Had to share this. I wrote a piece for the magazine Indian Quarterly recently, about a new crop of epic retellings being done in popular genres such as young romance and the underworld thriller. The piece – which centred on two new books about Karna, one of my childhood literary heroes – ended with a jokey line about how, if I ever did a Mahabharata-retelling myself, I would merge my personal obsessions and present the Kurukshetra war as a series of Grand Slam tennis matches: 128 warriors, falling by the wayside one by one (over 18 days, or over a fortnight), all of it leading up to a grand finale - the decisive Arjuna-Karna battle, cast as a meeting between Roger Federer and my favourite sportsperson Rafael Nadal.
It was a throwaway reference, not central to the piece in any way, so imagine my surprise when I saw a PDF of the story and found that the illustration done for it brought together Karna and Rafa (dressed in Wimbledon whites, including the sleeveless kavacha he wore until a few years ago) in one surreal, bow-and-bandana juxtaposition. I didn't have anything to do with planning the image, so this was most fortuitous, and I must thank the illustrator Salil Sojwal. Here’s the picture:
Of course, one is now tempted to make Nadal: Federer = Karna: Arjuna analogies, based on nothing more concrete than the facile perceptions we form of sportspeople. Thus, Roger as the privileged prince and favoured son, all grace and artistry, seemingly born to conquer the world, his destiny pre-written in stone; and Rafa as the dark cloud on his horizon, the upstart shaking up the fraternity with his unconventional style of play and his apparently uncouth mien (which conceals a sweet but defensive nature). Roger pirouetting his way across tennis courts with a sense of entitlement, while Rafa plays catch-up, struggling with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune: chronic injuries, a style of play that doesn’t meet the aesthetic demands of people who want their tennis to be like ballet, and an inability to make himself properly understood – which in one famous case after the 2006 French Open led to public booing because he had been mistranslated. (“Chale jao, suta-putra,” yells the Hastinapura crowd.)
I could go on, but I won’t. Instead here are two photos of cho-chweet bonding between rivals. The first is from the great years of the Roger-Rafa bromance (more on that in this post); the second is from a recent episode of the Star Plus Mahabharat where Karna helps Arjuna (disguised here as a brahmin) lift a chariot wheel out of the mud (!!). Can't see the resemblance? Either there is no poetry in your soul, or you have better things to do with your time.
It was a throwaway reference, not central to the piece in any way, so imagine my surprise when I saw a PDF of the story and found that the illustration done for it brought together Karna and Rafa (dressed in Wimbledon whites, including the sleeveless kavacha he wore until a few years ago) in one surreal, bow-and-bandana juxtaposition. I didn't have anything to do with planning the image, so this was most fortuitous, and I must thank the illustrator Salil Sojwal. Here’s the picture:
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| Illustration: SALIL SOJWAL |
Of course, one is now tempted to make Nadal: Federer = Karna: Arjuna analogies, based on nothing more concrete than the facile perceptions we form of sportspeople. Thus, Roger as the privileged prince and favoured son, all grace and artistry, seemingly born to conquer the world, his destiny pre-written in stone; and Rafa as the dark cloud on his horizon, the upstart shaking up the fraternity with his unconventional style of play and his apparently uncouth mien (which conceals a sweet but defensive nature). Roger pirouetting his way across tennis courts with a sense of entitlement, while Rafa plays catch-up, struggling with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune: chronic injuries, a style of play that doesn’t meet the aesthetic demands of people who want their tennis to be like ballet, and an inability to make himself properly understood – which in one famous case after the 2006 French Open led to public booing because he had been mistranslated. (“Chale jao, suta-putra,” yells the Hastinapura crowd.)
I could go on, but I won’t. Instead here are two photos of cho-chweet bonding between rivals. The first is from the great years of the Roger-Rafa bromance (more on that in this post); the second is from a recent episode of the Star Plus Mahabharat where Karna helps Arjuna (disguised here as a brahmin) lift a chariot wheel out of the mud (!!). Can't see the resemblance? Either there is no poetry in your soul, or you have better things to do with your time.
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| "VAMOS!!!" |
Lol. Am sure we can find characters suiting Edberg and Becker. Given bitterness between them, I am sure there can be perfect casting with shakuni on one hand and gatotkatch even though the latter didnt mentor pandavas but support he really gave
ReplyDeleteHere is a refreshing take on Karna vs Arjuna topic:
ReplyDeletehttp://ovshake.blogspot.com/2011/01/son-of-sun.html
so, using this analogy what would the Bollettieri Academy be?
ReplyDeleteNeat parallel. Similar story is repeated with Messi (Arjun for sure) and Ronaldo (karan). This only proves that history repeats itself endless number of times and we will keep finding parallels between old tales and present times.
ReplyDeleteHi Jai, slightly off topic. Have you reviewed Anand Neelakantan's Ajaya anywhere ? Am just finishing up and would love to hear what an articulate Mahabharat 'nut' thinks about the book.
ReplyDeleteDipayan: no, haven't read it. I did mention it in the piece - in a short list of recent retellings - but obviously couldn't say anything specific about it.
DeleteThis TV series is a trail of blunders. I mean, if they show Brihannala assisting Krishn in Rukmini's abduction, the lesser said the better.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why, of late, there is a growing tendency to ridicule the topper and deify the second runner-up.
sweetyshinde: the new show has many problems, sure (most of which come from the five-day-a-week format, the hyper-drama directed at the daily-soap audience, and the fact that they have to stretch scenes out endlessly to ensure maximum coverage for their expensive sets) - but I think some of the interpolations have been intelligent, well-thought-out ones (even if they can at first be unsettling for someone who knows the Mahabharata well). Adding new things to the Mahabharata is fair game, if they do it well. I liked the fact that they established Krishna's role in both Arjuna's and Draupadi's lives before they all come together at the Swayamvara (Krishna's first appearance in the original) - I'm not a big fan of Krishna as smugly omniscient puppetmaster, completely in control at all times, but if they have opted for that populist depiction, they might as well see it through to its logical conclusion. That Brihannala scene works well as a pre-echo too, with Arjuna being encouraged to get in touch with his feminine side (one of the things that makes him such an appealing hero to begin with).
DeleteNot sure what the topper/runner-up reference is to. Hope you're not implying that Arjuna is a "topper" and Karna is a "runner-up" - that would be bizarre on multiple levels.
Intelligent interpolations are always welcome; but not whimsical ones. Example, I wonder how they will worm in Urvashi's eunuch curse if they erroneously suggest that Brihannala was merely a disguise. And I agree that Krishn in this serial is getting on my nerves (but not Krishn of Vyas's Mb).
ReplyDeleteMy only grudge is that for the uninitiated, such TV serials become the final authentic word ...and perhaps gives us an understanding as to why this Chinese whisper syndrome wedges in so many contradictory statements in the epic.
I have tried to associate the Pregnant nun-Kunti and Parthenogenesis. Please visit http://sweetyshinde.wordpress.com if possible. Comments would be highly appreciated.
I wonder how they will worm in Urvashi's eunuch curse if they erroneously suggest that Brihannala was merely a disguise
DeleteBrihannala was a disguise in the Rukmini episode they depicted - that doesn't mean she has to be a disguise in the later episode in Virata's kingdom. I'm sure the curse etc will happen, and Arjuna will spend a year in a woman's body. (In the Rukmini episode, Krishna explicitly tells him - with that smug, knowing smile - that this experience of dressing up as a woman might come of use to him later in life.)
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No, not really
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