Theme of Hayavadana – Myth as a play Deformity portrayed social, economic and political

Abstract

If Indian English literature is the Cinderella of literature in English, Indian drama in English is the Cinderella of Indian English literature. “A recent bibliography of Indian writing in English lists as many as seven hundred and seventy seven separate titles under poetry, Sixty six under fiction and a paltry One hundred seventy three under drama.”1   The bibliography of Indian drama in English appended to perspectives on Indian Drama in English advances the score only to about four hundred.   Actually of these three forms, poetry and drama began their careers around the same time, with Henry Derozio's poems (1827) and Krishna Mohan Banerji’s, “The Persecuted” (1831) respectively, while the first Indian English novel- Bankim Chandra Chatterji’s “Raj Mohan’s wife” appeared only in 1864.   But since then, the pocket theatre has clearly left the theatre far being in the development of Indian writing in English.    Fiction has already produced masterpieces like “Untouchable”, “The Serpent and the Rope” and “The Guide”.   Why has Indian drama in English been unable to grow similarly and bear rich fruit?

1. A Bibliography of Indian English, (Hyderabad: CIEFL, 1972), p.12.

Girish Karnad was born in Matheran, Maharashtra, into a Konkani-speaking family. His initial schooling was in Marathi. As a youngster, Karnad was an ardent admirer of Yakshagana and the theater in his village. He earned his Bachelors of Arts degree from Karnataka University, Dharwad, in 1958. Upon graduation Karnad went to England and studied at Lincoln and Magdalen colleges in Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, earning his Master of Arts degree in philosophy, political science and economics. Karnad was a Visiting Professor and Fulbright Scholar in Residence at the University of Chicago.