ALL THE CITY'S A STAGE

The Kannada writer Vivek Shanbhag's new play Illiruvudu Summane was performed for the first time in Bengaluru on July 12.

- Aditya Mani Jha

The name, which roughly translates to 'We Are Here Like That Only' or 'We Are Here Incidentally', forms one half of a couplet by Purandara Dasa, the 16th century philosopher-saint and a founding father of Carnatic music. The play was written three years ago, for an arts-and-theatre group called Lokacharita, led by director G. Channakeshava. Sadly, Channakeshava passed away last year and the project was halted-till last week, when director Umesh Salian helmed an all-new production. The narrative is centred on a wealthy NRI called Vikram, who returns to Bengaluru to visit his childhood home, only to find that the caretaker has duped him and converted it into a 12-storey building.