1895 -ALCHEMY, GODHRA
Godhra is a railway junction surrounded by small tribal kingdoms.
Phalke hangs a sign outside his house. 'Photographer Phalke' it reads.
A horse cart drives through the narrow lanes of a temple town bathed in silver moonlight.
The town is deserted.
The horse cart comes to a stop outside a ruined four-story building.
Dhundhiraj stops to feed the horse before he enters the house.
He searches inside the labyrinthine house, calling, "Panditji! Panditji!"
Shastriji is busy making gold in the darkness of his underground alchemical laboratory.
Suddenly a small bubble comes to the surface of one of the boiling liquids and explodes.
It bursts into Shastriji's face, turning it black with soot.
Green smoke begins to fill the room.
Dhundiraj bursts into laughter on seeing Shastriji's face.
Panditji
Have we been introduced? What can I do for you?
Dhundiraj:
This is but a token of my esteem.
After I have told you my problem, I will shower you with gold coins.
Panditji
'Gold coins! Real gold coins!
It is true that I desire gold, but only that which I can make with my own hands
Wisps of smoke of may colours escape fromt he mouth of the alchemist's crucibles.
Flinging the vessel away in rage, he wipes his hands.
Panditji:
All right, let's talk.
God, it's hot!
Dhundiraj
I hear you have a whole library of Sanskrit books and manuscripts?
Panditji:
I used to, but I fed them to the white ants.
They were everywhere, curse them.
Instead of letting them eat away my wooden doors, I fed them on those thankless, useless books.
How hot it is!
Sit, sit.
Dhundiraj:
A foreigner has arrived from abroad.
He has a book.
I've seen with my own eyes that he took out a small bottle from his pocket and dropped just two drops onto a large bowl of copper.
Then he told his servant to wash the bowl.
The bowl began to sparkle when it had been washed.
Then he said, 'The English government buys all this gold from me. I have a fortune in savings abroad.
But I need at least fifty gold coins before I can leave here.
So I said, 'Why don't you sell the bowl you just made? It will fetch you a good sum.'
He said, 'No. The Resident made me swear on the bible that I would sell my gold only to the British government.'
So I said, 'So sell it to the British government.'
The foreigner replied, 'I make the gold here, then they write to the laath saab in Calcutta. THen the laath saab writes to teh head of the company in England, who sends the money.'
But this poor chap gets nothing, because he's known as a drunk.
So the company sends his salary to his wife.
He's hoping that someone will buy his book on alchemy for fifty gold coins, because he remembers all the formulas by heart.
Panditji:
Such a book is possible only in Arabic
Dhundiraj:
You are absolutely right
Panditji:
These Western empires might conquer and loot us, but they'll never crack that Arabic language.
Dhundiraj:
Actually, this foreigner's father is of the English race, but his mother is Arabic. In spite of being a Christian, he brought his son up like a devout Muslim. I suspect he got his book from his mother.
Panditji(leans towards Dhundiraj):
Have you seen this book?"
D
With my own two eyes. For just fifty gold coins
