Girish Karnad Drama

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Girish Karnad gives the Indian theatre the richness that can probably be equated only with his talents as an actor and director. His contribution goes beyond the theatre as he represents India in the foreign land like an emissary of art and culture. He in all his plays moves away from the tradition. He borrows various themes and techniques for his plays from history, myths, folk tales, folk and classical theatre while he contemporarily relies on contemporary themes and techniques. His uniqueness lies in the revival of the ritualistic and symbolic aspects of drama involved in the role playing rituals in all cultures have a purpose toward off and purge the community from all evils. Dressing, singing, dancing and all are aspects of rituals. The researches in anthropology and culture emphasize in intrinsic relation of drama with civilization mores across cultures.
The ritualized actions in the form of chanting of hymns in yajna, the play within the play, Yavakri water as a magic saviour the mating of Vishaka and Yavakri Raibhyas creating a Brahma rakshasa to kill Yavakri the performing of funerals, expiation, penitence for the unnatural death. The final act, epilogue creates the impression of events piling up a tidal wave of circumstances and emotions sweeping over the characters. In the culminating action the ritualistic design is taken to its final teleological ending with Nittilai’s blood shed bleeding, dying like a sacrificial animal.
The Fire and the Rain is the sixth successful drama of Girish Karnad. It is based on mythology, for which the dramatist relies heavily on an episode in the Mahabharata. The Fire and the Rain is the translation of his Kannada play “Agni Mattu Male”. The plot of the play is not as simple as that of Kar...

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...to be accompanied with the sense of fulfilment seems to be accompanied with the sense of realization of the gilt. The world has been accepted by remaining character without any want of change. And it appears that Karnad’s vision about human relation ship has been mellowed and broadened to accept the reality as truth.

REFERENCES:

Primary Sources

1. Girish Karnad, The Fire and the Rain, New Delhi: Oxford University Press 1998.

2. Girish Karnad, Collected Plays, Vol-2, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2005.

3. Girish Karnad, Author’s Introduction, Three Plays: The Fire and the Rain, Bali and The Dreams of Tippu Sultana, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Secondary Sources

1. Sudhir Kakar, The Indian Psyche, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996.

2. William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Complete Shakespeare, New Delhi: Oxford University, Press.

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