Eulogy for Girish Karnad

Girish Karnad, an exemplary playwright and a creative artist, Jnanpith, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee, who excelled in art, culture, theatre, literature and movies, and whose penchant for blunt speak was legendary, left for his heavenly abode on the 10th June 2019,  leaving behind a grieving nation, full of admiration for his colossal creative contributions. Flowering eulogies have poured in from the powers that be and whose who of the country including the Honourable President and the Prime Minister and almost every form of media - print, electronic and social - has covered unending tributes for Karnad, written by the high and mighty and the leading lights of literature, theatre, cinema, media, art and culture. It therefore becomes extremely difficult, almost impossible, for a science communicator, and not an art, literature or theatre person, to pen another eulogy for Karnad. But then here is my attempt for an eulogy for Girish Karnad, who proudly professed his Kannada and Dharwad identity, the place where most of my friends from Sainik School and Engineering College have settled and more importantly the place where I met my wife and got wedded to her in an arranged Veerashiva traditional marriage. Dharwad is also the place where I was the first among equals, from the team of Vishveswarayya Museum, Bangalore, instrumental in establishing and opening the Dharwad Regional Science Centre.

The creative artist that Girish Karnad was, he was very found of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore, which he frequently visited, like most other artists of the city. I was fortunate to head this institute,  briefly, and it was during this period that I had an opportunity to meet Karnad and learn first hand about his profound knowledge in diverse fields of art and culture. S G Vasudev, a leading artist and a great friend of Girish Karnad and one of the members of the distinguished advisory committee of NGMA Bangalore, became friends with me during this period and provided me an unique  opportunity and honour to share a common platform, during the release of a documentary film on Vasudev, which Karnad ji released in one of the art galleries on the MG Road in Bangalore. I was also fortunate to meet him on some other occasions both at NGMA Bangalore and NGMA, Mumbai which I headed from February 2013 to October 2018.

Most of the tributes paid to Karnad have hailed him as one of the leading playwright of the country and have touched upon his stellar contributions in the field of literature, theatre, cinema, art and culture, rightly so. Some have highlighted his contributions as an  institution builder by bringing to focus his outstanding contributions to the  FTII, Pune  and the Nehru Centre in London, which he headed and so also the Sahitya Akademi, Delhi. 

Karnad was fortunate to grow up in a creative ambience and he was greatly  influenced by  great thinkers and writers the primary among them was Da Raa Bendre, a poet par excellence who had made Dharwad his home.  Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre, Jnanpith awardee, after living in several different places, as an adult, returned to Dharwad to spend the rest of his life.  And it was here that Karnad came under the influence of Da Raja Bendre. As a child, Girish Karnad has grown up watching the theatrical prodigy and singer Balgandharva, who left a major influence on the music and theatre-scapes of North Karnataka, particularly the Dharwad city. Karnad was also lucky to have had an opportunity to see a wide ranging rich folk performances at Sirsi, a hill station in North Canara, close to Dharwad, where his father was posted on duty. Although Karnad was born in the state of Maharashtra he had a special love and fondness for Dharwad, where he came under the great influence of Da Raa Bendre. Karnad’s first play ‘Yayati’, which he wrote in 1960 was published in Dharwad, and it gave him a major breakthrough as a playwright. The play also bagged the ‘Mysore State Award‘ in 1962.

 It was perhaps for this that reason that Dharwad always remained at the core of Karnad’s heart.  He had mastery over many languages including Kannada in which he excelled and won the coveted Jnanpith award. He was compulsively a blunt speaker and a straight speaking man, who never shied away from articulating his thoughts even if they were contrarian in thoughts to a huge majority. Straight talk often got Karnad into controversies. But it did not faze him. He did not believe in playing to the gallery. And if he didn’t like something, he would tell straight up. Girish Karnad had the conviction and courage to criticise the legendary Gurudev, Rabindranath Tagore by calling him a second rate playwright. He also vehemently criticised Nobel Laureate V S Naipaul. He resigned from the post of Director of FTII in protest against the imposition of Emergency. Such was his nature to express what he truly believed in, openly without any fear whatsoever.

The great writers from Dharwad , Da Ra Bendre and V K Gokak were of great inspiration to Karnad both of whom  encouraged Karnad in the diversity of his interest in art and culture. Karnad was very particular about a few things -- he always used to get his footwear repaired at a particular shop and buy ‘jamun’ fruits from an old woman in front Manohar Granthamala in Dharwad.  Even after he became famous, there was no change in his attitude. He used to mingle with all people in Granthamala, which was a meeting point for all writers and people involved in the literary world in Dharwad.  The Kannada Sahitya Sambrahama, a brain child of Karnad, which is now famously organised every year since 2013 in Dharwad was an out come of Karnad’s efforts. He was also responsible for starting Karnataka state’s first film society, the ‘Chitra Film Society’, in Dharwad in 1971. It was organised to introduce award-winning international and national films to the people.

Among several of his artistic creative contributions one  of his contributions has been relatively underplayed, which relates to his playing a lead anchor for the Turning Point, DD television programme, which he hosted and had for company the legendary Prof Yash Pal. The Turning Point programme in television (DD), was one of those very few programmes, which no science buffs was willing to miss, during those early days of TV in India. Girish Karnad was the lead anchor for this programme and the Turning Point demonstrated that science programmes on TV can be visually enriching and interesting and could be produced on a relatively modest budget. Most people, specially those interested in science, will remember Karnad and Prof Yashpal for Turning Point, a very high TRP programme, which was telecast on Doordarshan in the early 1990s. Karnad and Prof Yashpal made Turning Point one of the best science communication programme, which could explain the most complex questions on science in layman's language. Production of quality science programme, requires good understanding of science and decent grasp of scientific grammar, which Karnad could master while he anchored the Turning Point. The programme went on to win several awards both national and international. Karnad has another connect, though indirectly, with science. He played the role of Dr Varghese Kurien, the milk revolution man, in Shyam Benegal’s film Manthan, which won the National Award for the best feature film and for the screen play. The title song of the film, ‘Mero Gaam Kathaparey’ is now inextricably linked to Amul.

Karnad is no more but his contributions in the field of playwright, literature, art, theatre, cinema, and culture will continue to live in the hearts and minds of all Indians. RIP.