Two Plays – The Sahyadri Saga and The World of Swayamvara
₹199.00
Author: Akshara K V Translator: Jayanth Kodkani
These two plays negotiate with the real problems of contemporary India. If Sahyadri Kanda is about the ripples caused in the life of the people in a village on the Western Coast which will soon have a nuclear plant, Swayamvaraloka, is an allegorical narrative set in a small village that extends to include the larger contemporary world. Both the plays dwell on the seeming binaries of village-city, success-failure, modern-traditional while examining the nature of human relationships in the changing world. These plays also reflect an ambition to elevate the real experience to a mythical level. While most playwrights attempt to echo contemporary concerns by reinterpreting history and mythology, for these plays, the epics, their grandeur, the struggle, the wars are not episodes that happen in kingdoms and palaces and battlefields, they are also that which takes place in the microworld of one’s consciousness. Each character in these plays find their own dharma, yet it offers no model for the reader, and remains only a pointer to the complex process of finding it.
Also available on![]() |
eBook available on![]() |
Format |
---|
Related products
-
Sümi and the Dance of the Dark Spirits
Author: Toinali Sema
Join the shy Moi, spirited Sumi and brave Vikai in this folk-fantasy adventure of self-discovery, bravery, mystery, and above all loyalty and friendship as they embark on a journey into unfamiliar territories and encounter supernatural beings, get chased by spirits, befriend dragonflies, meets the wind family, and fight the dark spirits.
Interested customers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Also available on
-
Unheard Sounds Flow On
Author: K Mahalinga, Translator: T K Ravindran
In spite of being one of the oldest members of the Dravidian family of languages, Tulu, unfortunately, has not yet found the recognition that it richly deserves in the modern world. Since modernity privileges the written over the spoken, the Tulu language that is abundantly blessed with oral literature has been placed on the fringes of modern literary world. Ironically, Tulu is still engaged in a desperate fight for official status in a country that boasts of its cultural and linguistic diversity. The motives behind the translation of Nanajjer Sude Tirgayer, hailed as the first modern Tulu novel, into English refuse to remain apolitical in this context.
The novel, which has already been translated into Kannada, Konkani and Malayalam, beautifully captures the pulse of rusticity that characterizes the life of a village community that lived its life with its love-hate relationship with nature, more than 75 years ago in a Tulu speaking village in the south-western part of Karnataka. Besides bringing alive the socio-cultural practices that find their articulation through the natural linguistic plurality ingrained in the village psyche, the novel touches upon the duality of human nature that leaves man perennially condemned to an inner crisis.
Interested customers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Also available on
-
Anurakte- The Enamoured
Author: Vyasaraya Ballal Translator: Poornima Hebbar
There are many rags-to-riches stories around the city of Mumbai. However, here is a story of transformation of a woman and her true self in the city of dreams. Set in Mangalore and Mumbai of the late 1940s, Anurakte- The Enamoured is an elegantly written story of a woman and her changing worldview over a period of time. Sumithra, a young woman with ordinary dreams and aspirations, comes to the then Bombay in search of livelihood. Little did she know that her experiences in the city and her zest for an independent life would transform her into a different person. She breaks the shell and resolves not to look back. The book is a poignant tale of love, loss, betrayal, family, relationships and traditions. The culturescape of Mumbai beautifully intertwines with her dreams. It is as much a story of the vibrancy of Mumbai as it is about Sumithra’s journey towards freedom.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
Comasya Dhakka
Author: Shivarama Karanth Translator: Ananthapadmanabha Shastri
Set in the coastal Karavali region of Karnataka, Chomasya Dakka is the story of Coma, a Dalit bonded-laborer. Set in the pre-independent India, Comasya Dakka tells a poignant tale of dalit lives, and the suppression of their fundamental rights and identity through the character of Coma. Denied the right to even till and cultivate their own land due to their caste and identity, Coma and his children work as bonded-labourers for their landlord, Sankappayya. The plot of the novel follows the lives of Coma and his children and the tragedies that befall them. The original work in Kannada, Comana Dudi, was adapted into a well-acclaimed, national award-winning film in the year 1975. Directed by B V Karanth, it won the Swarna Kamal, Indias National Award for the Best Film in the year 1976.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
Defiance
Defiance is a captivating tale of the march of globalization and its impact on the lives and times of the Santher Guthu family in Ombathkere, a village located between Mangaluru and Kasaragodu. Set in the picturesque Malabar coast of Karnataka in the late 20th Century, the novel takes the reader through four generations of the family. Ambakke, the protagonist, along with her brother Sankappa Hegde, the third-generation descendants of the family form the lifeblood of this story of human relationships in the midst of time and change. The novel is born out of deep contemplation of a community in the face of transition. There is anxiety that grips this part of Karnataka in the wake of modernity. The vast canvas of the novel and the depiction of folk culture provides a unique touch to the saga of the community. Defiance is a novel about traditions and the fear of losing out to modernity. It is about change and the desire to remain rooted.
