Last week, when a close friend of mine informed me about litterateur Girish Karnad’s demise, I went numb for a moment. The news brought back memories of my chance encounter with him, a couple of years ago, at a dinner party organised by the Mysuru Literary Forum Charitable Trust.
Many years prior to that, when I was pursuing masters degree in English literature, his work had greatly inspired me. I was totally besotted with his style of writing and his choice of subjects. I found his style refreshing and different from that of other Indian writers whom I was studying at that time.
At that dinner party in Mysuru, I saw him sitting in a corner and peacefully enjoying his dinner. He was alone. I thought this was my moment; I should not let it go! I confidently walked up to Karnad and said “Hello”.
He just nodded, without even looking up. He seemed uninterested in having a conversation with me. But, I couldn’t let this chance-of-a-lifetime fritter away.
“Hello Sir!”, I said again. This time a bit louder.
There was still no response. I told him I was a big fan of his and had read his works while pursuing postgraduate studies. On hearing this, he muttered, “Guilty!”
“At one point, I even wanted to do research on your style of writing!” I told him hoping to get a response this time.
But there was none. He was busy eating what looked liked dahi vada to me. What I didn’t realise was that I was annoying him. I continued talking, hoping to elicit a response.
“So, how are you, sir?” I queried.
On hearing this, he looked up and asked, “What do you want me to do? Give you my medical report? Desist!”Realising that I had been annoying him, I apologised and promptly left the scene, wishing him all the best in life.
Celebrities pay a price for excelling in their fields of work by often giving away their privacy. They can’t even enjoy the simplest pleasures in life like a sumptuous dinner.
However, I must say, even such a short encounter with Karnad taught me something. Although a literature student, until that day, I didn’t know how to use the word “desist”. Now I know! I can tell my friends I learned something from Karnad!
Mukta K Gupta
Email: muktakgupta@gmail.com