Analysis Of Girish Karnad

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Cultural renaissance is a post- colonial aspect of independent India. Writers like Karnad who was both Indian and English in his writings effected a tension between the East and West. He did this by taking the raw materials for his plays from the myths and legends of his native state Karnataka. GirishKarnad is the most important name in the area of play writing in Indian English Literature. The greatness of Girish Karnad lies in the success on the stage as well as among the readers.
Girish Karnad introduces existentialist issues like identity, split personality, ideological break-ups and dichotomy of life in his plays. His play HAYAVADANA deals with the problem of identity and search for completeness in life. His play TUGHLAQ deals with …show more content…

Nagamandala is a powerful portrait of the agony and anguish faced by both men and women in their development into adult roles and social adjustment in a society where the individual is given little space for self-development, awareness and independence as beings (Santosh Gupta, Nagamandla: A story of Marriage and Love, 249). Appana always keeps his wife Rani in a locked room and does not allow her even to talk and smile with anyone. Somehow a cobra, closely associated with the mythical Lord Shiva who is great to grant anything to his devotees and worshipers, appears for her rescue, relief and recreation. Rani’s frustration ends the moment she comes into contact with Naga. The Naga is a powerful symbol in Indian Mythology and Hinduism. These are regarded as having strong magical powers, vast knowledge and a capricious nature, which can quickly change from friendly and helpful to angry and malicious. There is also mythical element in the creation of circumstance of the cobra’s love and affection to Rani. Karuddavva the blind women, as a part of helping Rani from miserable conditions, try to give her a root which has a magical power of creating love and affections (Nagamandala, Act 1 p. …show more content…

The myths regarding herbs or roots which have magical power are narrated in the mythology of India, Greek, Egypt, China etc. The herb Acacia has been connected to a resurrection and immortality in many religious traditions and magical contexts. In West African Vodun and African-American Conjure Acacia is used with frankincense and myrrh in rituals to contact the dead and to open the mind to visions (Catherine yronwode, Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic) Agrimony is used in African-American Conjureto reverse a jinx, curse, or hex after it has been put on you. It is used in protection spells, to banish negative energies and spirits and to reverse spells and send them back to the sender (web, Indian Mirror). Indian mythology narrates about the herb called SanjeevaniBooti which is capable of curing any woe irrespective of its type and origin (Valmiki Ramayana, Yudhakanda). In Indian myth, a miracle has been mandatory to establish the purity of a woman, while a man’s mere word is taken for the truth. Here Rani was compelled to prove her chastity by putting her hand into the ant-hill where a king cobra lived. She should pull out the king cobra and take her oath by that cobra. It was same in case of Sita, the consort of Rama. She undergoes Agni Pariksha (an ordeal of fire) by which she proves her chastity before she is accepted by Rama(Wendy Doniger,

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