It's #femmeMarch and I will be reviewing books by women writers. Or books featuring strong women characters. I may have lots of nice things to say about them. Or not. But it will be an honest and fair review.
Today's text is unusual on two counts. It's a play, not a novel or collection of short stories. And, it's in Konkani, not English (as are most of the books I review here)
Salkantlo Jadugar is set in ancient times - times when you had queens and kings ruling the land, wicked magicians stalking the land in search of means of increasing their power over others, and sages who could predict the future and dish out magic mantras and herbs.
However, it's also a surprisingly 'modern' play, with a princess who speaks her mind and makes use of logic to get her way rather than rely on long, silky hair or glass slippers; the king and queen actually trust their daughter to behave sensibly and do not choose to lock her up in the castle tower when danger threatens; and while the princess does need two young boys to come to her rescue, there is no talk of her marrying either of them when she returns home safely. They simply continue as friends and playmates.
There's also a charming little frame narrative structure which emphasizes the importance of stories, including popular Konkani folktales that speak of incest, and death. The play was written for school children to perform, and published later. Altogether, this was an unusual find, and well worth the time taken to read it. It's written in the Nagari script.
The playwright, Meena Kakodkar, is a Sahitya Akademi awardee and has authored several books - for children and for adults.
Today's text is unusual on two counts. It's a play, not a novel or collection of short stories. And, it's in Konkani, not English (as are most of the books I review here)
Salkantlo Jadugar is set in ancient times - times when you had queens and kings ruling the land, wicked magicians stalking the land in search of means of increasing their power over others, and sages who could predict the future and dish out magic mantras and herbs.
However, it's also a surprisingly 'modern' play, with a princess who speaks her mind and makes use of logic to get her way rather than rely on long, silky hair or glass slippers; the king and queen actually trust their daughter to behave sensibly and do not choose to lock her up in the castle tower when danger threatens; and while the princess does need two young boys to come to her rescue, there is no talk of her marrying either of them when she returns home safely. They simply continue as friends and playmates.
There's also a charming little frame narrative structure which emphasizes the importance of stories, including popular Konkani folktales that speak of incest, and death. The play was written for school children to perform, and published later. Altogether, this was an unusual find, and well worth the time taken to read it. It's written in the Nagari script.
The playwright, Meena Kakodkar, is a Sahitya Akademi awardee and has authored several books - for children and for adults.
