Here, I Cannot Stay; There, I Cannot Go- Autobiography of B.V. Karanth As Told To Vaidehi

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Here, I Cannot Stay: There, I Cannot Go (Autobiography of B.V. Karanthi Theatre was not a profession for B.V. Karanth-it was his very life-blood, if he seriously reflected on its possibilities during the day, he dreamed of the same at night. And, his life was as theatrical and tumultuous as the plays he directed. His autobigraphy as told to Vaidehi is both a gripping story of an extraordinary individual and an authentic chronicle of the theratre in post-Independence India-a chronicle of great playwrights, imaginative directors, talented actors and actresses, and of the varied 'theatres' in our multi-lingual country.

Vaidehi (Janaki Srinivasa Murthy) is one of the most significant writers of modern Kannada. Her creativity is multifaceted: she has written poetry, fiction, essays, reminiscences and children's plays, She has thirty works in all to her credit, including translations. While her plays have been staged successfully at Ninasam and Rangayna, directed by Karanth and others, some of her stories have been translated into several Indian languages including English (Gulabi Talkes & Other Stories, Penguin, 2006) She has received many awards including the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Danachinatamani Attimabbe Award (the highest award given to a woman-writer by the Government of Karnataka).

The Translators

C.N. Ramachandra, Emeritus Professor of English, is a noted critic/translator in English and Kannada. He has to his credit sixteen critical works in Kannada and seven works in English, which include works on Comparative Literature, Post-colonial Criticism, and monography on Edward Said and Shivarama Karanth. He has translated into English, Male Madeshwara (Kannada oral epic, with a critical introducation), Edge of Time (a major Kannada novel by Veerappa Moily), and many fomous Kannada short stories. A recipient of the Birla Fellowihip, Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award, Katha Award and Kushi Janapada Award, he was recently honoured with the Rajyotsava Award by the Government of Karnataka.

Padma Sharma, a noted scholar, has several translations to her credit, including Return to Earth (a kannada novel by Shivarama Karanth), The House of Kanuru (a novel by Kuvempu, translated with Dr. Sharma), and many stories of Vaidehi. She is a recipient of the Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Award and the Katha Award for translation.

C.N. Ramachandran and Padma Sharma together have translated selections form Kannada oral epics, with critical introduction and notes, under the title Strings and Cymbals.

n the occasion of the publication of my autobiography documenting my life and its achievements, it is my duty to express my gratitude to the many respected men and women who were responsible for all such achievements. I offer my salutations to them.

Many people have helped me in many ways, throughout my life: those that helped me with food, clothing and education; those that raised the level of my awareness; those that helped me to learn music and assisted me in my theatrical ventures; those that nursed me during sickness - so many of them. Though I am equally grateful to all them, if I were to name them all here, it would grow to be a book on its own and might appear absurd to readers. So, I gratefully remember them all and name only a few here.

I am indebted to several elders of my town for having helped me remember many incidents that had slipped from my memory. I recall mainly Sri Ramachandra Bhat, my primary school master.

Two of my classmates were responsible for my first entry on stage: Kaje Venkataramana Bhat and Mahabaleshawara Bhat. The farces I acted in along with them were "Shuklunde Aitala" and "Kumbalakayi Bhagavataru". Kuvempu's Nanna Gopala was a play enacted with them for School Day. I remember my teacher P.K. Narayana sincerely, for giving me able guidance and generating interest in literature in me at a young age. I have not yet forgotten the way he used to recite from memory and bring to life Aa. Na. Kru's novel, Sandhya Raga. Later, when I was studying in Pane Mangaluru, the encouragement given by my lecturers and my distant uncle, Bantawala Somayaji, I cannot forget. He encouraged me to get interested in Harikathe and piayreading as well, though I used to watch Yakshagana endlessly. In a way, he instilled in me a madness for Harikathe. It was my mother who made me aware of the tones of music.