve been trying to call you but the phone has been engaged the whole time! What on earth has been going on there?
YOUNG RADHA: Apah has been fielding a lot of calls—
DHAMAYANTHI: Radha listen. It is not safe for you to stay in / Sri Lanka—
YOUNG RADHA: [looking at the note] Amma I have to / go—
DHAMAYANTHI: Listen to me! I’ve asked Hasa to organise humanitarian visas for you all, to come to Australia. Stay in the house and wait for him to bring them / over.
YOUNG RADHA: / Amma—
DHAMAYANTHI: Is Thirru with you?
YOUNG RADHA: [looking at the note] No …
DHAMAYANTHI: Where is he then? [Beat] Radha? Radha!
YOUNG RADHA: [looking at the note] Thirru has disappeared. Maya says that government officials came to their building this afternoon. Asking for Thirru. They named Swathi. His sister. They named the Tigers.
DHAMAYANTHI: Moorooha, / Ganesha—
YOUNG RADHA: I have to /go—
DHAMAYANTHI: I was hoping he had somehow made it back home to you, but if not, / Radha—
YOUNG RADHA: Amma I know exactly where he is. He’s hiding out the back of Saraswathi Lodge. I’ll go get him / now—
DHAMAYANTHI: Do not leave the house! Thirru is very dangerous! You said they mentioned Swathi by name? I told you that whole family are dangerous. Are you listening? It is not safe for you to remain in Sri Lanka!
YOUNG RADHA: Thirru is safe. I’ll find him—
DHAMAYANTHI: You are not listening! Listen! It is highly unlikely that Thirru is alive anymore. Whether he is or not it is too dangerous for you to stay in Sri Lanka. Probably more dangerous for you if he is alive. You said they asked for him by name, Radha. Are you listening?
YOUNG RADHA: … Yes.
DHAMAYANTHI: You may do what you wish with your own life, but not with Siddhartha’s. That child is not just Thirru’s child. That is our child too. Pack your bags. Stay in the house. Wait for Hasa. And Radha? When you do leave, do not wear your pootu or thali okay? Just act … invisible.
young Radha holds a finger to the pootu that sits between her eyes.
DHAMAYANTHI: Radha? Are you listening?
young Radha hangs up the phone.
Pause.
She hesitates with her pootu, but doesn’t take it off.
She walks to the gates.
YOUNG RADHA: Nihinsa. Call the driver.
Nihinsa is with apah.
NIHINSA: Radha bebi …
Apah is not moving.
SCENE THREE
Music and fire. Loud, rhythmic drums.
Radha stands up and begins to change into a saree. It is the same saree that Young radha is wearing.
A funeral procession. The priest enters, chanting. Radha drapes garlands around apah’s body. Hasa and several other men of different Sri Lankan cultural backgrounds enter and carry apah’s body out on a bamboo platform.
Low drumming.
Hasa remains.
Young Radha sits unmoving in aacha’s chair.
HASA: Saraswathi Lodge has been burnt down to the ground. The entire area—the college, the market—is in flames—mobs are everywhere.
Beat.
Your mother rang again.
Young Radha shakes her head.
HASA: I have the visa for you.
Young Radha shakes her head. She stands up and moves to the gates.
NIHINSA: එළියට නං යන්න එපා (You can’t go outside—)
The noise of a homemade explosive. Young radha sits down again.
Wild drumming.
Low drumming.
Young Radha still sits unmoving.
Radha continues to drape the saree.
Hasa and the priest are there.
The priest holds a Tupperware box with Apah’s ashes. He gives the box to young radha.
PRIEST: நான் கெதியில செய்ய வேண்டியதாப் போச்சு, ஆனா ஒழுங்காத் தான் செய்தனான். கோயிலுக்குப் பின்னால, ஒதுக்குப் புறமா … தனியா. இனி களனி கங்கை பக்கமா நடந்து பாப்பம், மிச்சத்த முடிக்கலாமா எண்டு. (I had to rush, but I did the proper ceremony. In the back of the temple, in private. Now we could try to walk down to the Kelani river and complete it … )
YOung Radha stands up.
Hasa is at the gates.
HASA: Ssssh. … There is a body on the street.
Everyone pauses.
There are men. [Beat.] A Buddhist monk is pointing to this house. [Beat.] නිහින්සා දොරවල් වහලා අගුලු දාන්න (Nihinsa lock the doors.)
NIHINSA: පුලුවන්ද මන්දා. … මෙහෙ කවදාවත් දොරේ අගුල් දාලා නෑ (I don’t know if that’s possible … )
YOUNG RADHA: We have never locked these doors.
Hasa runs out into the street.
HASA: [offstage] පලයන් යන්න! අඩිය තියන් නෑ මේ ගෙදරට! මෙහෙ මොකුත් නෑ උඹලට! පලයන් යන්න! (You rascals! Get away from this house! There’s nothing for you here— go! Go!!!)
PRIEST: Another time, Radha. Another time.
Wild drumming.
Low drumming.
Young Radha sits in the chair.
Radha continues to drape the saree.
HASA: Radha. Mobs have been rioting throughout Colombo for seven days now—despite the curfew. They have crowbars and kitchen knives. Tamil homes, shops, streets are on fire. There are refugee camps set up around the city but I can’t find
Thirru anywhere. Now there’s so many refugees the government is shipping them up North. The army and navy have started firing on a building in the city centre with machine guns. Supposedly there’s Tamil Tigers inside. There’s violence in Nuwaraya Eliya. Kandy a few days ago.
Beat.
I have the visa if you want it.
Young Radha doesn’t respond.
Wild drumming.
Low drumming.
Young Radha sits with the ashes on her lap and the phone to her ear.
Radha continues to drape the saree.
DHAMAYANTHI: There are four thousand people who want these visas, Radha. The Australian Government has set a limit of just over a hundred. If you don’t take it, someone else—
Young Radha hangs up.
HASA: Swathi is dead. The police called Bala and he identified her body in Vavuniya. I’ve called or visited every jail cell and camp in Colombo, Radha. [Pause.] I will keep looking for Thirru. [Beat.] But Radha … I will be looking for a body.
Beat.
I will come back tomorrow.
Hasa exits.
Pause.
Radha has finished dressing and watches the following closely.
SUNIL: [offstage] Hello? Helloooooo?
Nihinsa looks to Young radha. She shakes her head.
Nihinsa exits.
You have nothing to worry about. I’m separated from all this.
NIHINSA: [offstage] අනේ එපා … සර් (No, please, Sir—)
SUNIL: I know my own way in this house, I have been here …
Sunil enters. Nihinsa is a few steps behind.
Before. Vannakam. My name is Sunil, madam.
He extends his hand.
Beat.
YOung Radha does not take it.
Ah yes. Not big on handshakes. I remember. We’ve met before. At a wedding in this very house. It was brief. I know your grandfather a bit better—nothing like that, nothing like that. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m separated from all this, cleeeeanly separated. I’m from India, here on business only—
YOUNG RADHA: My grandfather is dead.
SUNIL: I’m very sorry to hear that Radha. But I’m not here about your grandfather. You see, I’m interested in buying your house. I heard that you might be interested in selling it?
Beat.
Is your husband here? Perhaps I could chat to him— Thirru? I remember him well, very honourable fellow.
YOUNG RADHA: No.
Counting and Cracking Page 14
