Diachronic approaches to mythology and Indian culture: Reading UR Ananthamurthy and Girish Karnad through the lens of monogenesis and polygenesis

Abstract

Literatures written in various Indian languages are translated into English and other languages. Such translations pave the smooth way for theatre artists of various regions and vernaculars. The present paper assesses and evaluates Girish Karnad’s and U R Ananthamurthy’s unique contribution in the realm of Indian literature. Both of them have delved deep insight into the contemporary social and political problems and portrayed them effectively by picking historical figures to reflect the contemporary issues. To highlight the Indian classical tradition, Girish Karnad has shown a novel path for playwrights to follow. U R Ananthamurthy has created the historiography of Indian literature. This research aims at reading U R Ananthamurthy and Girish Karnad through Monogenesis and Polygenesis approaches as a part of the Diachronic study of mythical literature and culture studies.