Cultural giant who stood up for tolerance: Girish Karnad leaves the stage

With his stature as a playwright and actor, he was one of the voices of modernity

Last October, a play on sexuality and gender titled Shiva ran into trouble after Hindutva groups complained that it hurt religious sentiments and stopped a performance at the Jagriti Theatre in Bengaluru.

Arundhati Ghosh, executive director of the city-based India Foundation for the Arts that had supported the play, was away in the US at the time. As she was waiting to board a flight at Stanford, she got a call from the iconic playwright, actor and director, Girish Karnad.

“You youngsters don’t realise you have to stand up to these bullies. You can’t stop the play. You tell me who do