-
Sangeetha Lokadrishti
Author: Sumangala
ತಂದೆ-ಮಗಳ ಸುರಬಹಾರಿನ ಸಂಗೀತಬಂಧದ ಚಿತ್ರಣದಿಂದ ಆರಂಭಗೊಳ್ಳುವ ಈ ಕಿರುಕೃತಿಯು ಸಾಗರ ವೀಣೆ ರೂಪುಗೊಳಿಸಿದ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ತಂದೆ-ಮಗಳ ಸಂಗೀತಬಂಧದ ಚಿತ್ರಣದೊಂದಿಗೆ ಮುಕ್ತಾಯವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನಾಲ್ವರು ಸಂಗೀತಗಾರರ ಬದುಕಿನ ಕೆಲವು ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶಗಳು, ಸಂಗೀತಪಯಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರು ಸಾಗಿದ ಹಾದಿ, ಕಠಿಣ ಸಂದರ್ಭಗಳು, ಅವರ ಸಾಂಗೀತಿಕ ಮನೋಧರ್ಮ, ರಾಗರೂಪದ ಕುರಿತ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಕೋನ, ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ ಅಂಶಗಳ ಸ್ಥೂಲ ಚಿತ್ರಣವಿದೆ.
ಸುರಬಹಾರಿನ ದಂತಕಥೆಯೆಂದೇ ಹೇಳಬಹುದಾದ ವಿದುಷಿ ಅನ್ನಪೂರ್ಣಾ ದೇವಿಯವರ ಖಾಸಗಿ ಬದುಕು, ಏಕಾಂತ ನಿಗೂಢವೆನ್ನಿಸುವ ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಮೈಹರ್ ಘರಾನೆಯ ಸ್ವರಸಂಪತ್ತನ್ನು ಶಿಷ್ಯರಿಗೆ ಧಾರೆಯೆರೆದು ಕಲಿಸುತ್ತ, ಹಲವರನ್ನು ಮೇರು ಕಲಾವಿದರಾಗಿ ರೂಪುಗೊಳಿಸಿದ ಬಗೆಯೂ ಅನನ್ಯ. ಕೃತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿತ್ರಿಸಿದ ಇನ್ನುಳಿದ ಮೂವರು ಸಂಗೀತಗಾರರು ನಮ್ಮ ನೆರೆಯ ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನದ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ಸಂಗೀತ ಪರಂಪರೆಯನ್ನು ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಸಮೃದ್ಧಗೊಳಿಸಿದವರು.
“ಏ ದಯ್ಯಾ… ಕಹಾಂ ಗಯೇ ವೇ ಲೋಗ್… ಬ್ರಿಜ ಕೆ ಬಸಯ್ಯಾ…”
ಮನುಷ್ಯರ ನಡುವೆ ಹತ್ತುಹಲವು ಬಗೆಯ ದ್ವೇಷದ ಗೋಡೆಗಳು ಎದ್ದು ನಿಂತಿರುವ ಇಂದಿನ ದಿನಮಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಿನ್ನತೆಗಳಿದ್ದರೂ ಪರಸ್ಪರ ಸಂವಾದ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಆ ಜನರನ್ನು, ಆ ಕಾಲಘಟ್ಟವನ್ನು ಮತ್ತೆ ಕಂಡುಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಬಹುಶಃ ಇಂತಹ ಸಂಗೀತಗಾರರ ಕೊರಳೊಳಗಿನ, ಬೆರಳೊಳಗಿನ ಸ್ವರಗಳೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಕೈಹಿಡಿದು ಮುನ್ನಡೆಸಬೇಕಿದೆ.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
Mahāmmāyi
Author: Chandrasekhara Kambara, Translator: Kathyayini Kunjibettu
Mahāmmāyi is the story of the legend of Shatavithaayi – the Goddess of death, and her adopted son Sambhashiva. Out of affection for her son, Goddess Shatavithaayi blesses him with the “power of life”. The blessing was that death will evade the people who are treated by Sambashiva. But a certain condition set by Shatavithaayi forbade him from healing every ill man. The condition was that, if Shatavithaayi stood on the right side of the patient, Sambhashiva could treat that person and he would live; but, if she stood on the left side of the patient, he should not treat that person as his death was inevitable. Through a distinct method of story-telling, the story follows the life of Sambhashiva as he begins to question the ideas of fate and destiny. Thus, the conflict between fate and human efforts to change that fate is vividly described in this play. -
The Other Face
Author: Na Mogasale Translator: N T Bhat
Set in a fictitious village called Kanthapura in Kasaragod district, Mukhāntara spans across the life of seven generations of a Havyaka Brahmin family. A story about the realities of living in a society marked by caste distinctions, the desire to find communal harmony and the tribulations of the characters through the entirety of the novel, it is also a tale of changing times and people. After unexpectedly coming into possession of a huge portion of land, Thirumalēshwara Bhat of Īshwarīmūle becomes a satisfied man. But childless, Thirumalēshwara Bhat and his wife Pārvathakka decide to adopt Venkappaiah and also give shelter to his widowed mother, Rathnamma. Venkappaiah is to inherit Thirumalēshwara’s vast wealth but when Krishnaiah, the illegitimate child of Thirumalēshwara and Rathnamma is born, rivalry ensues. Through the overlapping narratives of the characters, we get a glimpse into their journey from tradition to modernity. The characters strive to reshape new values when old values are slowly questioned and erased as they move on and are swept along in the waves of globalization.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
Also available on
eBook available on