-- *Mar*Wonderful choice. A *drama* allows the same philosophical ideas from your essay — egomania, contempt, and the loss of harmony with nature — to unfold through dialogue and conflict.
Here’s an original short *one-act play* titled 🎭 *“The Last Tree Speaks.”* ------------------------------ *The Last Tree Speaks* *A one-act ecological drama inspired by YM Sarma’s “Egomania—The Pride in Contempt.”* *Characters* - *ARJUN* – A successful corporate executive; intelligent, confident, but arrogant. - *MIRA* – An environmental activist; sensitive, passionate, deeply spiritual. - *THE TREE* – An ancient, dying tree; speaks in a calm, resonant voice. (Its speech may be delivered as a voiceover or through light and sound.) - *WORKER* – A silent laborer with an axe. ------------------------------ *Scene 1: The Edge of the City* *(Stage lights rise on a half-cleared forest. Machines hum in the distance. At center stage stands a single, ancient tree. ARJUN enters, holding a blueprint. MIRA stands nearby, watching the tree.)* *ARJUN:* (smiling proudly) This, Mira, is progress. Soon there’ll be a smart city here—glittering towers, offices, even a luxury mall. The future rises where this wilderness once wasted away. *MIRA:* Wilderness? You mean life. Birds, insects, soil, streams—the breath of this land. *ARJUN:* (brushes off dust from his sleeve) Breath doesn’t pay bills. People need homes, jobs, technology. *MIRA:* And what will they breathe when the trees are gone? The smoke of your machines? *ARJUN:* (tauntingly) Ah, the poetry of protest. Always the same melody—*“Save the trees, save the world.”* Yet you live in an apartment, use a phone, travel in cars. *MIRA:* Yes, I do. But I don’t worship them. You confuse tools with gods. *(Pause. Wind rises. The Tree begins to speak—softly at first.)* ------------------------------ *THE TREE (Voice):* Children… I have stood here for five hundred years. I have seen kings fall, rivers shift, lovers meet under my shade. Why do you now speak of killing me as though I am stone? *ARJUN:* (startled) Who said that? *MIRA:* (softly) Listen. It’s the Tree. *ARJUN:* (laughing) You’ve lost your mind. Trees don’t talk. *THE TREE:* We spoke before you learned words. You heard us when your hearts were quiet. But now your speech drowns everything. *ARJUN:* (angry) I’ve heard enough mysticism! Worker—cut it down. *(The WORKER hesitates, raises the axe.)* *MIRA:* (pleading) Arjun! For once, don’t answer with contempt. Just… listen. *(A long silence. Only the sound of wind.)* ------------------------------ *THE TREE:* Once, your breath and mine were one. Your ancestors sang to the rivers, danced to the rain. Now you rush in metal birds through poisoned air. You think you are masters, yet you suffocate in your own pride. *ARJUN:* (quietly) If you truly speak… then why do you accuse us? We built cities, medicines, light— *THE TREE:* But you built them by cutting your own roots. You call it growth while your soil bleeds. You call it pride while your hearts decay. *(A sudden gust scatters leaves. ARJUN falls to his knees.)* *ARJUN:* I… I only wanted to make things better. *MIRA:* (placing a hand on his shoulder) Better doesn’t mean bigger. Sometimes it means gentler. *(ARJUN touches the tree trunk. The lights soften. The hum of machines fades.)* ------------------------------ *THE TREE:* Remember this moment, Arjun. When you breathe, remember who gives you breath. When you speak, remember silence. When you build, remember to bow. *(The light on the tree brightens briefly, then dims. The WORKER lowers his axe. The stage grows still.)* ------------------------------ *Scene 2: Epilogue* *(Weeks later. The same place, now a small protected grove. A sign reads “The Living Sanctuary.” ARJUN and MIRA stand together, planting a sapling.)* *ARJUN:* I used to think I ruled the world. Now I’m just learning to belong to it. *MIRA:* That’s the beginning of wisdom. *(They kneel. Wind passes gently through the leaves.)* *THE TREE (Voice, faint):* When pride falls, life rises. Remember me—not as loss, but as return. *(Lights fade. Curtain closes.)* ------------------------------ 🌱 *Themes* - *Egomania and Anthropocentrism:* Humanity’s arrogance and contempt toward nature. - *Language and Silence:* The tree’s wordless wisdom versus human verbosity. - *Redemption through Humility:* Listening restores harmony. 🎭 *Staging Notes* - The tree’s “voice” can be conveyed through sound design, low lighting, or a recorded echo. - The play can be performed with minimal props—one large tree trunk, a few tools, and sound effects to evoke atmosphere. ------------------------------ Would you like me to write a *longer version* of this play (2–3 acts, suitable for stage performance), or adapt it into a *radio drama / screenplay* format next? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHCKgn_hAeQX0G23OXVSwDi_163-3F20fUZvxVEP_ExacGg%40mail.gmail.com.
