Page 228 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Indian Writings in Literature

Notes My love has stitched my lips. Pulled out my fangs. Torn out my sac of poison [..] yes, this King
Cobra is now no better than a grass snake.
The pride diminishes. Note the references to 'fangs', 'sac of poison' and 'Cobra' that point to full
self-realization.
The playwright has proposed three endings:
1. In the first, they live happily ever after. Both Naga and Appanna fuse into one on self-realisation
2. Naga suicides. For one of the two selves to survive coherently the other must suicide-an
emotional suicide.
3. Both Naga and Appanna co-exist. History repeats.
Finally, some critics question the identity of the play itself; that is, Nagamandala as a folk-play.
Jose George asserts that there is indeed a marginal difference between the 'real' lore of the folk and
the lore that is represented and constructed as folklore. He utilizes the term 'fake lore' to address
the latter. He defines folk lore as that which represents the life of the people in close communion
with nature, and that which is orally transmitted. Fake lore, on the other hand, is represented as
folk lore by outsiders for a specific purpose. Therefore while folklore is the signifier of a signified,
fake lore is the signifier of a signifier of a signified, "it is a fake drama in representation". It
reminds one of Plato's Theory of Ideas as something twice removed from reality. However Karnad
himself counters this when he says," Drama is not for me a means of self-expression. Drama can
be production of meaning also. The story has an autonomous existence…."
The story therefore while it lives by virtue of interpretation, has a 'creative individuality' of its
own.
Self -Assessment
1. Fill in the blanks:
(i) In Nag-Mandala there is the marital relationship between Rani and ............... .
(ii) In Indian society, a woman is not supposed to claim freedom and ............... .
(iii) Rani is a victim of severe repression and ............... .
(iv) The eagle answers-beyond the seven seas and the seven ............... .

27.2 Summary

• The present unit purports to examine the view of Girish Karnad towards the martial
relationship between Rani and Appanna in Naga-Mandala. The conjugal relationship between
Rani and Appanna is lop-sided and imbalanced where the latter ignores the existence of the
former as human being. The position of Rani is analogous to that of slave and animals. She
is subjected to various forms of deprivation, violence and torture, and left with no choice and
voice. The playwright fuses energy in Rani to enable her to subvert the patriarchal value
system which helps Appanna subjugate her on various planes of life.
• Girish Karnad's deep-rooted humanitarian zeal impels him to give voice to the silenced
majority through his plays. His plays are filled with the deprived, dispossessed and down-
trodden who are subjected by patriarchy or upper class hierarchy.
• In Indian society, a woman is not supposed to claim freedom and individuality. In such a
situation, repression of individuality is inevitable. In tradition-bound societies like India, the
women happen to be the worst sufferers as the social norms and moral codes have been so
framed as to be particularly disadvantageous to them. In the twentieth century, psychological
theories make the point that repression of the natural urges puts tremendous impact on the
psyche of an individual.

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