BENGALURU: Written in the 1980s, riding the post-modernist and anti-Navya movement in Kannada literature, the play Huliya Neralu best exemplifies the hallmarks of poet-playwright and Jnanpith awardee Chandrashekahara Kambara’s vast oeuvre – the clash of tradition and modernity, native identities, existential inquiries of faith and the impact of western influence on native culture.
Today, Tigurata, the travelling theatre troupe from the renowned cultural institute Ninasam is returning to the city after a hiatus of nearly four years and is bringing with it two plays, including an adaptation of Huliya Neralu.
Based on Helatena Kela, a collection of poems published in the 1960s, Huliya Neralu explores the complex interplay of personal identity with larger societal changes. Set in the utopian village of Shivapura, the play follows the surreal story of a man named Gowda, who is killed by a tiger he was hunting, following which the tiger assumes his identity and returns to Gowda’s village. Through the story, Kambara explores the impact of modernity and an ever-growing Western influence on traditional values.
“Our treatment of the play differs from Kambara’s original, written in the 1980s. The play is divided into segments and the changes are mostly in the first segment. While on the surface, it seems like a folk story, there is a lot of symbolism and allegory in the play, exploring the impact of globalisation, capitalism, and modernisation, as well as their impact on rural India,” shares veteran thespian KG Krishnamurti, who directed the play. “The titular character, Gowda, is possessed by the spirit of the tiger, which represents all the aforementioned ‘demons’. And the changes we have made to the play are aimed at visually expressing the descriptive sections from the original, while also highlighting the themes of the play.”
Having originally premiered during the Ninasam Cultural Festival late last month, Tirugata has been touring various cities and towns across Karnataka with Huliya Neralu since then. Meanwhile, another aspect in which Ninasam’s adaptation differs from the original is the music. “The original play has no songs, unlike most of Kambara’s plays.
But we made a choice to include songs in our adaptation – neither originals nor popular ones by Kambara himself – but lesser-known ones from Kambara’s Helatena Kela poetry collection. Fresh melodies for the songs are composed by Sri Lankan-Canadian Geetiya Varman, from the School of Drama, Thrissur,” says Krishnamurti, adding that they have also experimented with acting styles, even incorporating the Shakespearean style of acting in the early parts.
Huliya Neralu will be staged at Ranga Shankara, JP Nagar today at 7.30pm. Tickets are priced at B200. Details on bookmyshow.com