Exploring Indian Mythology and Folklore in Girish Karnad's Dramas; Yayati & Hayavadana

Abstract

Girish Karnad is one of the best dramatists of the contemporary era, who borrows the plots or storylines from the Indian mythology and folklores to present them with a new taste to the audience. Drama is one of the forms of art and a significant tool to represent the picture of contemporary society on the stage where it communicates to the majority of people. This paper explores the stories from Indian mythology and folklore in Karnad's two famous dramas, entitled Yayati & Hayavadana. The plot of Yayati is taken from the great epic, The Mahabharata. It is the story of The Hindu King Yayati and his son Puru. The play deals with the theme of responsibility and existential crisis. The source of the plot of Hayavadana comes from The Kathāsaritsāgarahe which is a collection of ancient Indian folklores. The play has two acts presenting two different stories. One story deals with two friends Devdutta and Kapila. Devdutta gets married to Padmini, a beautiful lady, desiring a perfect husband who later becomes the victim of her desire for perfection. This play has another plot with a story of Hayavadana which means ‘a man with horse head’. Through both the plots, Karnad presents the theme of incompleteness and existential crisis of human beings on this earth. This paper will study how Indian mythology and folklores have been a source of inspiration for the dramatist, Girish Karnad. It will also focus how Karnad preserves the ancient culture and traditional art forms in his plays and reinvents the ancient tales with contemporary touch to presents the plight of modern man.