176. #GirishKarnad(2/9): The River Has No Fear of Memories | Geographies of Kannada part I ft. Vivek Shanbhag

Jun 16, 2022

In this enlightening discussion, Girish Karnad, a luminary in Indian theater, and Vivek Shanbhag, a prominent voice in Kannada literature, explore their long friendship and the evolution of contemporary plays. They delve into Karnad's struggles with language and authenticity while writing, the intricate relationship between cultural identity and expression, and share insightful readings from his works, including 'Wedding Album' and 'Tughlaq.' Their dialogue reflects on the significance of Kannada literature in shaping societal narratives and personal expression.

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ANECDOTE

Karnad and Shanbhag's Friendship

Vivek Shanbhag recalls his long friendship with Girish Karnad, beginning with his mother's stories of her classmate.
Their bond deepened when both moved to London in 2000, with Shanbhag becoming Karnad's first reader.

INSIGHT

Karnad's Challenge with Contemporary Plays

Girish Karnad's delay in writing contemporary plays stemmed from a perceived difficulty.
He questioned how to depict modern society's "normalness" without relying on past secrets like Ibsen or Chekhov.

ANECDOTE

Karnad's Critique of Sriranga

Karnad critiques Sriranga's Harijanwara, citing implausible scenarios like a Dalit woman cooking in a Brahmin household.
He argues Sriranga ignores social realities and prejudices regarding food and caste.

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Girish had a long friendship with the Kannada writer, Vivek Shanbhag, our special guest for this episode. Vivek prods Girish to talk about his challenges with writing contemporary plays. They also talk about his complex relationship with Kannada and finding the right language for what a writer wants to say.

Besides readings from Wedding Album and Tughlaq, we also get to listen to short scene from UR Ananthamurthy’s Samskara, a novel that Girish loved dearly.

About the Series:

In June 2019, a few days before his death, Girish Karnad and Arshia Sattar had extensive conversations about his work, his life, and the concerns that had occupied him over almost sixty years as a writer and a public intellectual. This podcast is a distillation of those freewheeling conversations, a short intellectual biography to celebrate the life and work of one of India’s finest playwrights and thinkers. In this series, we hear Girish talk about Kannada literature, existentialism, making of modern Indian theatre, the art and craft of playwriting, and his life as a public intellectual.

The series is hosted by Arshia Sattar and Anmol Tikoo, with special guests such as Vivek Shanbhag, Shanta Gokhale, and Sunil Shanbag, who provide the context for Girish’s comments. Each episode also contains scenes from his plays read by members of Bangalore’s theatre community. The readings show us how closely his philosophical and political ideas were to what he wrote. They also provide an opportunity for audiences, particularly those who might not be already familiar with Girish’s works, to experience the power of his work.

The title for the series is taken from the song in Hayavadana (ಹಯವದನ), a song which has been musically recreated for us by Pallavi MD and Konarak Reddy. Apart from the fact that Neerina Mele Chitra remains one of Kannada’s most beloved ranga geethe, we found it to be particularly evocative as we remember a man who profoundly impacted India’s cultural arena in the last half of the 20th century. This podcast series, we hope, will bear witness to Girish Karnad, a man who gave us so much to remember, but also so much to take forward.

Supported by Nilekani Philanthropies