Script (RIVERS)

**Mini** (rapid-fire):
Oh look! A man with a big turban! And a long beard!
Why do you wear such a robe? Is it heavy? Does the sun not make you feel hot? What's
inside that bag? Do you have oranges? Do you have raisins or a big elephant? My father
says elephants can crush walls, but I don't believe him. Can you show me one? And do you
know---

**Father** (muttering):
Heavens above, this girl will drive me mad! She starts before breakfast and does not stop
even when I try to write.

**Ramesh** (smiling gently, looking up):

Oh My Dear, little princess! Slow down! One question at a time. My bag is full, but no
elephants. It holds dry fruits and many stories from my land. Do you want to hear?

**Mini** (excitedly):
Yes! Yes! Show me, show me!

**Mother** (rushing in, anxious):

Mini! Stop! Don't talk to strangers. Who is this man? Such a fierce face, and that bag—what
if he carries danger?

**Ramesh** (bowing respectfully):

No, Mem Sahab. Do not fear. I am Ramesh, the fruit seller. Every year, I come from
Rajasthan to sell fruits in Calcutta. My bag holds only dry fruits. I don't mean to harm
anyone. This girl, Mini, reminds me of my own little daughter, far away in my land.

**Father** (softening, curious):

You have a daughter? About Mini's age?

**Ramesh** (a shadow crossing his face, long sigh):

Yes, Sahib. Her name is Parvati. She is small like your Mini, with a voice that never rests,
just like Mini. When Mini speaks, I feel my Parvati is here beside me. Every step I take in
these streets, I carry her laughter in my heart. Selling fruits is my trade, but remembering
her... that is my life.

**Mini:**
Ramesh baba! Ramesh baba! You said you will tell me stories. Oh, I would love to hear one.
Please start.

**Ramesh:**
Mem Sahab! If you allow me.. May I narrate a story to Mini?

**Father** (laughing):
Why only Mini? We will all listen.

**Mother:**
Alright. You can tell one. Narrate a good traditional story from your homeland.

**Ramesh:**
Once upon a time in a huge kingdom...

(Lights up. Stage set as a royal garden with flowers and a palace backdrop. Birds chirp.
Princess Anaya arranges flowers, Prince Aarav reads a scroll. Queen Meera sews. King
Varun paces with Minister Sarthak. General Rudra and Soldiers guard. Villagers wait at the
gate.)

**King Varun** (stern, pacing):

Sarthak, whispers trouble me. Do you know our twin rivers, Ganga and Yamini, once gave
life to all. Now Ganga floods in anger while the other, Yamini, runs dry. Why does this
happen?

**Minister Sarthak** (bowing, sly tone):

Majesty, rivers crave dominion like kings. Choose one to rule, force the other to bend, and
peace will return.

**Queen Meera** (firm, shaking her head):

No Sarthak, you are wrong. Rivers are mothers. They nurture, not conquer. If they quarrel,
we must soothe their pain, not aggravate it.

(Villagers rush in. Rani kneels, Mohan tugs at Aarav's robe.)

**Villagers:**
We are ruined, My Majesty, We are ruined.

**Villager 1** (crying out):

King Varun! Ganga has burst her banks again! Our homes are gone, our fields drowned.
Only tears fill our pots.

**Villager 2** (angrily):

When Ganga floods, she takes everything—our crops, our cattle, even our loved ones.

**Villager 3** (weakly):

And when Yamini dries up, she leaves us thirsty. The wells are empty. The earth cracks open
with sorrow.

**Old Woman** (trembling):

I have seen both—the fire of drought and the fury of floods. The land that gave us life now
punishes us.

**Young Mother** (kneeling):

My child asks for water, but I have none. The river that once sang lullabies now roars or
hides.

**Elder Villager** (raising hands):

O rivers! We are your children. Why do you turn away?

**Villagers** (together):
When Ganga rises, we drown. When Yamini sleeps, we starve. Save us, O King, before
hope dries away!

**Princess Anaya** (stepping forward, passionate):

Father, how can we sit in comfort when our people suffer so?
If rivers fight, then let us try to soothe them.

**Prince Aarav** (calmly):

Yes. Words may succeed where decrees fail. Let us go to the rivers.

**King Varun** (concerned, to Rudra):

Can you go with them because they are too young, Prince Aarav and Princess Anaya
waiting for the sky to show mercy.

**General Rudra** (bowing):

Trust me. With my life, Majesty, I'll surely take care of them.

**Minister Sarthak** (pretending concern, hiding a smirk):

Perhaps innocence may succeed where power fails. Let them go.

**Queen Meera** (embracing children):

Promise me---be brave, but be kind. Kindness is stronger than anger.

**Princess Anaya** (placing hand on her mother's):

Mother, I promise.

**Prince Aarav** (to King):

Believe us, sometimes even children must carry a crown of duty.

(Scene -- Journey to the Rivers)

(Lights up on a forest path. Sounds of rushing water faintly in the distance. Villagers trail
behind royals. Rudra leads firmly. Soldiers guard the flanks.)

**Anaya** (looking around, wide-eyed):

The air is alive here. It feels beautiful and lively.

**Aarav** (serious):
Yes. We must listen with care. A careless word is sharper than an arrow.

**Villager Rani** (fearful):

But Princess... aren't you afraid? Spirits guard the rivers, and mortals who anger them
vanish!

