In the second year of my graduation, I have
studied “Tughlaq” a play by Girish Karnad. It contains only thirteen scenes and
it does not matter how many times we read it but every reading gives us a new
side of Tughlaq’s personality, every time the character of Tughlaq meets us as
we never met him before.
Tughlaq
By Girish karnad
Girish Karnad, an actor and a film director
is originally a Kannada dramatist, who has written many plays such as ‘Yayati’,
‘Hayavadana’, and ‘Tughlaq’.
Karnad has successfully translated
‘Tughlaq’ and ‘Hayavadana’ in English. Girish Karnad is one of the greatest
living dramatists in the India; he is a person with a versatile genius he has
not only acted in theatre but also in first movies.
Karnad
has a great insight into human nature and he is well aware with the paradox in
human nature. He implies mythical, historical and folk themes as the skeleton
of his play, but he identifies that with contemporary elements and themes.
Tughlaq
‘Tughlaq’
is Karnad’s second play written in 1964; the play was originally written in
Kannada and then translated in Kannada by Karnad himself. It is all about the
life of Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq who has ruled in India in 14th
century. There is a lot of controversy among the historians about the character
of Tughlaq but Karnad has presented this man as a man of opposites. The central
theme of the play is the complexity in the character of Sultan Tughlaq, who has
both the elements good as well as evil. He is a visionary man as well as man of
action. Other characters also present Tughlaq’s dual personality; his close
associates Barani and the scholarly historian Najib are practical politician
like him.
From the very first scene we come to
know about the complex personality of Tughlaq, he can be considered as a learnt
and an intelligent man. He has abilities to learn and curiosity to know and he
is master in playing chess, he has the knowledge of ‘Quran’ more than
any sheikh, and also a good reader who has read Greek, farcical and Arabic
literature. Tughlaq wanted his life as a garden of roses, where even thrones
also give delight; his imagination expresses his sense about literature.
The character of sultan Tughlaq can be
compared with Christopher Marlow’s “Dr. Faustus” who has same hunger of knowledge
and he had a tragic end and same tragic end Tughlaq has also faced. He wanted
to make a new India, and for him it was very difficult but he is ready to
explain what people don’t understand,
“How
he can explain tomorrow to those,
who
have not even opened their eyes
to
the light of today.”
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