Karnads Hayavadana in city

BANGALORE: One of Bangalore’s theatre groups, Topcast, will perform the well known play by Girish Karnad ‘Hayavadana’ in English on May 19 and 20 at MLR Convention Hall, Whitefield.The play is directed by N Ravi kumar, who has had an illustrious association with theatre for over 35 years and the music is composed by Raghu Dixit.N Ravi Kumar the founder of Topcast wanted to bring ‘Hayavadana’ in English with the motive of reaching out to the audience who have not had a direct encounter with native plays by well known Indian playwrights.Hayavadana, one of Karnad’s most beloved works is originally in Kannada and has been translated for the English speaking audience. The plot of Hayavadana comes from Kathasaritsagara, an ancient compilation of stories in Sanskrit. The central event in the play — the story of Devadatta and Kapila- is based on a tale from the Vetalapanchavimshika, but he has borrowed it through Thomas Mann’s retelling of the story in The Transposed Heads.  Karnad’s play poses a different problem, that of human identity in a world of tangled relationships.N Ravi Kumar, the director made his debut performance in 1954 in the Kannada movie Madulthedi. He has also acted in two other movies Kokilavani and Nambiakka.