Three Plays

by Das, Gurcharan

• ISBN13: 9780143414520
• ISBN10: 0143414526
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2019-10-15
• Publisher: India Penguin

Summary

The first of the three extraordinary plays written by Gurcharan Das in his twenties is Larins Sahib, a historical play set in the 1840s -- a confused period after the death of Ranjit Singh when the British first arrived in the Punjab. The second play is Mira, which explores what it means for a human being to become a saint through the story of Mirabai, the sixteenth-century Rajput princess-poet. 9 Jakhoo Hill, the third play in this volume, is set in the autumn of 1962 in Simla. It examines a number of themes, including the changing social order with the rise of a new middle class (while the old class foolishly clings on to spent dreams), the hold of Indian mothers on their sons, and the eventual betrayal of sexual hurt. This trio of unusual plays will fascinate readers and theatre buffs alike.

Author Biography

Gurcharan Das is an author and public intellectual, best known for a much-acclaimed trilogy on the classical Indian goals of life. India Unbound is the first, on artha, or 'material well-being', which offers a personal account of India's recent social and economic rise; the second, The Difficulty of Being Good, on dharma, or 'moral well-being', illuminates our day-to-day moral dilemmas through a meditation on the epic Mahabharata; Kama: The Riddle of Desire, on the third goal, teaches us how to cherish desire in order to live a rich, flourishing life.
He graduated in philosophy from Harvard University (Phi Beta Kappa) and later attended Harvard Business School, where he is featured in three case studies. He was CEO of Procter & Gamble India and managing director, Procter & Gamble Worldwide (strategic planning). At age fifty, he took early retirement to become a full-time writer. He writes a regular column for the Times of India and five Indian language papers, and contributes to the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and Foreign Affairs. His other books include India Grows at Night: A Liberal Case for a Strong State, which was on the Financial Times' best books for 2013; a novel, A Fine Family; a book of essays, The Elephant Paradigm; and an anthology, Three Plays. He is editing a fifteen-volume history series for Penguin Random House, titled The Story of Indian Business. He lives in Delhi.