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 |
Categories: | Fiction, Plays and Theatre, Translation |
---|
Format |
---|
Related products
-
The Gandhi Cap and Other Short Stories by Raja Radhikaraman Prasad Singh
The book The Gandhi Cap and Other Short Stories offers a glimpse into the lifetime of work of a forgotten pioneer of Hindi fiction, Raja Radhikaraman Prasad Sinha. It is ironic that one cannot find a single book by this author who was so dedicated to Hindi literature. The stories in this collection are a testament not only to the contributions of Sinha to Hindi fiction but also, reflect the depth of political and social milieu of the times. Many readers will be moved by the elements patriotism, feminism, secularism, and spiritualism in these stories. Strong female characters are common in most of these stories. These characters provide both a moral fulcrum to the stories as well as reflect the struggle of women to balance prevailing customs with modernity. Some of these stories provide sharp political and social commentary that still have currency (The Gandhi Cap). Sinha incorporates a unique style of writing that uses lyrical prose and poetry together. He even employs a dialogue between the storyteller and a social gathering in the form of an epilogue, to offer a discourse on social dilemma about women?s plight to become modern while admonishing them to retain their Indian essence (An Expensive Bargain). We hope the readers will enjoy this wonderful collection.
-
Akka Mahadevi, the questioning poet-saint
Author: D A Shankar
This book presents the mystical ruminations and literary excellence of Akka Mahadevi, the earliest example of a gender-liberated woman writer, credited with the composition of over four hundred and forty remarkably self-explorative Vachanas. Akka Mahadevi represents a powerfully authentic female voice of the radical, egalitarian Sharana Movement, which questioned the socially established barrier between genders and ushered in a world of socio-cultural equality.
In this book, the author explores the questioning spirit intrinsic to Akka Mahadevi’s life and writings, as she questions the widely held conventional norms: the traditional husband-wife relationship, her parents, elders; she questions Basavanna and Allama for their habituated patriarchal manner of speaking, and she bravely questions her personal deity whom she loves and adores. Apart from discerning a credible ‘history’ and background to Akka’s works, this book makes available a rendition of her selectively profound and memorable Vachana in modern English, that crosses the ?the gulf of language and the gulf of time.
Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.
-
Swapnasaraswatha
Swapna Saraswatha is the saga of migration of a community called Saraswaths in the west coast of India, extending from Goa to the south of Mangalore. It captures the dominance of a colonial power over the region that began with the entry of the Portuguese about four hundred years ago. The novel is a graphic description of the displacement of this strongly-rooted community which saw its resurrection in a new area. In the course of its narrative, the novel traces the gradual changes in the structure of the family that moved from a closely knit joint family of the bygone era to the nuclear family. It also deals with the factors that are responsible for the change in value systems of individuals in the wake of such paradigm shifts. With its vast canvas, it remarkably weaves fiction with myth and history, peppered with cultural details and linguistic nuances. The narration in Swapna Saraswatha progresses in the form of an epic detailing the story of nine generations spread over a period of two hundred and fifty years from 1510 to about 1760. It encompasses more than a hundred and fifty characters which include Hindus, Muslims, Christians, chieftains, traders, farmers, priests and black magicians, and covers a range of themes spread across folk tales, legends, armies, myths and a sprinkling of history.
-
The Zoo In My Backyard
What can you expect in a family of quirky adults, hyperactive children, and an assortment of pets? The author and her siblings shared their childhood with Kesavan, the incorrigibly curious black monkey; Judie, the nimble giant squirrel; Mini, the shy mouse deer that strayed; Psitta, the cackling parakeet; Devil, the runaway hound and many more creatures great and small. The adventures of the children and antics of their pets, together with the adults in the family make for a whole lot of fun and laughter ? not just in the backyard but indoors as well.
