Kanyasulkam is a Telugu play written by Gurajada Apparao in 1892. It is one of the earliest modern works in an Indian vernacular language, and it is the first Telugu play to deal with social issues. The play portrays the practice of Kanya-sulkam (roughly translates to bride price) which was common among the priestly Brahmins in Telugu-speaking areas of southern India. Controversial in its time, this play continues to be one of the most popular Telugu literary works of all time. A number of expressions used by Gurajada in this play are still popular in modern-day Telugu. Telugu (తెలుగు) belongs to the Dravidian language family and is the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. ... Gurazada Apparao Gurazada Venkata Apparao (1862-1915) wrote the first Telugu play, Kanyasulkam, which is often considered the greatest play in the Telugu language. ... 1892 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... A Brahmin (pronunciation is Brahmann) is a member of the Hindu priestly caste. ...

Gurajada Apparao

Image File history File links Gurajada_Apparao. ...

Objective of the play

Gurazada wrote this play to raise awareness about what he felt was a scandalous state of affairs in society. His English preface to the first edition states: "Such a scandalous state of things is a disgrace to society, and literature can not have a higher function than to show up such practices and give currency to a high standard of moral ideas. Until reading habits prevail among masses, one must look only to the stage to exert such healthy influence." Traditionally, Telugu literary works were written in a highly stylistic language with complicated words and meter; these works could only be understood by the educated elite. Gurazada's mission was to reach out to the masses, so he broke with tradition (he called the literary dialect "doubly dead" in his preface) and wrote in the vibrant and colorful spoken language of the day. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Meter (non-American spelling: metre) describes the linguistic sound patterns of verse. ...

Setting

The play is set in the Vizianagaram (Vijayanagaram) princely state in British India. It deals primarily with the lives of the "upper caste" Brahmins of the area, although it offers a few insights into the lives of other people as well. The play centers around Gireesam, an English-educated, resourceful but unscrupulous Brahmin man, and Madhuravani, a prostitute who takes her morals seriously. Although it maintains a surface of humor through satire, the play conveys the "disgrace to society" that outraged Gurajada. Vizianagaram, sometimes seen as Vizianagram (1991 pop. ... The British Raj (also simply known as the Raj) was a historical period during which most of the Indian subcontinent, or present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, were under the colonial authority of the British. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ...

Plot

Madhuravani, the muse of Girisam during the beginning of the play, and that of Ramappa Panthulu in the rest of the play, is portrayed as a very righteous, wise, magnanimous and able woman who is willing to even bend over backwards to help someone in need. This way the play sought to take on the prejudices and practices of contemporary Indian society head-on. The play includes a few gut-wrenching scenes such as one where Agnihothravadhanulu, an egoistic, male-chauvinistic Brahmin and a key player in the play, barbarically slams his food plate onto the face of his young, widowed daughter, when she requests that he reconsider his decision to marry his pre-pubescent daughter to an old man. The practice of parents arranging the marriages of their pre-pubescent daughters to old men for cash was very prevalent during those days, and was referred to popularly as Kanyasulkam, literally meaning "money in lieu for a girl", which also forms the title of the play. The play also depicts, amusingly, the practices of orthodox Brahmins, such as Madi, with a particular character in the play even shrivelling away from everyone and everything like a touch-me-not, lest he might lose his sanctity. (He even has to perform some "religious cleansing" for the things someone touched before he can touch them.) One might assume that such practices are extinct today; but, in fact, some Brahmins still practise them with similar fervor, if not greater, as if nothing has ever changed. In Greek mythology, the Muses (Greek Μουσαι, Mousai) are nine archaic goddesses who embody the right evocation of myth, inspired through remembered and improvised song and traditional music and dances. ... Egoism may refer to any of the following: psychological egoism - the doctrine that holds that individuals are motivated by self-interest. ... Male chauvinism is the feminist term for the belief that males are superior to females. ...

Kanyasulkam (Movie DVD Cover)

The play also has numerous lighter moments, notably regarding the marriage of the stingy old man, Lubdhavadhanulu. Much of that comedy occurs as dialogue between Girisam and his various love interests, and also during the marriage of Lubdhavadhanulu to a boy disguised as a girl. Contemporary Indian society is depicted in a very real fashion, without glorifying it so that it has the effect of being 'in-your-face'. Numerous interesting characters spring up during various points of the play, such as the widowed owner of a local food court, referred to as Pootakoolla 'Munda' (the word in quotes being an offensive word for a widow, originating from 'Mundan', meaning shaving, in Sanskrit and Telugu, owing to the fact that during that period, a woman had to shave her hair off after her husband's death), the debauched and widowed daughter of Lubdhavadhanulu, Meenakshi, and the son of Lubdhavadhanulu. They are very much similar in their notions and prejudices to the people one may see in any Indian village even today. In Girisam, we can see that kind of a young man who is opportunistic, yearns for momentary pleasures, desires easy money and is unwilling to work, for the simple reason that he is too fickle-minded to hold any particular job for a considerable amount of time. He is so unwilling, in fact, that he wouldn't think twice about taking the easiest path to fulfilling his desires, even if he is trampling upon someone else's life while he is on his way. He claims to be a progressionist, but claiming is all he does. In Meenakshi, we may see a woman who might have been widowed even before she hit puberty. She was therefore paying for a mistake that was anyone's but hers and was being accused of being unfaithful to a husband she did not have. Ramappa Panthulu is a middle man and very incompetent one at that. He tries to twist and turn every situation in his favor, but ends up being entangled in the very muck he himself created in the first place. He is a victim of his own making. Probably, Madhuravani and PootaKoolla 'Munda' are the only characters who have strong moral footing and maintain their stand throughout the play. There are no surprises, shocks, or suspense regarding the characters of the persons and flaws in their characters, if any, are laid out clearly by the playwright. Image File history File links Kanyasulkam_movie. ... Image File history File links Kanyasulkam_movie. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम्) is a classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... Puberty refers to the process of physical changes by which a childs body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction. ... middle_man is a program created by Krunch Software with the sole purpose of Enhancing your AIM experience. The AOL Instant Messenger plug-in enhances and extends funtionality of AIM to its users. ...

In popular culture

The play was controversial and popular during its time and was later translated into numerous languages. The play was later made into a movie by the same name, with a lofty ensemble of stars including N. T. Rama Rao, Savithri, C.S.R., Gummadi, Suryakantham, Chaya Devi and Hemalatha, under the direction of P. Pulliah. The movie was marked by splendid performances from Savithri and C.S.R. The movie became a milestone in the long careers of both N. T. Rama Rao and Savithri, and received both critical and box-office success. While the play was written for a six-hour duration, the movie has a running time of three hours. The portrayal of Gireesam, the character played by N. T. Rama Rao, is much more benign in the movie when compared to the original play. Subsequently, the play was made into two television series, one which ran in the 1990s on the regional Telugu division of the National Broadcasting channel, Doordarshan, and another which began airing from 2005 on a private regional Telugu channel, MAA TV. NTR played a wide variety of mythological characters including Krishna, Rama, Ravana, Duryodhana, Karna, Bhishma, Arjuna, and Viswamitra Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 - 18 January 1996), more commonly known as N.T. Rama Rao or just NTR, was an Indian film actor, director, and producer. ...

The play has been translated into many Indian and other languages.

External link

• Entire play