A play by Syed Rahman “Let’s be confused”

An imaginary conversation with Street Canvasser (very common in Bangladesh sell products and traditional medicines on the street) and Secretary General of United Nations (SGUN):

Street Canvasser (SC):
(Entered with a folk rhythm and intro)

“White, clean, fair, transparent and beautiful
Skin without any darkness at all
I can make your fourteen generation white and fair
No more spending any penny for anti racism.

I came from Bangladesh after repairing skin
Transforming white from black using days fifteen
It’s an innovation and creation of demand for white skin
It’s just “fair and lovely” for older to teen.
It’s for clean, it’s for repairing skin ………”


SGUN: Welcome! Welcome to UN…
SC: Thank you! Thank you for accepting…..
SGUN: I can’t accept your product, but only you.
SC: Hmm! Let me see your annual budget for equity and equality among black and white your Excellency!
SGUN: How funny you are! Budget! Intervening heart of UN!
SC: Budget can’t be the heart of UN sir! But my product “fair and lovely” can do a lot for UN no doubt!
SGUN: How come?
SC: Simple math! Using “fair and lovely” and making all people white around the glob.
SGUN: How it’s possible?
SC: Not only skin, but also can reduce unemployment from all over the world.
SGUN: wow…..really?
SC: Yes and just open your TV and let’s see our advertisement about it and our claim how fairness cream can change skin, appearance and acceptance.
SGUN: Ok, all you are talking about skin but what about mind? Do you have any cream that can repair people’s mind?
SC: What a rubbish idea sir! People are busy with skin and let them stay with the same philosophy! The way you are pushing the new idea of changing mind, can damage our huge investment and possibilities around the glob in terms of profit, equity, equality, racism, anti-racism, and etc. etc. etc…...
SGUN: What do you mean by the “stay with same philosophy”?
SC: Oh sir! Dear Sir! Thanks for welcoming me for describing skin philosophy! Haha….hhaha! Tra…la…lala…! Demand for white skin is the only reason for huge investment on fairness cream industries around the world. We all are surviving by buying and selling this product with the strong philosophy of white skin. Please stop your conversation forever and join with us. If people shift their mind from skin to mind then we will be no where! No where sir! Jobless and hopeless life for you and me!
(Start crying with music)
SGUN: Let me offer you a new business for survival!
SC: How come?
SGUN: Simplest than your cream!
SC: Wow…really? How is it?
SGUN: Changing mind not skin!
SC: Is it not suicidal for me and my company?
SGUN: But for humanity and harmony!
SC: Then we should invest huge for creating new product against disharmony.
SGUN: Let’s open a company for creating harmony!
SC: I am confused! Company for producing harmony or harmony for producing company! Company harmony for humanity or humanity for producing harmony! What comes first! Humanity or harmony or humanity!...uff….

“I am confused, I am abused
I am injured, I am bemused!
[SGUN will join with SC and singing with emotion]
We are confused, we are abused
We are injured, we are bemused!”

(Crying both including audience)

SC: (taking a smile with eye contact with everyone slowly) ladies and gentleman! Are we harmonized for searching harmony?

Music:
“We are confused, we are abused
We are injured, we are bemused!”