Scene 1

RAMA: Sita, they say that flowers are beautiful, but I wish to say that you are infinitely more beautiful than any flower. The beauty of all the flowers put together is no match for your beauty.

SITA: Do you really think so, Rama? It is so kind of you to say it.

RAMA: They say that flowers have fragrance, but I wish to say that the fragrance of all the flowers put together cannot equal the fragrance of your heart.

SITA: O Lord, you are seeing me with your eye of unconditional appreciation, and not with the eye of a critic.

RAMA: My life should be at least a life of appreciation for you. Your life is a life of constant sacrifice for me. But my sincerity speaks, Sita. You are infinitely more beautiful, infinitely more fragrant than all the flowers of the world put together.

SITA: If I have a heart of gratitude, then that heart is for you, only for you, my Lord. Oh, look! Look at that beautiful deer! I have never seen such a beautiful deer! Never! It is so strikingly beautiful!

RAMA: Yes, it is extremely beautiful.

SITA: Look how charming it is, nibbling the grass. How soulfully it gambols and frisks. Look! It is multicoloured, and it has lustrous spots. I need this deer, Rama. I want it to be my deer.

RAMA: Is there anything that I will not do to please you, my Sita? I shall bring you the deer.

LAKSHMANA: Brother, don’t go. That is the demon Maricha playing a trick. He can assume any form, and he has taken the form of this animal. He is deceiving us. That is not a real deer.

SITA: I don’t believe you, Lakshmana. That is a real deer. I can see its beauty. I can feel the innocence of the animal. Rama, my Lord, chase it and catch it alive. If you can do that I will be so grateful to you.

RAMA: Lakshmana, I am off. Look after Sita.

(Rama chases the deer.)