University of Mysore professor calls for revival of Indian playwrights

MYSURU: Recalling the glorious heritage of Indian literature, Prof Mahadeva of the department of English at the University of Mysore (UoM), on Wednesday called for the revival of literary giants of our country, along with the famous English bard William Shakespeare.
Mahadeva, who inaugurated a state-level seminar on ‘Shakespeare – Our Contemporary’ organised by the department of English, JSS College Of Arts, Commerce and Science, said that Kalidasa, renowned for the Abignana Shakuntala, wrote plays 900 years before Shakespeare. “We have forgotten eminent playwrights such as Dandi, Harsha and Kalidasa, who produced magnificent works. Apart from reviving Shakespeare, there is also a need to read our own writers,” he said.

Mahadeva, who made a strong case for the revival of theatre across the country, also touched upon the efforts made by the giants in the pantheon of Kannada literature in popularising Shakespeare. “Noted writers such as Kuvempu, Vaidehi, LS Sheshagiri Rao, Nataraj Huliyar, KS Bhagvan have worked to translate Shakespeare to Kannada. UoM has also staged many Shakespeare plays. Now, English teachers and professors have the responsibility of reviving Shakespeare’s works,” he added.

Attributing the decline in theatre in the country to the fact that Indians were Anglophiles, Mahadeva said, “Theatre has to be revived so that the legacy of Indian playwrights too can be sustained. Poet laureate Kuvempu, while writing the Ramayana Darshanam for which he received the Jnanpith Award, pays his respects to Dante, Homer, Virgil and Yeats. Similarly, along with Indian literature, we have to read and experiment with plays and sonnets by Shakespeare.”

Visiting professor to the Sri Basaveshwata Peetha at UoM Chandrashekaraiah, in his presidential address, highlighted the universal appeal of Shakespeare. “The British came to India for trade, and also brought missionaries and Shakespeare. While the missionaries have remained, traces of Shakespeare too can be seen. Through his plays, Shakespeare wrote about incidents happening not just in England, but across the world,” said Prof. Chandrashekaraiah.

Pointing to the contemporary relevance of Shakespeare, Chandrashekaraiah said, “The bard created more than 100 characters who resemble individuals. His concepts reflect ongoing events. It was only after his death that Shakespeare’s plays were printed. Recently, another play by Shakespeare ‘Double Falsehood’ was discovered.”

Some of the topics that were discussed at the seminar included ‘Relevance of Shakespeare’, ‘Women characters in Shakespeare’s plays’.

JSS college principal M Mahadevappa was present, along with Syed Hazira Begum and HH Mahalingappa.