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Karnad, My Large Grand Mirror
Girish Karnad the great Indian playwright, filmmaker and poet passed away on June 10, 2019 at his Bengaluru house. Losing Karnad has been an event in my life for which I was unprepared. I was not unprepared in the way that I would not be able to cope with the emotion of not having him alive, but in the way that I did not know he meant so much to me. I am writing this now after getting a chance to reflect on what it means for me and how this great man will always be a part of me.
For the world, Karnad is one of the few modern writers of India who have not only built the modern theatre but also rethought so many aspects of it. Karnad along with the likes of Tendulkar have altered how we view theatre making it an almost integral part of the middle class Indian (at least in Maharashtra and Karnataka).
But my missing of Karnad is not because of the fact that he was this giant of a figure far far away with colossal writings that had changed my life (though they did). But I miss him more because in losing him I have lost a guiding light that shone almost in a colour same as me. He shone perhaps in a sky I can not even fathom to stare at, but yes, in my mind he shone in a colour same as mine. Throughout my teenage years and years as an adult I looked upto him not just as the great Indian cultural figure, but as a roadmap I can follow, an action I can follow, a poem that I can relate to.
As a boy reading Taledanda at a young age, I connected with Karnad in a way I find it hard to put in words. His style of story telling which put myth, modern thought and venerable characters together on a stage had a great impact on me. There were also various levels in which I saw myself in the tall, venerable and magnificient mirror called Karnad.
Girish Karnad, me and million like us are a recipe of similar ingredient that is so underrated in today’s society. Here are some ways I feel connected to Karnad.
Multilingualism
The simple luck of growing up in a multilingual family and surrounding. From what I know best, Karnad grew up in a Konkani speaking family, was schooled in Marathi and grew up in Sirsi and Dharwad where he also learned Kannada. He even said it came as a big advantage to him as he knew multiple languages and cultures. I imagine he could just plug into cultures, the theatre of both cultures.
I grew up speaking Marathi and Kannada (specifically North Karnataka dialect). The sheer delight of being able to watch films, plays and cultures in two or more languages is a superpower if you are a an avid lover of arts and all things related. How I crave I had an aunt who teaches me Tamil and I can read “Thirukkural” for myself.
Malli in this brilliant Newslaundry article writes, “Three out of Kannada’s eight Jnanpith awardees, including Karnad, spoke a language other than Kannada at home.” The ability to think in multiple languages and cultures is so important in days when we live in constant fear of isolation, either enforced by ourselves or through an authority from the centre.
We should let all Indians choose which languages they want to learn and live in, rather than enforcing languages that were deemed fit by some in power. (Be rest assured, the irony of me writing this in English is not lost on me.)
Healthy Dose of Dr. Bendre
Karnad was much more fortunate that he had a close relationship with Bendre. One can only imagine the conversations of two great minds. Bendre himself spoke Kannada and Marathi. I grew up on “Banthanna Sanna Somavara, Kanabekanna Someswara” and many of his poems that still form a central part of my poetic aesthetics. Bendre, I think, is one of the greatest poets ever. You can read English translations of Bendre here. (highly recommended website for Bendre lovers)
North Karnataka - Maharashtra connection
The connection and the cultural mixture of Marathi, Kannada, North Karnataka, border states of South Maharashtra, is a beautiful mystery and open opera that I can not even start to put in words. There is so much give and take between the people, the Gods, the food that it remains a wonderful delight to me. Both Karnad and me grew up in this region and had same local influences. Karnad grew up watching the plays of Bal Gadharva, Lavanis of Maharashtra on one hand and the myths and lores of Yakshaganas on other hand. I grew up in somewhat similar milieu. This connection was fully visible when Karnad translated plays of Tendulkar and Elkunchwar.
Somewhat related: Ramchandra Guha has written an excellent essay on the bilingual intellectual tradition in India. It is an excellent commentary. Click here to access it.
Banthanna Sanna Somavara, Kanabekanna Someswara (The festival Of Sanna Somwara (Small Monday) has come, and we must now see Someshwara (Shiva) ) - Dr. Bendre
Karnad has spent an important part of his childhood near Someswara temple in Dharwad. In a documentary, he even referred to the days spent in Someswara temple as, “unforgettable moments of my life.”* I had the divine fortune of growing up near the Vitthal Mandir in Pandharpur, and then Siddheshwara temple in Solapur. I do not want to draw a religious connection here. But as a child, growing up in the realm of “divinity” or “perceived divinity”, according to me is a large positive for any child. There are some related thoughts, but I would not like to expand them here.
*Karnad indentified himself as a Nastika (according to Indian Vedic scriptures) but not an atheist.
Many such small and big connections such as having a father who is transferred every now and then to a new place. There are many such connections but at this point I feel the number of people reading this essay will be less than 2, so I would stop.
Alok Rai speaks brilliantly about Karnad when he says, “Karnad’s monstrous creativity was fuelled by the fact that he tapped into several different linguistic traditions, contexts and resonances. Culturally promiscuous, Karnad tapped into different languages, into myth and folklore, into the classical and the popular, into what was indigenous and what was foreign but only until it had been assimilated — so Yayati, so Hayavadana”
I am writing this partly to remember Karnad and see what he meant for me and the world around me. I am also writing this to remind myself of what me and my hero have in common and that I should never fail him (I am sure, he is looking at me). Despite all the similarities I mentioned in this essay, the list is finite and tends to be more about the circumstances, social and familial. There are large and small areas of literary criticism, politics, sociology and other fields I disagree with the great Karnad on. I learnt the irreverence partly from him, but I can not help be reverent to my hero.
I met Karnad at Ranga Shankara, Bengaluru in 2018. I bowed down and put my forehead to his feet and blurted out something I cant remember. He was generous enough to give his autograph and then he left in his white Omni. I will remember this encounter and the man forever.
Post Script:
Guha does an amazing job here of illuminating aspects of our multilingual traditions. My favourite lines:
… Ambedkar knew his Tukaram, but also his John Stuart Mill. (C Rajagopalachari).. knew his Kural, but – as he once reminded > an interviewer – he had also read Thoreau. V D Savarkar also wrote books in English, as well as plays and polemical tracts in Marathi.