Girish Karnad

Some Lesser Known Facts About Girish Karnad

• Did Girish Karnad smoke?: Not Known

• Did Girish Karnad drink alcohol?: Yes

• Girish Karnad was born in Matheran, Maharashtra and brought up in Karnataka.

• He belonged to Saraswat Brahmin Konkani Family.

• He started his career in 1960.

• He is well known for his work in the South Indian movies and Bollywood.

• In 1964, he came into the limelight from his play ‘Tughlaq’.

• His work as the Swami’s Father in ‘Malgudi Days’ (1987) was highly appreciated by the viewers in India.

• He first met his wife at a party when he was working at the Oxford University Press in Madras on his return from England to India and got married to her at the age of 42.

• He is fond of writing plays, literature, stories, poems, etc.

• His plays were written in Kannada and have been translated into English and other Indian languages.

• He also worked as a professor from 1963 to 1970 at the Oxford University Press, Chennai and as a visiting professor at the University of Chicago, Illinois from 1987 to 1988.

• From 1974 to 1975, he served as director of the Film and Television Institute of India and from 1988 to 1993, Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of the Performing Arts.

• In 1988, he was honoured with Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honor.

•  In the 2014 parliamentary elections, he opposed Narendra Modi for the Prime Minister’s post.

• He was a critic of religious fundamentalism and Hindutva in India.

• He gave his voice in the autobiography of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam‘s (former President of India) audiobook ‘Wings of Fire’.