Broken Image
Broken Image
Broken Image
2
Broken Images
Girish Karnad is a contemporary writer,
playwright, actor and movie director. He is a
recipient of the Padma Shri (1974), Padma
Bhushan (1992) and the Jnanpith Award
(1998). He writes in both Kannada and English.
His plays generally use history and mythology
to focus on contemporary issues. He is also
active in the world of Indian cinema.
This play, too, can be looked at from multiple
levels—the focus on values, both personal and
Girish Karnad academic, and the issue of bilingualism in
Born 1938 today’s world.
T. S. ELIOT
THE WASTE LAND
The interior of a television studio. A big plasma screen hangs on
one side, big enough for a close-up on it to be seen clearly by the
audience. On the other side of the stage, a chair and a typically
‘telly’ table—strong, wide, semi-circular. At the back of the stage
are several television sets, with screens of varying sizes.
A small red bulb glows above the table, high enough not
to appear on the television screen.
Manjula Nayak walks in. She is in her mid-thirties/
forties, and has a confident stride. She is wearing a lapel
mike. It is immediately evident that she is at home in
broadcasting studios. She looks around.
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(The light turns red. She leans back in her chair. Pause.
Then into the lapel mike.)
I hope that was okay? I didn’t fumble too much, did I?
(Listens.)
Thank you, Raza. The pleasure’s all mine. See you
outside? (The red light switches off. She smiles
contentedly.)
Whew! That’ll get them. Good. I have taken enough
shit from them.
(Laughs and gets up. Manjula’s image on the screen
should have given way to the film, but hasn’t. Instead,
the Image continues as before, watching her calmly. She
is of course unaware of it.)
(She makes a move to the door.)
IMAGE: Where are you going?
(Startled, Manjula stops and looks around. Touches her
earpiece to check if the sound came from there and moves
on.)
You can’t go yet. —Manjula!
(Manjula looks around baffled and sees that her image
continues on the screen. She does a double take. From
now on, throughout the play, Manjula and her image
react to each other exactly as though they were both live
characters.)
MANJULA: Oh God! Am I still on?
(Confused, she rushes back to the chair and stops.)
IMAGE: You are not. The camera is off.
MANJULA: Is it?.. Then... how?
IMAGE: You are standing up. If the camera were on, I would
be standing up too. I’m not.
MANJULA: Is this some kind of a trick?
(Into her lapel mike.)
Hello! Hello! Can you hear me? How come I’m still on
the screen? Raza, hello...
(Taps her mike. No response.)
Is there a technical hitch?
IMAGE: No hitch.
MANJULA (to the Image): But how... Who are you... How...
Has the tape got stuck?
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Appreciation
1. Why do you think the playwright has used the technique of
the image in the play?
2. The play is called a monologue. Why is it made to turn dialogic?
3. What is the posture the celebrity adopts when the camera is
on and when it is off?
Suggested Reading
Two Monologues: Flowers, Broken Images by Girish Karnad
The Dreams of Tipu Sultan by Girish Karnad.
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