For those familiar with the plot of the late writer U.R. Ananthamurthy’s political novel, Avasthe, Krishnappa Gowda, the protagonist’s existential conundrum is hardly unknown. In this literary masterpiece from his early writing years, Ananthamurthy explored the prospects of socialism in post-Independent India through the life of Krishnappa Gowda, a revolutionary. Perennially disgusted with what he called, a ‘baseness’ that surrounded him, Krishnappa hoped that if he persevered, his pro-poor, Marxist-Socialist ideals would help him rise above the drudgery and corruption that everyone else was so seemingly content with. Incidentally, Krishnappa’s angst was revisited recently, this time on stage, through In Such a State, an English theatre adaptation of Avasthe presented by Prakash Belawadi’s Centre for Film and Drama. Recreating the staunchly idealistic, well meaning and yet terribly conceited Krishnappa for the stage, Belawadi’s production made it clear that Ananthamurthy’s writing is relevant even in the present political context. The play presented arguments of faith, rationalism, individualism and the need for a revolution thereby tying itself to the contemporary where these discussions are hardly undesirable, if not imperative.
Turning a novel into a play is not painless. Additionally, to be able to successfully translate it from Kannada into English is another challenge altogether. Belawadi managed both tasks. However, one did get a sense that the play was trying to cram in as much as possible in a matter of two hours leaving the audience breathless. Forcing an interval an hour into the play, the production traced the life of Krishnappa much like the novel does. A biography project undertaken by Nagesha, a member of Krishnappa’s party, provided the impetus for storytelling. However, Belawadi, in his version, did not offer a convincing premise contextualizing the need for this biography. The narration began rather spontaneously presumably expecting the audience to borrow the basis from the source novel.
Once it began though, through compelling performances, Krishnappa’s life took hold of the audience’s imagination. Two actors played his role, with one being the present-day Krishnappa soldered to a wheelchair telling Nagesha his story — about the people that shaped his thought, the recognition of a smug lens through which he viewed the world, the same conceit that attracted him towards his college sweetheart Gowri and away from his wife Sita- while a younger Krishnappa enacted the episodes as they were narrated. Both actors were good performers carrying the entire play on their shoulders. Gowri, too, was a fascinating performer with a beautiful voice enhancing the character’s personality.
A multimedia projector provided the setting for each episode. One felt that the troupe could have used their imagination better to show the transition between scenes rather than conveniently use a projector for it. In the absence of lavish stage design and sets, therefore, the play relied heavily on Ananthamurthy’s thoughts alone. There were portions that were too cumbersome because a lot was being said without offering a sufficiently long pause to allow the audience to ingest the material.
However, what Belawadi’s team does deserve credit for is in seeing the novel through in a matter of two hours. Characters such as Veeranna, the businessman-cum-politician friend of Krishnappa, Annaji, who mentored Krishnappa and Maheshwarappa, the maverick Devi devotee were all duly highlighted and grounded in the universe of the play. Belawadi, as the writer of the play seems to know the pulse of Ananthamurthy’s writing. However, the challenge before him was evident as the play struggled to do justice to the sheer enormity of complex ideas that Ananthamurthy had weaved into Krishnappa’s story. What was the play’s own addition was the manner in which Krishnappa’s introspective journey was presented. There were poignant scenes when the two actors playing his role came together to observe and reflect on particular junctures in Krishnappa’s life. The challenges underlying an individualist’s life both personally and politically were brought to the fore. The eventual turn towards the audience to partake in Krishnappa’s predicament was also interesting. The pressing question that the play asked was how much longer could Krishnappa sustain himself in a world where even his ideals were weapons or tools in the hands of the corrupt and the politically ambitious. How long could he resist being bogged down by the day to day banalities evident all around him?
Ultimately, In Such a State stays with the audience thanks to the lead performances but more importantly because of the strength of Ananthamurthy’s writing which traverses time and landscape with ease.
