Collected Plays: Tughlaq, Hayavadana, Bali: The Sacrifice, Naga-Mandala, Volume 1

by Girish Karnad

This book is the first volume of a collection of plays by Girish Karnad, one of India's foremost dramatists and actors. It contains Tughlaq , Hayavana , The Sacrifice , and Naga-Mandala .

Genres: Plays, Indian Literature

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Girish Raghunath Karnad (Konkani : गिरीश रघुनाथ कार्नाड, Kannada : ಗಿರೀಶ್ ರಘುನಾಥ್ ಕಾರ್ನಾಡ್) (born 19 May 1938) is a contemporary writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and movie director in Kannada language. His rise as a prominent playwright in 1960s, marked the coming of age of Modern Indian playwriting in Kannada, just as Badal Sarkar did it in Bengali, Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi, and Mohan Rakesh in Hindi. He is a recipient of the 1998 Jnanpith Award for Kannada, the highest literary honour conferred in India.
For four decades Karnad has been composing plays, often using history and mythology to tackle contemporary issues. He has translated his major plays into English, and has received critical acclaim across India. His plays have been translated into several Indian languages and directed by eminent directors like Ebrahim Alkazi, B. V. Karanth, Alyque Padamsee, Prasanna, Arvind Gaur, Satyadev Dubey, Vijaya Mehta, Shyamanand Jalan and Amal Allana. He is also active in the world of Indian cinema working as an actor, director, and screenwriter, both in Hindi and Kannada cinema, earning numerous awards along the way. He was conferred Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

Reviews

[Purnima · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was little too hesitant to pick up these collected plays at Bangalore Literature Festival, but I've to thank myself for having picked them up. Though I know nothing about theatre, I see plays as a form of story telling. Karnad's story telling skills impressed me to the core, though I've to admit that I need multiple readings of the same to make sense out of them.

I'm just hoping to get a chance to watch these gems on the stage.

[Lilli Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Studied Hayavadana at university. A fascinating play, and super interesting if one also studies the relevant culture surrounding the play. The use of Gods, masks/costume/gender, and cultural references are beautifully integrated and weaved within the play.

[Aryan Prasad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hayavadana and Nagamandala are especially good, but other two are average at best.