**Anaya** (with courage):

If our hearts are pure, even the spirits listen and understand our compassion toward them.

(Thunder rolls. River Spirits appear with flowing scarves---blue for Ganga, silver for Yamini.
Villagers gasp and bow.)

**River Spirit Ganga** (commanding):

Who dares to approach? I flood in rage because Yamini betrays me. She withholds her
waters while I drown in fury and whosoever will come in between our fight have to face
similar consequences.

**River Spirit Yamini** (gentle but hurt):

No, Ganga! You drown fields, boastful in strength. I held back to protect what little I have.

**Anaya** (stepping forward, voice strong):

Great Rivers, your quarrel is not between you---it is between your pride and compassion.
When you fight, it is the people who bleed and suffer. So, please hold back your fight.

**Aarav** (calm, reasoning):

Yes, I do agree. You once flowed as sisters. But now, deceived by whispers, you see only
enemies. Ask---who gains from your division and your fight?

(The rivers hesitate. Rudra steps forward.)

**Rudra** (firm, pointing his sword skyward):

Not rivers, but men deceive. Someone sows this discord.

**Anaya** (pleading):
Sisters of water, if you destroy one another, the kingdom will die. Do you wish to be
remembered as rivers of life---or rivers of death? You were brought on Earth to preserve not
to destroy.

**Ganga** (softening):
Your words pierce, child. Yet Yamini's betrayal stings.

**Yamini** (hesitant):
And your words wounds me. But... perhaps we are blind.

(Aarav spots Sarthak.)

**Aarav** (pointing):
Where are the timber trees that used to be here?
Look! There---in the shadows---Minister Sarthak!

**Rudra** (drawing sword):

So you are the Traitor! It is your scheme!

**Sarthak** (stepping out, furious):

Yes! It was me. Why should two rivers share power? If one fails, I could command the other,
and rule the kingdom. Starving villagers meant nothing when I could hold riches with other
people!

**Anaya** (furious):
You would sacrifice children and villagers for greed?

**Aarav** (calm but cutting):

Sarthak, Your existence is just like a mere single drop in the universe. Rivers carve
mountains---you cannot even master your own heart.

**Sarthak:**
You blame me? Yet all enjoyed the wood of the trees and materials made from it---the
houses, the thrones, the carriages! I only gave the kingdom what it demanded. And I am not
wrong. Men are the conquerors of nature. We should take advantage of it!

**Aarav:**
No. Men are part of nature, not the conquerors. We should protect it. Let's take him to the
king.

**King Varun:**
Punish the culprit who brought such destruction to the common people of the kingdom.

**Rudra:**
Come with me you Traitor!!

Scene changes

**Ramesh:**
In this way, Sarthak was punished. Peace and Prosperity returned to the village.

**Mini** (thoughtful):
But Ramesh baba... if Sarthak was punished, why are rivers still suffering today? We hear of
floods, droughts, and pollution all the time. Why?

**Ramesh** (gently):
Because, child, the story has not ended yet. Today, we all are responsible for this great
cause. The rivers cry not from quarrel, but from how we treat them.

Mini:
I will try to find a solution to this problem. I myself will talk to Ganga.

(Blue light. The Spirit of River Ganga appears, veiled in flowing fabric.)

Ganga (sorrowful):
I am Ganga. The lifeline of the land! For ages, I have nourished your fields. But, what have
you given me in return? Men choke me with waste, cut forests that feed my veins, build
greedily upon my banks. My anger floods cities, my grief dries villages. I do not fight Yamini
now—I suffer at the hands of mankind.

Mini (firm, stepping forward):

Then I must act. If trees are cut, I will plant them.
If rivers are poisoned, I will clean them.
If people forget, I will remind them.
I am only a child—but even a small lamp can enlighten the dark.

(Stage shifts. Mini now stands on a small platform in the town square, addressing a crowd of
villagers, students, and townsfolk. Ramesh watches proudly. The Father and Mother stand
behind, astonished at her courage.)

Villagers (chanting):
Save the rivers! Save the trees! Save our land!
Rivers give, forests breathe,
When man protects, the earth will live.
Not kings nor gods alone can save—
The power lies in the hands of the brave!

(On stage, people begin planting saplings in small pots, bringing buckets of clean water,
tying blue scarves as river-streams. The visual shows real change.)

Music swells. A Harvest dance begins—a dance of harmony. Villagers, children, and spirits
join hands. Ramesh offers fruits, Ganga blesses the people. Mini stands at the center,
holding a small plant high as a symbol of hope.

(Harvest dance swirls, villagers planting saplings and pouring clean water. Ganga and
Yamini smile faintly, lifting their flowing scarves as blessings. Mini steps forward, framed in
light, holding her sapling high. The music quiets, leaving her voice alone.)

*Anaya (to audience, voice strong):

Once, King Varun punished Sarthak for his greed.
But today—rivers still flood, forests still fall, waters still run dry.

Aarav:
So tell me... who must act now?
Not kings, not prince and princess—
It is us. Plant a tree, save a drop, keep the rivers clean.
One small step, from each of us,
will grow into a forest of change.

(She kneels, planting the sapling into a pot center stage. The villagers circle her, hands
joined. Ganga and Yamini bless the sapling with blue scarves of flowing water. The music
rises into a hopeful crescendo.)