Sai Paranjpye’s latest offering, Rigmarole and Other Plays, takes you to a colourful world abundant in humour and action. The book, a collection of three plays — Rigmarole, Bards of a Feather and Ouch!, affords a witty and satirical view of the world we inhabit.

The premise of the first play, Rigmarole, centres around the visit of Princess Lizinia of Batuslavakia. And it has everyone — from the chief minister of Maharashtra and his cabinet, socialites, media moguls, the Mumbai underworld to the dabbawallahs — vying for her attention. As everybody concentrates on pampering the princess, her necklace of rare diamonds vanishes. How the plot develops from this point is for you to find out. The princess’s dialogues are peppered with gibberish as she is yet to master English and that adds to the youthful humour of the play.

Bards of a Feather is set in a jungle and (no surprises there), birds form the dramatis personae here. A poetry competition is in progress and has Professor Bombast the owl, Pit-Pat the parrot, Dazzle the peacock, Kao-Kao the crow wrestle it out for the highest honour. In this ‘dog-eat-dog’ world, where sarcasm, brickbat and bitterness rule the roost, the aspiring bards learn an important lesson from a low, scavenging crow. This play, in particular, reminds you of the legendary folktales from Panchatantra which spread wisdom without being preachy.

The third play, Ouch!, which revolves around the whims and fancies of a silly King Chakramaditya, is hilarious. The King’s latest wish is to adopt a bed bug as a pet. How this bizarre want brings mayhem to his kingdom in Jhamelapuri is a joy to read. Replete with rib-tickling humour, this play depicts how the whimsical King drives his ministers, the Navaratna, up the wall to provide Prince Tej Kumar, the bed bug, with a luxurious life. How the hapless Navaratna resort to desperate measures to get rid of the unpopular pest propels the plot to a climax.

Paranjpye’s language is lucid and her humour infectious. The use of gibberish in Rigmarole, poetry in Bards of a Feather, and the use of Sanskrit in Ouch! lend individuality to the plays. The plot of Rigmarole though, is sadly predictable.

Paranjpye’s Rigmarole and Other Plays is an entertaining mix of new and old world elements and makes for a delightful read. And the plays promise to be equally engaging if performed on stage. So get ready and bring on the grease paint.