Of love and conflict
JANHAVI ACHAREKAR
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Girish Karnad's first play in English, "Flowers" draws inspiration from Indian history and mythology.
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A sensitive performance: Rajit Kapur as the priest in "Flowers".
PERCHED atop a phallic projectile suspended in mid-air, Rajit Kapur as the priest in Karnad's latest play "Flowers", begins his monologue with the journey of the constellation of Scorpio as reflected in the pond below. "I know where every star will be," he says, amid the sounds of the night.
But clearly, this time round it is Karnad who is the star of the piece. "Flowers", his first play to be written in English, carries forward the remarkable legacy of its Kannada predecessors. Performed by Rajit Kapur, directed by Roysten Abel and produced by Rage in association with Arundhati Nag's Bangalore-based Ranga Shankara, the play opened to packed audiences at Mumbai's Prithvi theatre on March 20.
Shared landscape
A dramatic monologue by a priest torn between his erotic love for God on the one hand and that for the courtesan Chandravati on the other; caught between love for his wife and that for his mistress; between passion and duty, "Flowers" smells of Karnad's previous themes. It echoes the sexuality of "Nagamandala" and the conflict of "Hayvadana". And like all his other works, it draws inspiration from Indian history and mythology. Set in a distant mythological past, this play, derived from a folktale from Chitradurga, shares the landscape of Karnad's previous plays. And to the playwright, who lived in a village with no electricity until the age of 14, growing up as he did on stories or `harikathas' as the only means of entertainment, this is the borrowed landscape of his childhood.
In conversation with writer-director Mahesh Dattani at Prithvi the following day, Karnad accepts Vijay Tendulkar's comment on the contemporaneity of his mythological characters as the greatest compliment. To Karnad, the setting has always been contemporary. The landscape of his plays is a reflection of his own landscape.
"Closeness of eroticism and devotion has always existed in Hindu culture," says Karnad, when asked about his unusual theme. He draws on examples such as the eroticism in the relationship between Krishna and Radha.
It is significant that the priest in "Flowers" worships with the same flowers, the Shiva Lingam in the day and the body of Chandravati at night. In the end, in a dramatic resolution of conflict, the two merge. Physical passion and spiritual devotion become one as do notions of the male and female. When the king asks the priest, "Does God have long hair?" Karnad breaks down gender assumptions and what we have is a poignant soliloquy that questions and debates relentlessly even as it shares with the audience, the character's anguish in conflict.
A sensitive performance by Rajit Kapur (although not quite as remarkable as the play itself) and a well thought out production (with excellent set design) by Shernaz Patel and Ranga Shankara, the play has been produced and performed with minimal intrusion into the senses, allowing for it to be read visually rather than for it to be merely seen or felt. Says Karnad, as he gives complete credit for its stage adaptation to Roysten and Rajit, "I had no idea as to how it would be staged. I wrote it and decided to abandon it."
Distinct plot
"Flowers", significantly, is the first play that Karnad has written in English. "Why now?" asks Dattani. Karnad's earlier plays were written in Kannada to fight the colonial influence but today, as a person straddling different ethnic identities at home within his family, and in the outside world, English has become his first language. Earlier, he would translate his plays into English from the original Kannada and his spectrum of work also includes the play "Wedding Album" written in his home language, Konkani. Like all the other plays, a distinct plot holds "Flowers" together. "Ultimately," says Karnad, "The plot has to work. It can't afford to creak. It has to be well-oiled."
"And is there a closet director in you?" asks Dattani. "Except for `Broken Images', I haven't directed or acted in any of my plays," says the playwright. "I would rather not direct," he confesses. "I've spent a lifetime writing plays and know the craft. I don't know the craft of direction," he says in all humility. As long as you keep writing, Mr. Karnad, we're not complaining.
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