Of fathers, sons, and curses: Girish Karnad’s ‘Yayati’ returns to the stage

At the core of Yayati lies a question as old as time itself, how far would you go to stay young? Would you rob your own child of his youth, his future, his love? Girish Karnad’s retelling of the Mahabharata episode grapples with this haunting dilemma, and director-actor V Balakrishnan of Theatre Nisha is ready to bring its complexity to the stage once again.

“Even though death is the only truth of life, we continue to lead every day as if we are immortal,” Balakrishnan says. “We are the only species who believe we are always far away from death and decay.” It’s a sharply relevant sentiment, especially in an age where billionaires chase immortality through science and everyone is obsessed with looking young. But in Karnad’s version, the truth catches up fast.

King Yayati is cursed with premature old age and asks someone to trade places with him. His son Pooru volunteers, setting off a chain of unfortunate consequences. This production uses Karnad’s own English translation and opts for a neutral accent. “The characters are mythological and rooted in a pan-Indian past. So a neutral accent works best,” he says.

First written when Karnad was just 21, Yayati blends mythology, existential angst, and the structure of Greek tragedy. “There’s unity of time, action, and space,” Balakrishnan points out. “But Karnad doesn’t stop there. He creates a brand new complex, the Yayati complex, where a parent aggresses over the child.” This inversion of familiar psychological tropes, like the Electra or Oedipus complex, resonates strongly with Indian audiences. “The Yayati complex is far more palatable and understandable to us,” he adds. “It’s about the sacrifice that the parent demands of the child to save the family.”

In this play, that child is Pooru, who offers up his youth without being asked. “In this version, Yayati never demands it of Pooru,” he clarifies. “His son has just been married and Yayati is looking for someone, anyone, to take his place. But Pooru steps up. That’s what creates the conundrum.”

The play also carries the unmistakable flavour of existentialism. “Especially in the character of Pooru. It’s a very well-put-together chemical combination of Greek tragedy and existential philosophy, all floating in a strong gravy of mythology,” continues the director.

Another character who adds layers to the story is Chitralekha, Pooru’s wife, a creation of Karnad’s, absent from the original version. “We don’t even know who Pooru’s wife was in the epic. But Karnad gives her a voice and a purpose,” he says. “Through her, we understand what Pooru is giving up.”

The characters in Karnad’s world are not just symbolic or mythological. They feel startlingly contemporary. Niveditha, who plays Devayani, agrees. “When I first read the script, I remember thinking Ekta Kapoor must have read Yayati before writing her serials. It’s that full of conflict,” she laughs. “But what really stayed with me is how Karnad strips away the heroism we usually attach to sacrifice. Pooru’s act isn’t just noble. It’s tragic, even foolish.”

Devayani herself is a study in contradiction. “She is deeply emotional and morally complex. I try not just to look at what she says, but to understand why she feels the way she does. Her pain, pride, love, and betrayal are rooted in very human emotions,” Niveditha explains. “There’s a line she says, ‘Treachery runs in her veins.’ I’ve been haunted by that. I don’t even know what she truly means.”

When asked why must audience watch this play. Aparna, who plays Sharmishtha, says Yayati, “a very dramatic play, not for any moral lesson, but because of the sheer emotional voltage.”

Tickets at Rs 200. On May 17 and 18. At 7 pm. At Space, Besant Nagar.