The fearless voice of A P J Kalam, and veteran playwright Girish Karnad dies at 81

• Girish Karnad passed away at 06:30 am, following a prolonged illness.
  
• He was awarded Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Jnanpith among others.

Renowned movie actor, director, and playwright Girish Karnad breathed his last today at 6:30 am, after a prolonged illness.

The patron of many arts passed away due to multiple organ failure, according to his family. The Karnataka state government has declared a holiday on account of his death.


Tughlaq of Arts

His famous play called ‘Tughlaq’ which portrayed the much-ridiculed Sultan of India, as an idealist who is disillusioned later. His plays and works bring in nativity, giving a new direction to Indian writings which were heavily influenced by Western ideals.

The maverick made his acting and screenwriting debut in a Kannada movie, Samskara, which won first President’s Golden Lotus award. He became a director, a move which earned him maximum fame.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1974, Padma Bhushan in 1992 and the Jnanpith award in 1998.

Fearless in the arts

Girish Karnad was born in 1938, in the erstwhile Bombay Presidency. After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and Statistics from Karnataka Arts College, Dharwad, he went to England and studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Magdalen, in Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

He was also the president of the Oxford Union in 1963.

Karnad’s works, like him, were fearless in political opinions often stirred debate. Despite death threats, he never wavered from voicing his bold views.

“We are all born with a divine fire in us. Our efforts should be to give wings to this fire,” said Karnad as he lent voice to former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s famous book, ‘Wings of Fire’.

The Prime Minister is one of the many who expressed sorrow at his demise. He tweeted, “Karnad will be remembered for his versatile acting across all mediums. He also spoke passionately about causes dear to him. His works will continue to become popular in the years to come. Saddened by his demise. May his soul rest in peace.”