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Karnad and the King
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Girish Karnad's fascination for Tipu Sultan comes through at a book-reading session in the city. SHONALI MUTHALALY reports
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Girish Karnad at Landmark. — Pic by K. V. Srinivasan
THE CAST: Girish Karnad, The Madras Players, an assortment of theatre buffs, curious passers-by and I-couldn't-care-less-about-this-reading customers.
Location and time: Landmark, Spencer Plaza, Tuesday evening.
The occasion: A reading to mark the release of Girish Karnad's two plays — `The Dreams of Tipu Sultan' and `Bali: The Sacrifice.'
ACT ONE:
(Landmark is crowded as theatre buffs, students and open-mouthed passers-by elbow each other for room around Karnad. The reading begins with a dramatic excerpt from `Bali: The Sacrifice.' Karnad is playing the ugly but irresistible mahout who seduces a queen.)
Girish Karnad: (reading theatrically): "It's a beautiful night. Full moon... It's such a bright night, you won't know when it dawns. It'll flow from one to the other, seamlessly."
Shopper: (on cell phone): "They don't have that CD, ya. Eh? (Pause) No, I have to pick up some vegetables from downstairs for dinner, first. Meet me outside Foodworld... Landmark is too crowded. Some reading thing is happening.
Karnad: (continuing bravely, in tune with a background score composed by Nokia) "Don't. Don't make me angry. You don't know my temper. I have beaten women black and blue. You won't like it."
Shopper: (shrilly oblivious to the fact that there's an award winning playwright releasing his latest book a few feet away from her): What? The car's not back from the workshop yet? I told you that man was useless! Tell bhaiyya to drop you here, then. I can't take an auto. Sorry!"
Forget Act Two. You already know how it will turn out, right? The shoppers will shop. And talk. The music in the background will get louder. And the players will continue to read. But perhaps that's how theatre should tackle the real world — blending into chaotic lives, along with the sounds of coffee machines and disco beats in the background instead of sticking only to stages, to be appreciated by the privileged minority that can afford tickets and chauffeurs. "It's a problem of transport," says Karnad thoughtfully, before the reading. "Mumbai's theatre system is more vibrant because the public transport is better," he says adding, "The reason plays don't do well is not because of TV. Going to see a play becomes too expensive for a middle class couple. They have to find someone to take care of the children, drive there, find parking and then, maybe go out for dinner after that. It's hardly surprising that they choose to stay home and watch TV instead."
Well, people who prefer watching Mr. Bean tucking up his teddy bear on Pogo to battling traffic and perfume-laden crowds at theatres, always have the option of reading scripts and recreating stories in their minds — even if they haven't and won't ever see them on stage. For, theatre has various mediums, all of which work — provided you have an imagination.
`The Dreams of Tipu Sultan,' for instance, was originally written for the radio. "The BBC commissioned me to write a radio play to celebrate 50 years of Indian Independence in 1996," says Karnad. In the foreword, he writes, "The plot obviously had to deal with some aspect of Indo-British relations and I immediately thought of Tipu Sultan, one of the most politically perceptive and tragic figures in modern history." Karnad's admiration for the king blazes through the text — a fact that some readers find problematic, considering Tipu Sultan's `reputation'. "He plundered temples," says one elderly member of the audience rising indignantly. "From what I remember of Tipu Sultan, from my history text books, he wasn't really a model of tolerance, was he?" chimes another.
British wrote history
"Well, even the Hindus plundered temples. And about the forced conversions, he never really converted his own subjects — only the Nairs of Kerala and the Coorgs. That was one way he punished his enemies... and it was rather humane, considering how enemies were treated at that time... The Marathas burned and raped their enemies," answers Karnad, adding "It's problematic to see it as fanaticism in 20th Century terms. Yes, he was a devout traditionalist. I suppose you could see him as a man of his times." "But history?" sputters a young man. "History was written by the British," Karnad replies.
"What I find fascinating about Tipu Sultan is the fact that a man who practically spent 49 years of his life on horseback, recorded his dreams and kept them under his pillow," continues Karnad, adding that the interpretations he has used are Tipu Sultan's own interpretations for his dreams. "And did you write it to send out a political message or to entertain?" asks an enthusiastic theatre buff. "There's always a political message. I was making a point against the Hindu right wing. But it's also to entertain. (pause) After all, if I don't entertain, I shouldn't be writing plays.
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