Girish Karnad's memoirs released

Prajavani Editor K N Shanth Kumar, who released the book, said that the book revealed the multi-faceted genius that Karnad is. “Through the book, we learn not only about Karnad’s life, but also about the cultural scenario in Karnataka during his time,” he said.

The book has been titled after D R Bendre’s famous lines ‘Aadaadtha Ayushya’ (Life moves on while playing).

“Bendre has played a significant role in my life. I even named my daughter after a poem by him,” said Karnad.

The first part of the book deals with his early schooling and college days including his education at Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship. His varied interests and his determination that took him to the post of President of Oxford Union is also fleshed out in detail. The second part of the book deals with his career at Chennai while working for the Oxford University Press. During this time, he acted in many English plays under Madras Players, and also ventured into acting with ‘Samskara’, which won the Swarna Kamala award. The book also details his tenure as the Director of the Film and Television Institute at Pune, and his interaction with actors such as Om Puri. The book ends with his marriage to Dr Saraswathy Ganapathy.

Karnad himself read out two passages from the book -- the first dealing with the institution of pubs and their social role in Britain, along with the time he spent at pubs during his stay in England.

He also read out another passage about his interactions with the opposite sex in England, which elicited laughter among the audience. Besides Karnad’s memoirs, Shantha Kumar also released ‘Antarangada Mrudanga’ by Narahalli Balasubramanya, ‘Hole Makkalu’ by Bidarahalli Narasimhamurthy, and ‘Na Badukalikke Ollepa’ by Lohit Naikar.