Narasinga Rao Parwathavadi was a very famous Kannada writer. As a matter of fact, after K. P. Kailasam, he was the most important and successful Kannada writer of comedies and farces. These write-ups boosted the development of amateur Kannada theatre.
Early Life of Narasinga Rao Parwathavadi
Narasinga Rao Parwathavadi was born at Parwathavadi, Dharmapuri district, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in 1911. He graduated from the University of Mysore, worked in the Mysore Forest Department, and later became chairman of the Karnataka Nataka Academy. Like Kailasam, Parwathavani was an actor as well as a director. He made a name in acting by 1936, playing lead roles like Lord Krishna and Kabir. Later, Narasinga Rao Parwathavadi also acted in and composed radio drama.
Life in Theatre for Narasinga Rao Parwathavadi
Narasinga Rao Parwathavadi began writing drama in 1939, published more than eighty plays and adapted over twenty works of Shakespeare, Goldsmith, Moliere, Gogol, Chekhov, and Gorky. These were staged by amateur groups even in small towns. His original plays mostly rework mythological stories or reinterpret lives of saints.
Kichaka uses the texts of Bhasa, Kumaravyasa, and Kailasam, attempting to portray the role of fate. Kichaka was a villain in the Mahabharata, but here he appears noble and a puppet in the hands of fate. The play also criticizes the traditional system of beliefs. Mukuti muguti i.e. `Nose-stud of Salvation` in 1963 deals with the life of Purandaradasa, the medieval Kannada saint-poet, in a realistic mode. Farces like Mina maduve i.e. `Mina`s Marriage`, Goggayya, and Jenugndu i.e. `Beehive`, all in his collected works, 1971 reveal a keen observation of middle-class family life and contain social criticism with delicate humour. However, modern criticism finds Narasinga Rao Parwathavadi more an entertainer than a serious playwright.
A book of his collected pays was published in 1971. His works reveal a keen insight into the life of the middle class of his time and also his gift for satire. Narasinga Rao Parwathavani is one of Kannada`s most popular playwrights whose works gave impetus to the growth of modern Kannada theatre. He won the Sangeet Natak Academy Award for Drama in 1980.
Parwathavani, famous playwright breathed his last in the year 1994.
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