NCERT Book Class 12 English (kaleidoscope) Drama 2 Broken Images

224/KALEIDOSCOPE

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.

...for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter,...

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.