The Age of Quarrel

In May the company completed its first stage piece: The Age of Kali, penned by Girish Candra Ghosh, the "Shakespeare of Bengal." "He was a brilliant author," says Sudama Svami. "He'd sit with a secretary on either side and dictate two plays at once." The Age of Kali closely resembles a medieval morality play, and perhaps a little amazingly, it is the company's most popular work.

Prajapati dasa explained, "Kali is the personification of evil. He destroys everyone's good qualities. In the Western world the closest thing to Kali is the devil, but Kali isn't some ghoul with pointed horns. He looks quite respectable-dressed in high style, and so forth. In this day and age, he's the trendsetter."

Sudama Svami plays Kali. He paces onto the stage through an eerie fog, and "Sin" (Rasajna-devi dasi) accompanies him. This is Kali's age to rule, and he and Sin talk over their strategy.

Kali: With perverted desires will I flood their minds. They'll be vultures for pleasure, but only torment find.

Sin: Sexual perversions will be in vogue. Oh, Kali, Kali, you're such a rogue. Sin is Kali's faithful servant.

Sin: What would you like for dinner, dear? Some freshly killed cow, chicken, or deer? Government-inspected turkey, rabbit, or lamb?

Kali: No, tonight I'll eat my fellow man! Kali signals the decline of God-consciousness.

Kali: Worship of God? Ha! There'll hardly be any. But even the pauper will worship his penny.

Kali and Sin conclude the first act by confronting the audience.

Kali and Sin: We're planning all the trouble the world's gonna be put in.

Kali: For I'm Kali.

Sin: And I'm his consort Sin.

Kali and Sin: This is the age that'll do you all in!

The rest of the play takes place in Sin's court, where she is surrounded by her cohorts Lust, Anger, and Greed. A depressed Kali trudges in with sad news: Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu has incarnated and is spreading the chanting of God's holy names in every town and village. Now their corrupt regime is doomed. Sin is outraged and vows to fight right down to her last vice. But from offstage the audience hears the sound of chanting grow louder and louder.

Playwright Diane Richards is so intrigued with Kali she has offered to turn it into a full-length musical. "We haven't reached anywhere near perfection yet," admitted Sudama Svami, "but the reaction from the rest of the theatrical community is very encouraging." He accounts for Kali's popularity in this way: "The Age of Kali has beautiful effects-fog, strobes, colored wheels, flamboyant costumes-and dance and upbeat music. And Kali fits right into this whole 'Exorcist' trend. There's lust. There's anger. There's greed. These are real forces that bewilder everybody. In Kali they come to life, and the audience feels relief to see them subdued."

The troupe performs The Age of Kali in rotation with other works adopted from the classical Vedic literatures of India. From the Srimad-Bhagavatam they enact dramas and dance pieces depicting the pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Krsna. They combine dance and drama in their portrayal of the worldly famous Bhagavad-gita. Most recently, they're working on a full-length production from the epic Ramayana.

These plays provide relief from a modern theater addicted to anti-heroes, alienation, and commercial fluff. They portray great personalities who meet tremendous challenges with spiritual strength. In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna slashes away the doubts of his disciple Arjuna with the weapon of transcendental knowledge. In the series about Krsna's pastimes, the youthful heroes Krsna and Balarama do away with demons such as the kidnapper Pralambasura.

"These plays both entertain and present spiritual life in a pleasing way," said Rasajna dasi. "It's a natural form of enlightenment both for the players and the audience, and for me that's the perfection of theater."

Does Sudama Svami have a timetable for the company's debut on Broadway?

"We're in no hurry," he said. "After all, by uniting Vedic and Western theater the troupe is creating a new art form-and that's not something you do overnight. Besides, I quit my career ten years ago, and then Krsna (through Srila Prabhupada) gave me another chance. So I've learned one thing-it's Krsna's timetable, not mine."