Through the pages: Girish Karnad's literary milestones

Renowned playwright and actor Girish Karnad passed away on Monday.
The Jnanpith, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee has contributed immensely to theatre, influencing both mythological and contemporary genres of the art.
Here is a list of some of his famous plays.

1.Yayati | 1960
Girish Karnard wrote his first play when he was 23 years old. It was written in 1960 and won the 'Mysore State Award' in 1962. The book was on the 'Mahabharata' character, King Yayati, an ancestor of the Pandavas and Kauravas, who was cursed with premature old age.

Yayati - by Girish Karnad (Photo: Amazon.in)

2.Tughlaq | 1964
Written originally in Kannada and later translated to English in 1977 by Karnad himself, 'Tuglaq' was his dramatic portrayal on the Nehruvian era which started with ambitious idealism and ended up in disillusionment, just like the 14th-century ruler. Karnad established his efficiency as a playwright in the nation through this piece.

Tuglaq - by Girish Karnad (Photo: Amazon.in)

3.Hayavadana | 1971
Karnad won his first Sahitya Akademi Award for this book in 1971. Infusing the folk theatre of 'Yakshagana', this play is inspired from the 1940 Thomas Mann novel, 'The Transposed Heads'. Karnad portrayed the unquenching thirst for human desire, through his retelling of this 11th century Sanskrit text - 'Kathasaritsagara'.

Hayavadana - by Girish Karnad (Photo: Amazon.in)

Remembering Girish Karnad:

4. Nagamandala | 1988
Based on the stories that Karnad heard from AK Ramanujan, an Indian poet and literary scholar. Nagamandala consists of two stories, wherein its core is about love, sacrifice, incorporating the nature of a 'flame' in his narration. The book was also made into a Kannada movie, written by Karnad himself, and directed by T S Nagabharana.

Nagamandala - by Girish Karnad (Photo: Amazon.in)

5. Agni Varsha - the Fire and the Rain | 1998
Reciting a part of the "Mahabharata", Karnad sheds light on the essence of love, hate, seclusion and loneliness using daily-life personalities. The book was made into a movie in 2002, directed by Arjun Sajnani and starring Girish Karnad, Nagarjuna and Amitabh Bachchan.

The Fire and the Rain -by Girish Karnad (Photo: Amazon.in)

6.The Dreams of Tipu Sultan and Bali: The Sacrifice: Two Plays | 2004
Karnad narrates two stories about the dreams of Tipu Sultan was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. One is of his battle with the inner conflict of violence vs non-violence of the 10th-century king faced with his queen's unfaithfulness, and the other is his dreams which surface during his last days.

The Dreams of Tipu Sultan and Bali: Two Plays - by Girish Karnad (Photo: Amazon.in)

7.Wedding Album | 2008
Venturing into comedy, this book brings out modern characters to relate on contemporary India's issues with gender, class, caste and communities. From recent socio-political developments to the puzzling youth's pressures and stained issues of life, Karnad shows the essentiality of spiritual relief in materialistic longing.

The Wedding Album - by Girish Karnad (Photo: Amazon.in)

ALSO READ: 'Theatre has come a long way'​

8.Boiled Beans on Toast | 2014
A Bengalurean family tale, it showcases the contrast between the residents' irritation over construction and traffic along with the new migrants' curiosity and inquisitiveness in discovering the city. He also points out how the caste system is interpreted in every "class" of society.

Boiled Beans on Toast - by Girish Karnad (Photo: Amazon.in)

ALSO READ: 'A good playwright transcends translation'