Girish Karnad is a significant voice in modern Indian theatre, whose plays often draw from history and mythology to explore present-day concerns. His work is characterized by a distinctive literary style that has been instrumental in shaping contemporary Kannada drama. Karnad's insightful narratives and profound thematic explorations have earned him critical acclaim and wide recognition across India and beyond. His contribution extends to cinema, where he has also made a notable impact as an actor, director, and screenwriter.
Girish Karnad was one of modern India's greatest cultural figures: an accomplished actor, a path-breaking director, an innovative administrator, a clear-headed and erudite thinker, a public intellectual with an unwavering moral compass, and above all,
The three modern Indian plays brought together here are established Classics by leading figures of India's national theatre movement. Girish Karnad's 'Tughlaq', originally written in Kannada, explores the psyche of a Medieval monarch, Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq, who was perhaps India's most idealistic and intelligent ruler, and also one of its greatest failures. The Play reflects the disillusionment which followed the era of Nehru's idealism. Karnad himself has done the present English translation.Badal Sircar's 'Evam Indrajit' was originally written in Bengali and uses Myth to examine some of the frustrations and dilemmas of the Indian middle class, and the reality of Poverty and unemployment at the time. It has been translated into English here by Girish Karnad.Vijay Tendulkar's 'Silence! The Court is in Session', originally written in Marathi, dramatizes role-playing as a hazardous, lethal game, and exposes the subordination of Women in Indian Society through the medium of a mock trial which turns all too real. The translation is by Priya Adarkar.
These plays represent three phases in the career of the dramatist Girish Karnad, whose very first play rejected the naturalism then prevalent on the Indian stage. All three are classics of the Indian stage.
Autor portretuje społeczeństwo przeżywające szybkie zmiany cywilizacyjne. Jego bohaterowie podejmują karkołomne próby łączenia hinduskiej tradycji z nowoczesnością. Akcja toczy się we współczesnych Indiach i koncentruje wokół ślubu młodej dziewczyny. Bohaterowie pozostają wierni tradycyjnym zasadom, uznają podział na kasty i aranżowanie małżeństw przez rodziców, a astrologia pomaga im w podejmowaniu decyzji. Jednocześnie są jednak członkami nowoczesnego, zglobalizowanego świata. Główna bohatera, zanim spotka się z narzeczonym, kontaktuje się z nim przez Internet, jej brat zaś pracuje w wytwórni filmowej produkującej bollywoodzkie seriale. Rzeczywistość wypełniają – bardzo istotne w sztuce – gadżety: komputery i telefony komórkowe.