Remembering Girish Karnad: Read these landmark works by the Kannada playwright

As the country celebrates the literary giant on his birthday today, here is a list of his essential works for the reading pleasure of enthusiasts of the stage and the written word

The works of Kannada playwright Girish Karnad, from Yayati to Tughluq, have made a permanent contribution to Indian literature. On his 83rd birth anniversary, only two years after he passed away due to multiple organ failure, HarperCollins India released an English translation of his memoir, ‘This Life at Play: Memoirs’ by Girish Karnad and Srinath Perur. 

Karnad, who was also an actor and director, spoke truth to power in his life and work. He wrote his plays in Kannada and preferred to translate them into English himself. If you haven’t already explored his masterly works, and are looking for a guide, here is a selection of his plays that is widely considered to be essential reading:

Yayati 
Yayati is known to be Karnad’s first play, written in 1960.It was published in 1961 when he was just 23. It is based on the Pandavas’ ancestor Yayati, through an episode of the Mahabharata. The plot revolves around the curse of premature old age given to the Chandravanshi king by his father-in-law, Shukracharya, because of his infidelity. It can be lifted only if one of his sons is willing to exchange his youth with their father. After the king asks his sons, Pooru is the only one who agrees to do it.  

Through this episode, the Kannada playwright explores whether the son Pooru’s act brings about a crisis between him, his wife Kausalya, and his father Yayati. 

Tughlaq
Three years later, he wrote Tughlaq, a 13-scene Kannada play based on the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. The plot revolves around the Delhi sultan, who is the protagonist and is shown as one who has grand ideas for his kingdom but ends up being a failure. He wants to shift his capital in Delhi to Daulatabad so that he can rule over south India and also unite the Hindus and Muslims, as he was known to be a secular king but things take a different turn. 

The play, which is said to be an allegory for the Nehru era of India was first staged in Urdu by the National School of Drama through the direction of stage stalwart Ebrahim Alkazi. 

Hayavadana 
In 1971, Karnad wrote another one of his most famous works called, a two-act Kannada play called Hayavadana, which means horse face. It is based on Thomas Mann's retelling of Transposed Heads and Kathasaritsagara, a 11th-century collection of folk tales and fairy tales told in Sanskrit. 

The plot of the play revolves around two friends Devdutt and Kapil who are in love with the same beautiful woman, Padmini, and the crisis that follows due to a transposing of heads. 

Nagamandala
Known to be the twin of his earlier play, Hayavadana, Nagamandala (Play with Cobra) is a 1988 Kannada play based on two oral stories that the playwright is said to have heard from his mentor Professor A.K Ramanujan. It is about a woman named Rani, who lives in rural India and is married off by her parents to a man called Appanna without understanding her wishes. 

The plot revolves around the exploitation of women through the institution of marriage. While it focuses on how patriarchy works in society, it highlights the empowerment of women. 

Tipu Sultan Kanda Kanasu (The Dreams of Tipu Sultan) 
Written in 1997, Tipu Sultan Kanda Kanasu is also a Kannada play and is among the popular ones to be written by Karnad. Translated to English in 2004 as The Dreams of Tipu Sultan, the play revolves around the last days of the Mysore rule Tipu Sultan, while also delving into historic moments in his life. It is seen through the eyes of an Indian court historian and a British scholar, who showcase the life of Tipu Sultan, which has been seen as both good or bad by different people. 
These dreams are said to have been written by Tipu Sultan and are a part of a manuscript preserved at the India Office Library. Out of the 37 recorded dreams, Karnad is said to have used dreams 9, 10 and 13 for his play.

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