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Girish Karnad cut across linguistic and regional boundaries to become a nationally revered figure
Firstpost“I want to climb up to the tallest tree in the world and call out to my people, ‘Come, my people, I’m waiting for you. I’m waiting to embrace you all!” These lines are from Girish Karnad’s play Tughlaq, a fictionalised version of the life of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the so-called ‘wise fool’ — in Karnad’s retelling, Tughlaq comes across as a deeply complex figure, a tyrant who also happened to be thoughtful and sensitive, someone whose supposedly hare-brained decisions had a grain of logic, however misplaced or out-of-context it might be. Much like Euegene O’Neill adapted Aeschylus’s Greek tragedies into one dense, thrilling play, packed to the gills with difficult questions — Mourning Becomes Electra — Karnad spins the Yayati-Pooru-Sharmistha-Devayani myth into a compelling, intense, wholly contemporary story. Karnad, of course, later cut across linguistic and regional boundaries to become a nationally revered figure. In the 2007 version, Caine returns, but this time he plays the old, fading writer, with Jude Law as his wife’s lover — circularity and rhyme, just the way history likes it.
History of this topic
Remembering Girish Karnad, playwright and activist
The Hindu
How Girish Karnad embraced many Indias in his life and work
Live Mint)
This Life At Play: Even with its declared omissions, Girish Karnad's 'half-tale' memoir is a complex, nuanced narration
Firstpost
A masterpiece worth exploring
Deccan ChronicleGirish Karnad: Staging our times
The Hindu)
Remembering Girish Karnad: Quasar Thakore-Padamsee, Abhishek Majumdar on how the playwright influenced their craft
Firstpost‘A pan-Indian reach’: Sadanand Menon remembers Girish Karnad
The Hindu)
Girish Karnad and his democratic art: KM Chaitanya recounts experience of making a film on the playwright
Firstpost)
Remembering Girish Karnad: From senior to peer, lessons the thespian taught me in theatre — and life
Firstpost)
Remembering Girish Karnad: Among India's literary greats, his versatility made him unique
Firstpost
Girish Karnad shared a strong bond with Dharwad
Deccan Chronicle
Girish Karnad, the Renaissance man of Indian culture, dies at 81
Live Mint)
Girish Karnad's plays exemplified his generation's transformative practices, but also bore his distinctive mark
Firstpost
Girish Karnad dies: Nation mourns the loss of great actor and noted playwright
India TV NewsNoted playwright, actor and Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad dies at 81
The HinduImagination relentlessly reinvented
The HinduDiscover Related
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