Why Girish Karnad’s masterpiece ‘Tughlaq’ is suitable for every era

Girish Karnad was all of 26 when he wrote Tughlaq. Karnad’s second Kannada-language play after Yayati was published in 1964, although Karnad had been working on it for the past few years while studying for a Masters of Arts degree at the University of Oxford. The landmark play, comprising 13 scenes, is based on the reign of folly of the Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq. It was first staged in Kannada in 1965. In 1975, Oxford University Press published Karnad’s English translation of Tughlaq.

Karnad cited an essay by the Kannada critic and writer Kirtinath Kurtakoti, who was also a close friend, as one of his inspirations. In This Life at Play: Memoirs, translated by Karnad and Srinath Perur from the Kannada, the playwright, actor and filmmaker writes: “Kirtinath Kurtakoti’s introductions to the works in Nadedu Banda Daari opened the door to a world I didn’t even know existed. They offered new perspectives and inspiration. I found my attention drawn to a comment about Kannada plays: ‘But no one has attempted to use historical material to try and reveal new layers of the truth. Along with resurrecting the past, we need to develop a vision that looks at the past in a new light. We need new…

Read more