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Kannada Theatre History 1850-1950: A Sourcebook
₹250.00Editors: Akshara K V,
This source book on Kannada theatre history is a valuable contribution to the larger field of Indian Theatre Studies. Avoiding the shortcuts of an overview or a Wikipedia-like assemblage of information, it delves into the lives, histories, struggles, debates and anecdotes surrounding some of the most pioneering figures in the shaping of Kannada theatre between 1850-1950. The selection of primary sources, most of which are being made available in English for the first time, is nothing short of a revelation in the way it illuminates insights into the actual making and thinking of theatre practice. Here we have a model of how the construct of ‘Indian Theatre’ can be textured, inflected, individuated and problematized at regional, local and intracultural levels. Rustom Bharucha .This book is a labour of love by scholars who not only love Kannada theatre, but want to pass on their enjoyment of it. Delving deep into folklore oral history, local history, gossip debate and discourse, the editors bring out the world of Kannada theatres in pluralistic terms. Scholarship and playfulness combine to create a powerful act of storytelling where the book itself mimics the career of Kannada theatre. As an anthology it becomes an initiation rite, an introduction to all the great figures, not as hagiography but as nuanced analysis. Big questions and little questions combine to create both a sense of combativeness and a wonderful feeling of homecoming. Like tricksters, they break the binaries of tradition and modernity, treating it almost like a bad play which needs new scripts and new performers. A wonderful anthology. A deeply desi book, with all the cosmopolitanism of world theatre.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
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Just a few pages: Some Memories of Saraswati Bai Rajwade
₹210.00Author: Vaidehi, Translator: Deepa Ganesh
This book is a coming together of two women writers of modern Kannada literature; one from its early period, the other, a contemporary. Saraswati Bai Rajwade, the early writer, became a fable, a mythology, leaving behind only the shadows of her writing. Vaidehi, the contemporary writer, reinvents Rajwade from the folds of history and gives her a life in the present. Saraswati Bai Rajwade was born into a poor family in the Dakshina Kannada of yore. By chance, she stepped into theatre and later into films. But all the glory that came to her unexpectedly, vanished just as suddenly. She later became the wife of a rich and high official, travelled abroad and underwent immense suffering. In her pain and loneliness, she took to books and also began to write and attained glory as a writer. In the last years of her life, she returned to a life of austerity and anonymity. Vaidehi has collected bits and pieces from her life and writing, presenting before us a unique tapestry. In this tapestry, Vaidehi?s perceptions criss-cross with Rajwade?s life and writing. Art does not reside in the object, but in its close encounter with life. This work unfolds before us as a grand illustration of such twin narratives.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
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