-
U-Turn
ಮರಾಠಿ ನಾಟಕ. ಯು-ಟರ್ನ್ ಮಹಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರ ಮತ್ತು ಅದರಾಚೆಗೆ 585 ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ಲಕ್ಷಾಂತರ ಹೃದಯಗಳನ್ನು ಗೆದ್ದಿದೆ. ಗುಜರಾತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇದರ ಅನುವಾದವು 115 ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನಗಳನ್ನು ಕಂಡಿದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಹಿಂದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ 50 ಕ್ಕೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನಗಳನ್ನು ಕಂಡಿದೆ. ಈ ಯಶಸ್ಸು ಶ್ರೀಮತಿ ಸವಿತಾ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಿಯವರ ಬೆಂಬಲದೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಕೃತಿಯನ್ನು ಅನುವಾದಿಸಲು ಪ್ರೊ.ನೀತಾ ಇನಾಮದಾರ್ ಅವರನ್ನು ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹಿಸಿತು. ನಾಟಕವು ಉದ್ದಕ್ಕೂ ಕೇವಲ ಎರಡು ಪಾತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಇಡೀ ಅವಧಿಗೆ ವೇದಿಕೆಯ ಮೇಲಿರುವ ಇಬ್ಬರನ್ನು ಹೊರತುಪಡಿಸಿ ಒಂದೆರಡು ಧ್ವನಿಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದೆ. ನಾಟಕದ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಕಲ್ಪನೆಯು ಆಧುನಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಒಪ್ಪಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವಲ್ಲಿನ ವ್ಯತ್ಯಾಸಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಎರಡು ವಿಭಿನ್ನ ತಲೆಮಾರುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂಬಂಧಿಸಿದ ಸಂಘರ್ಷಗಳು. ವಿಚ್ಛೇದಿತ ಸೇನೆಯ ಮೇಜರ್ ಮತ್ತು 50 ರ ದಶಕದ ಅಂತ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ವಿಧವೆಯ ನಡುವಿನ ಒಡನಾಟವನ್ನು ಅವರ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ವಿರೋಧಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅವರು ತಮ್ಮನ್ನು ತಾವು ಆಧುನಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಅಳವಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರೂ ವಿಭಿನ್ನ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ನೀತಾ ಇನಾಮದಾರ್ ಅವರು ಮಣಿಪಾಲ್ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾನಿಲಯದಲ್ಲಿ (MU) ಯುರೋಪಿಯನ್ ಅಧ್ಯಯನ ವಿಭಾಗದ (DES) ಮುಖ್ಯಸ್ಥರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಮತ್ತು ಮಣಿಪಾಲ್ ಯೂನಿವರ್ಸಲ್ ಪ್ರೆಸ್ ನ (MUP) ಮುಖ್ಯ ಸಂಪಾದಕರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಸಂಗೀತ ಮತ್ತು ರಂಗಭೂಮಿ ಅವರ ಆಸಕ್ತಿಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಶ್ರೀಮತಿ ಸವಿತಾ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಿ ಅವರ ನೆರವಿನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಈ ಕೆಲಸವನ್ನು ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿತು. ಸವಿತಾ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಿ ಅವರು ಮಣಿಪಾಲದ ಮಹಿಳಾ ಉದ್ಯಮಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಅವರು ಬಾಬಾ ಆಮ್ಟೆ ಅವರ ಆನಂದವನಕ್ಕೆ ಧನಸಹಾಯವನ್ನೂ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅವರು ಮರಾಠಿ, ಹಿಂದಿ ಮತ್ತು ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ನಾಟಕಗಳ ಓದುಗರಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ, ಅವರು ಈ ಅನುವಾದ ಯೋಜನೆಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ ಬೆಂಬಲವನ್ನು ನೀಡಿದರು.
-
A Bond So Sacred
A Bond So Sacred tells the story of Raman, a satyagrahi, who adopts Kokila, an orphan. He leaves the five year old in the care of his mother while he plunges into the freedom struggle. His nationalist fervour, however, clashes with his love for Amina, his charming neighbour who wants parental approval to their marriage. Raman’s mother is as staunch a Brahmin as Amina’s father is a Muslim. Will Raman be able to get their consent? The joy of India becoming an independent nation is marred by Gandhiji’s death. Raman’s fellow satyagrahis have gone their ways and he finds himself with no role to play in a rapidly changing country. Meanwhile, Kokila, his protégée, has her own battles to fight. As the years bring them together again, Kokila discovers truths about Raman that she would never have imagined. She is forced to confront the ghosts of the past, his and hers.
-
A Handful of Sesame
With a captivating start, A Handful of Sesame plunges us into the heart of the dying years of the 1857 mutiny. But the mutiny is largely a backdrop to the novel. When Kamalanabh of Kashi is manipulated by an impoverished Brahmin of Navalgund into marrying his daughter, the novel becomes basically the story of an internal migration. This is rare, and it remains one of the strengths of the novel. We are so used to speaking of migration across the postcolonial bridge and accredited national borders that we forget that India is a country of endless internal migrations – in the past and the present.
-
A Shrine for Sarasamma
A Shrine for Sarasamma is the English translation of Sarasammana Samadhi written by K Shivarama Karanth in 1937, in his early thirties. It offers one of the most authentic and searing accounts of Indian womanhood, which consistently, and through the ages, has suffered deep anguish, humiliation and crushing insult from the oppressive patriarchal culture prevalent in all parts of India and among all castes and classes. The novel is a classic in Kannada and the English translation is an attempt to bring to the English reading audience a taste of the regional classic.