Resist, repair, renew, recreate

We need to keep our imagination vibrant and healthy, says Akshara K V, son ofu00a0dramatist K V Subbanna. AND The arts have to develop into a culture of resistance to take on today's centralised,u00a0 capital-driven and hugely exploitative entertainment industry

The much-admired dramatist and writer K V Subbanna founded the Ninasam (Neelanakantheshwara Natya Sangha) drama institute in 1949. MiD DAY spoke to his son Akshara K V, who was instrumental in releasing a volume of selected essays of K V Subbanna in English titled Community and Culture, on a variety of issues relating to drama and writing.

Akshara Prakashana has been around for over half a century. In the context of the recent release of Subbanna's selected writings, what do you feel about the achievements of this publishing house?
Akshara Prakashana started out with a simple 'selfish' motive to publish what my father wrote; and then it expanded to publish what his friends wrote. But the life and times of my father were such that many important writers became its regular authors and the literary, socio-cultural movements that they were involved in also became a part of its unarticulated publishing agenda.

In my own way, I am also attempting to continue that approach by viewing my publication activity as something that goes along with and complements what I and my friends do. In this context, I feel that Akshara Prakashana's most important achievement is probably its ability to look objectively at the world around it and at the same time engage actively with it. Akshara Prakashana has published good books and not-so-good books, but its 'context-boundedness' has remained its strongest point.
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Can you tell us more about Ninasam? How relevant is drama in the modern world and how can it move people in a way that modern entertainment cannot?
I do believe that in today's context, when the entertainment industry is set to capture the whole world, the relevance and the responsibility of a live and potentially non-commercial medium such as theatre is immense. The entertainment industry is centralised, capital-driven and hugely exploitative. Therefore, it is not enough if the arts offer resistance through culture; they have to develop into a culture of resistance. In other words, theatre and other non-commercial arts have to offer recreation to the world in all its multiple possibilities.

What Ninasam is attempting is something on these lines. It runs a theatre institute, au00a0 theatre repertory that caters mainly to the non-urban and non-commercial sector. The other activities of Ninasam, such as the annual Culture Course in October, are also attempts in this direction.

Subbanna once said that a fire in a school caused him to understand the concept of community. Is this learning still relevant today? Does a strong sense of community motivate people these days?
u00a0It was an incident that sensitised him to the concept of community. He continued to explore it in his life later. But, in the same essay that he talks about the fire incident, he also says (paraphrasing Gandhi) that his 'ideal' community does not have a physical existence, but belongs to his realm of imagination. Such a search for a community in imagination is very much a part of our life even today. Many of our 'cultural' problems are intimately connected to such an imagination (or the lack of it). And to keep such an imagination vibrant and healthy, one has to keep repairing it, renewing it, and recreating it. According to me, this is the core mandate behind Ninasam and Akshara Prakashana.
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Can you tell us something about your plans for the next Tirugata? How does this enterprise sustain itself? Is theatre more relevant in rural areas?
I am now rehearsing the Kannada translation of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice for Tirugata. There will be another play on the repertoire this year translation of a Hindi play directed by Sanjay Upadhyaya from Patna. We plan to give the first shows in the first week of October and then travel to all parts of Karnataka, giving more than 80 shows. The simple fact that we have invitations to perform in more than 40 places (most of it non-urban), year after year, is an indication that it is relevant to them in some way.
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Subbanna was an exceptionally humble man who felt that any award tends to make you more egoistic. Have you been inspired by this?
I can only say this much: working with my father for more than three decades has taught me to view recognition and publicity with scepticism; and also to enjoy the work more than the benefits it brings in.
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Subbanna was also against getting regular grants and refused a second grant from the Ford Foundation. Does this stance of standing on your own feet still continue with you heading Ninasam?
If that is one part of the story, the other part is that he also sought grants and donations to execute specific projects. He was definitely against two things overspending and dependence; these are the key concerns of Ninasam even today. However, the pleasure and pain of running an organisation is that it is not enough if you are clear about your stance, but you will have to run the organisation while having it!
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How did you think of this compilation? Did the translators personally know Subbanna?
Yes, all of them not only knew him closely, they were all connected with his work in one or the other way. None of the translations are 'commissioned' work and most of the translations were already there even before planning such a book. I feel that the result is visible in the book and I am really grateful to all the translators and the editor for the sense of belonging that they have brought into their work. As far as the final product is concerned, I am happy, but I also feel that we can improve it in its subsequent editions.
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How were the pieces chosen? What audience do you have in mind?
It is done primarily for the non-Kannada audience. There were many people outside Karnataka who knew Subbanna but did not have access to what he wrote. Therefore, the aim is to make a fairly representative sample of Subbanna's most important and varied works available to people outside the Kannada world.

What has been the response? Will the book be available outside Karnataka?
The response has been very warm and encouraging. We have an all India distributor, Delhiu2013based IPDA.