[The setting is Rishikesh, India, where the Ganges River leaves the Himalayas for the lowlands and meanders toward the sea.]
Scene 1
[We are returning to town from a swimming excursion at a nearby waterfall. John, myself, and German girl sit in the back seat; the driver and a barefoot Indian man with long, graying dreadlocks sit in front. The man is tall, with a striking face. His clothing flows on him, color of saffron.]
(After some minutes of silence.)
John: Sir, are you a sadhu?
Both driver and Sadhu: Yes.
Sadhu: I think you understand more than they. (he gestures at myself and the German.)
John: (pause) Are you going to Haridwar for the Khumb Mela?
Sadhu: Yes.
John: In 2010?
Sadhu: Yes. We have to wait for the time.
John: (after a pause) Is it true that most sadhus smoke hashish?
Sadhu: (shaking head, becomes reticent) Sorry.
John: Ap ka nam kya he?
Sadhu: Oh! Ap ka nam kya he?! (begins speaking Hindi quickly and furiously)
John: I don't understand.
Sadhu: (continues in Hindi)
John: I don't understand.
Sadhu: You don't understand? You don't understand? Why do you speak of Hindu things when you don't speak Hindi?
John: (pause) Where did you learn English so well?
(Sadhu turns away, does not respond.)
Scene 2
[On the West bank, cement steps lead down to an 84-year-old footbridge strung 450 feet across the muddy and swollen water. Darkness is recently fallen.]
(John ascends the steps; a sadhu stands at the top. He is a tiny man, maybe reaching five feet. He has the frailty of a scarecrow; his bones seem like bird bones. He sways to a faint breeze. A stronger wind would whisk him away.)
John: Namaste.
Sadhu: Ah! Namaste!
(The sadhu puts his hands in prayer position and bows vigorously, beaming.)
John: (points to himself) America.
Sadhu: Ah! Rajastan!
(They stand awkwardly and watch the Ganges swirl past under the lamplight. John is searching for any avenue that might lead to common ground. Minutes pass. The sadhu continues to smile.)
John: (pointing at river) Ma Ganga.
Sadhu: Ah, Ma Ganga! (Smiling and clasping his hands, he wobbles his head in the universal Indian sign of yes, no, maybe, okay, good, etc.)
[Lights out.]
