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Today I'm going to write blog about the play by Girish karnad named Naga-Mandala.(1988)Some points are here which are going to be discussed in this blog...
- About the writer
- About the play and character
- Themes of the play
- Myth in the play
1 About the writer
Girish karnad:
Background and Education
One of the foremost dramatists in India, Girish Karnad was born on May 19, 1938 in Matheran (Maharashtra). A multi-faceted personality, Kammad has earned international praise as a playwright, poet, actor, director, critic and translator. A Konkani by birth, his initial schooling was in Marathi. As a young man studying at Karnata University, Dharwar, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Statistics in 1958, Karnad dreamed of earning international literary fame, but he thought he would do so by writing in English.
Upon graduation, Karnad went to England and studied at Oxford where he earned a Rhodes Scholarship and went on to receive a Master's degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He would eventually the international fame he had dreamed of, but not for his English poetry. Instead, Karnad would earn his reputation through decades of consistent literary output on his native soil.
Career
After his return to India, Karnad worked with the Oxford University Press at Chennai. He left the job in 1970 to become a full-time writer. Even before that, his very first play, Yayati (written in Kannada, and not his mother tongue Konkani), written in 1961, was a hit. The play, which chronicles the adventures of mythical characters from the Mahabharata, was an instant success and was immediately translated into several Indian languages.
Tughlaq, Karnad's second play, written in 1964, is perhaps his best known work. Hayavadana is based on Transposed Heads, a story by Thomas Mann. Among his other well-known works are Naga-Mandala,Taledanda and the latest Odakalu Bimba (A Heap of Broken Images), inspired from T.S. Eliot's poem, The Wasteland.
According to K.R.S. Iyengar, "In all his three plays (Yayati, Tughlaq and Hayawadana)-be the theme, historical, mythical or legendary-Karnad's approach is modern, and he deploys the conventions and motifs of folk art like masks and curtains to project a world of intentions, uncertainties and unpredictable denouements." And all his plays are conspicuous for the deft employment of irony and crisp dialogue.
2.About the play
This play is divided in two Acts and start with the prologue.
Character in prologue:
- The man
- Bagger
- Flames
- New flames
- Story
Character in the Act 1 &2
- Rani(means queen)
- Appanna
- Nag
- Krudavva
- Kappanna
- Three village Elders
- Crowd
Appanna and Naga are played by the same actors.
- Structure of the play
Prologue
This play Nag-Mandala start with the prologue.In this prologue karnad start with dilogue of Man who is trying to awake the whole night. Perhaps tonight is his last night.He asked one begger about his fate and Begger replied him that "You have written plays and staged them.With these plays, you have made your trusting audience for asleep out of sheer bottom. They fell a sleep in their rickaty, wooden chair while watching your plays, and all that abused mass of sleep has turned against you and become the curse of death"
That's ehy he came to temple,which is nameless and empty.
After some time Falmes came to the temple and they all are there to gossiping about theri home, routine works and masters.The Man hide himself behaind the pillars of temple. Then New Flame join them in the temple and they all asked her about her and his home and master. Meanwhile the story came and she said all the flames that she will tell them a story if they will narrate it to someone else.But they have denyed. The Man was listening all the talk. The man jumped out from behind the pillar and grabbed the story.
He told her to tell him a story again story put a condition to him ,firstly he said yes then no then yes and after that story started to tell a story to all.
The Man,all the Flames were listening the story which is telling by story.
Act-1
The story of the play is about Rani, the central character of the story. She was married to a man named Appana. Alpana always locked Rani inside the room and he spends most of his time outside with a concubine. He comes home only once a day at lunchtime. Appana does not love her wife, even though he has no interest to talk with her. Whenever Rani tries to talk with Appana, he shuts her up by saying he has no interest in her talks.
One day an old blind woman, Kurudhawa comes near Appana’s home with her son Kappana. She talks to Rani and learns about her bad situation of living at home alone. Kurudhawa admires her beauty and informs her about Appana’s love affair. Kurudhawa decides to help Rani in getting her husband’s love by giving her magical roots. Rani was happy by hearing Kurudhawa’s plan. Kurudhawa gave her two magical roots. Rani first mixed the small root with milk and gave Appana to consume. But it was of no use. It does not work. Then she thought to give him the big root. She mixed the big magical root in curry. It changed the color of the curry. She was afraid to give him this red-colored curry so she pours it outside the home on an ant hill where a king cobra lives. The Cobra ( Naga) consumes the curry and as it was not a normal curry so the Naga falls in love with Rani and it starts to visit Rani every night in form of Appana.
Rani was happy because she thought that her husband has changed his mentality and now he does not scolds her and treated her like a queen. But during the day Appanna (her husband) treats her like his servant. Thus, Appanna’s behavior changes day and night because at night it was Naga in the form of Appanna and during the day real Appanna comes home. So Rani thinks that it was her dream that Appana visits her at night.
Act 2
But after a few months, Rani comes to know that she is pregnant, and then she realized that it was not only her dream but actually, really Appana visited her at night. When she informs her about it her husband Appana was frightened at Rani and dragged her to ‘Panchayat’. He accused Rani that she has extramarital affairs with some other person that’s why she is pregnant because he did not have marital relations with her. But Rani claims that the unborn infant’s father is Appana. Then, in the Panchayat the village elders suggest that Rani would have to pass through an ordeal to prove her innocence.
To prove her innocence Rani goes to the anthill and takes the Naga in her hand and says as Naga had suggested to her. The turned like a garland over her neck. Then, It slid through her shoulder and didn’t bite her. Thus her innocence was proved. Afterward, the villagers considered Rani a Goddess, and Appana had to accept her with the child. But Appana was still in confusion because he knew that he was not the father of that child but he had no choice except to accept her.
Some days later, one day Naga thought to see Rani so he went to the home where he found her with Appana. The Naga was very furious to see that so it decided to kill Rani but out of love, it stopped. And turn into a small cobra and hid in her long hair. In the morning when Rani combs her hair the dead Naga falls and the play ends. But the man (listener) was not satisfied with the sad ending so he provides a happy ending himself and that is … When Rani combs her hair the alive Naga falls, Appana tries to kill it but Rani hides it back in her hair. Here the play ends.
About the theme of play
- Feminist
- Petriachal & Masculine
- Marriage
- Love
Myth in the play
Myth of Nag
Myth of Roots
Myth of Rani
Myth of ordeal
Myth of Rat-Rani
Thank you 😊
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