PGDH4

Arjun Patel

The action-3/5

(A shot of jacks hand pressing a button on a wall. Buzzing sound. After some footsteps heard behind the door, it opens. A young indian man.)

Man-(slightly confused but politely)
yes?

Jack- I'm jack. Jack pears?

Man-pears?yeah.
(blankly shocked. Staring. )
Yeah.
(Nodding)
Come on in.

(They are in what appears to be the living area. The house, though small, is very pleasantly set. The amorphous walls of stone and wood seem to breathe with life. Maybe it is because of the flare from the few but conveniently placed dingy orange bulbs. The room has a simple arrangement of wooden shelves and cabinets. The fireplace is close to the family of 3 chairs and a coffee table made from old Bamboo. The crackling bright heat isn't enough for this weather. But the house being slightly insulating, the frost is bearable.)

(Jack and the man sit down on the adjacent chairs. the man continues to stare at jack with a Concerned look on his face)

Man- very sorry about you brother.He was an excellent man.
(He nods as he sympathizes with jack.)
It was a shock.

Jack-(slightly nodding)
thank you.

Man-(consoling nod. Curious and still slightly concerned)
did Sam tell you where to find me?

Jack- yeah....yeah he did.but...im sorry.....i didn't catch your name.

Man- oh sorry
(smiling and shaking hand)
I'm Arjun Patel.

Jack-(smiling)
pleasure.
So... You were the one who called?

Arjun-(sad)
yeah.
(slightly nodding).....

(A young woman comes into the scene, wearing casual indian attire under the sweater. She is carrying a tray containing a thick mud cup filled with soup. She pleasantly smiles. Jack smiles and Nods as he takes the cup. a small girl peeps from behind the woman. Jack smiles at her. She hides back.)

Arjun- (gently) how are you holding up?

Jack- better. I think.
( Savouring the taste of the warm soup)
This is really good
(Gasping a smile while shaking his head )

Arjun- (a bit lost)
uh...sorry..I'm glad to see you. I really am. but...I have to ask.....what made you come up here?

Jack-( sipping the soup)
Arjun..... I actually needed your help.

Arjun- yeah
( sympathy filled)
I mean anything. sure.

Jack- thank you...uh...I know; you helped sam a lot......with the food,
a place to stay....and...and everything..I just...want you to tell me.....what he had been doing here. exactly.

Arjun-he sought to find peace within himself.
(pause of hurtful recollection)
I hope he found it.

Jack- no. Yeah. I mean I know that but how did he do it?

Arjun-(he pauses to stare )
they call it thapas. it is like meditation But......throughout a lifetime.

Jack-(slightly confused)
did he learn to do it by himself?

Arjun-(staring out of doubt)
no

Jack-(giving a questioning look)
yeah?

Arjun-(strictly nodding)
no

Jack-(confused)
what?!

Arjun-i know what you are intending. I'm sorry but I can't let you . No
(stern)
anything but that.

Jack- I know. I know how you feel about this.but..... Sam is not dead.

Arjun- jack....we found his body. It was lying at the bottom of the mountain.

Jack- no.. that's....it's complicated.

Arjun- no it is not. You can't go up there. Nobody ever returns from that place. I had warned your brother. ( Hints of guilt)
Many times.

Jack- you might be right. But there is a reason why they don't return.

Arjun-there are two: either they make it or they don't. that path is not easy. Not everyone can get what they set out for. It involves sacrifices....of your wealth. your pleasures, your dreams , your relationships. Just....Everything. that means even breaking the ties with your brother. May be he could not do that .that's why he couldn't...

Jack-thats where your wrong. Sam did attain enlightenment.

Arjun-see....jack...(sympathizing)

Jack-(let's out a laugh)
i totally see why you don't believe me. and I don't really have much to prove myself. Look...I know it's gonna sound crazy....but.. Sam has been trying to reach out to me. He comes in my dreams. Every single night. Trying to tell me something. I didn't know what it was at first. But now, I do. I really do.
( heartfelt eye contact )
He is calling me. Arjun. He is Telling me to come join him.

Arjun-uh...
(he doesn't want to confront jack in the situation that he is in)

Jack-yeah sure. I could be imagining it. Just lying to myself to evade the truth. Or may be it is all just a coincidence. Could be. I'd think so too. I did think that. Because I'm a man of realistic approach, just like you.
yet it was not long before I started doubt the very logic and reason that I was so sure about. I thought I was losing my mind. I didn't know what to believe. Because I knew that all of it should not be possible in any way, still I couldn't change the fact that- all those things- they were happening to me and I was pretty sure that they would never stop. Unless I did something about it.
(Grabbing Arjun's attention)
Arjun, this one is too big to ignore. The message that he is giving me. I think it is loud and clear now. I couldn't believe it more. I can't really remember enough from those dreams. but that's how I came to know about you. He lead me to you. I knew nothing about you. The fact that I'm here, sitting in front of you, just by following some vague non existing clues from my crazy dreams- doesn't that make you think again about the ideas that you were surely suspecting but were too scared to consider. Well I'm not scared any more. So you don't have to be either. Not for me atleast. It has taken so much of me to make it upto this point.
(A soft smile)
you know.... He is very grateful for your help. He really is....And.... and he wishes if you could do the same for me.

(Arjun is speachless. )

Jack-I know that it all seams unreal. But, Our very world as we know it now.....is just a lie. The truth is much greater. And I need your help to see it.

Arjun- jack
(still shocked and now more worried)
...but that place is dangerous. It's a place of sages deep in their contemplation. They are not like any of us. Their breathing and metabolism would have become much slower. And their aging would have almost.......stopped. They are not actually humans anymore. Centuries old. Maybe. They do not really need elements to live like food and water. The nature doesn't affect them. They sit still, naked in the utmost cold. They have left the civilization for a reason. They intolerate company. Some say that they possess inhuman powers. God knows what they'd to those who disturb them.

Jack- I'm asking to be one of them.

Arjun- Its not as easy as you think.

Jack- I know it's not gonna be easy.
But....
(softly)
This is the path I chose. I really want to do this.

Arjun-(a pause. he doesn't answer. He stares at jack out of slight surprise. nods)
alright.
(he accepts defeat. He sees the strong will in jack. But he still gives it a thought)
Stay here for the night. You'll love the food. You must be tired. We'll leave in two days.

Jack- what about tomorrow?

Arjun-ah....
(suprised again by his enthusiasm)
why hurry?...take a few days to cool off? Spend some quality time in valley. Free your mind..

Jack- yeah but...can't we go tomorrow?

Arjun- sure
(smiles)
we can go tomorrow
(he stares at jack with a smile)
come. I guess dinner's ready.

(Shot of the areal view of the village .the beautiful sky. Fade)