Mysore/Mysuru: Former Director of Rangayana C. Basavalingaiah has remarked that modern theatre possesses the capability to delve into the core of poetry in its pursuit of truth.

He made these statements during the inauguration of a theatre training camp organised by DesirangaSamskruthikaSamsthe at Kalamandira recently. “Efforts should be made by teachers to educate students about prose and poetry, a practice that is currently lacking. I consider this to be a mistake. During my boyhood, I relished listening to ‘PunyakotiGovinaHaadu’ (a song about the Punyakoti cow). While pursuing my degree, some anonymous writers portrayed the cow featured in the song as the ‘hero’ and the tiger as the ‘villain.’ This prompted me to question this interpretation,” said Basavalingaiah.

“The question that arose in my mind was that the tiger did not stray to hunt the cow. It was the cow that crossed the territory in search of food and ended up in the mouth of the tiger. The cow pleads with the tiger to spare some time to feed its calf. The cow returns to the tiger after feeding its calf, an act of honesty appreciated by the tiger in the song,” he said. 

“The tiger later kills itself by jumping from a cliff. Even in this sequence, the tiger is portrayed as a cruel animal. Still, why was the tiger painted as a villain when it did not cross the territory to hunt? It would have been better if the plot of Punyakoti was narrated without deviating from reality. Hence, the only medium that can capture the inner details of Punyakoti is theatre,’ asserted Basavalingaiah.

“It has become commonplace to hear everyone speaking about Kannada being on the verge of extinction during Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations. Does this mean Kannadigas residing in Karnataka are not speaking Kannada at home? If any language erodes, it is only during devastating conditions like war,” he said, citing a few incidents.

Nowadays, there is a growing trend among people to call themselves ‘thinkers’ with their names printed on invitations. However, they need to specify the field in which they are thinkers. The resource person of this theatre camp, Dr. T.S. Dinamani, is a humanities expert; hence, she is addressed as a thinker in that particular field. Therefore, theatre camps are essential for youths to learn about reality, said Basavalingaiah.

Assistant Director of Kannada and Culture Department Dr. M.D. Sudarshan and Director of the Theatre Camp Krishna Janamana were present.