DHARWAD: Playwright Girish Karnad always had a special love and fondness for Dharwad, recall his close associates. Though the Jnanpith Awardee was born in Maharashtra, grew up in Sirsi and completed his higher education in England, it was Dharwad city which had a special place in his heart.Karnad’s first play ‘Yayati’, which he wrote in 1960 and was published in Dharwad, gave him a breakthrough. The play also bagged the Mysore State Award in 1962.
The great writers from here like Da Ra Bendre and V K Gokak were his inspiration, and they too encouraged him, which cemented his bond with the city.Hanumant Kakhandiki, an associate, said Karnad had studied at Bassel Mission School and Karnatak College. As a student, he had spent around six years in the city. “Due to his simplicity, people here were also close to him.”
He was very particular about a few things -- he always used to get his footwear repaired at a particular shop and buy ‘jamun’ fruits from an old woman in front Manohar Granthamala. Even after he became famous, there was no change in his attitude. He used to mingle with all people in Granthamala, which was a meeting point for all writers and people involved in the literary world,” he said.
Karnad also had a huge influence on the theatre scene in Dharwad. The Kalabhavan and Srigana auditoriums at KCD College were developed due to his initiative.Initially, actors used to use two sheds as greenrooms at Kalabhavan. Seeing such poor conditions, he got the existing building constructed.
Karnad also kept Rs 1 lakh as fixed deposit to help professional artistes at Srijana auditorium. He took this step after learning that the rent of the auditorium was too high for the artistes. Now, professional artistes can stage three shows a year because of that money.
Karnad is also the brainchild behind the Kannada Sahitya Sambrhama, which is being held in Dharwad every year since 2013.Karnad started the state’s first film society, the ‘Chitra Film Society’, in Dharwad in 1971, to introduce award-winning international and national films to people.