In conversation with translator, author and director Arshia Sattar on the last day of the Bangalore Literature Festival on Sunday, playwright Girish Karnad attributed his literary sensibilities to the socio-cultural milieu of India during the three decades from the sixties. He talked about his multifaceted career, narrated anecdotes from his creative pursuits and captivated literary buffs with his well-timed wit and humour. “Things were opening up in the 60s and new India was evolving. Cultural movements were emerging in various parts of the country in theatre, literature, cinema and arts. Movements led by icons such as Ebrahim Alkazi, Satyajit Ray, Vijay Tendulkar and Satyadev Dubey, besides the Navya movement in Kannada literature, influenced me,” he said.
In a lighter vein, Mr. Karnad said he wanted to be a poet and spent his teenage years writing poetry fashioned after English poets such as Auden and Eliot. But when it came to expressing his innermost thoughts, he turned to Kannada. “ Yayati happened in just three weeks and I found the play was my medium.” Laughter filled the air when he said, “I wrote those songs for Hayavadana because I was in love ... I didn’t want to waste them so I incorporated them in the play.” Taledanda , written in the backdrop of the Mandal and Masjid conflicts, drew a parallel between the socio-religious, political and economic conditions of current times and the 12th century southern India, he said, and added that, “both the conflicts remained unfinished.” On Tuglaq, he said, “It is marvellous to write about intelligent people.” He praised poet, folklorist, ethnographer and translator A.K. Ramanujan, who influenced him, and said Taledanda and The Dreams of Tipu Sultan were inspired by him. “It was Ramanujan who first told me that Tipu Sultan had a secret diary of his dreams, which he hid under his pillow.”
