A 28-year old Japanese research student Koori Karinara fluently speaks ‘shuddh Gujarati’ while playing her part in historical play on Kasturba. She shares with Priya Adhyaru-Majithia her experience of acting in Kasturba.
“Kastur shu tane khatri che?” – asks 28-year old Japanese research student Koori Karinara who fluently speaks ‘shuddh Gujarati’ while playing her part in historical play on Kasturba. Here Karinara plays role of Milee – a South African lady who inquires Kasturba on Gandhi’s relationships with other women during the course of the play and learns how secure Kasturba feels from within on this front.
Besides playing character of Mille, Karinara also plays character of Meera Ben (Madeline Slade) who was nicknamed Gandhi’s English daughter in Gandhian times. Slade once read Romain Rolland’s book ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ and that too at one sitting and it changed her life.
During the 2-hour play, Karinara appears on the stage about 5 to 6 times and plays a-20-minute-role. Every time she enters and exists the stage, the audience gasps in awe to listen to her perfect pronunciations and fluent manner in which she speaks Gujarati language.
Karinara said, “I have read this play more than 1,000 times and till today before going to bed I read out my lines aloud religiously.”
Karinara said that she feels honoured to have grabbed an opportunity to be part of this historical theatrical production Kasturba penned down by ‘dada’ (Narayan Desai). She at present does a research on original Gandhi literature written in Gujarati language at Gujarat Vidyapeeth.
About eight years ago Karinara happened to read Hind Swaraj – a book of Gandhi translated in Japanese language. “Gandhi’s philosophy pulled me,” she said. “I was lured to read his more works. I was confident that in Gandhi’s ideas and ideals there is rare pragmatic wisdom which has values that can correct the social problems that affluent Japan faces today.”
And to learn more on Gandhi She decided to visit Vidyapeeth. Since her first visit to Vidyapeeth in 2009, she has stayed on Vidyapeeth’s campus researching and learning more about Gandhi. “I especially learnt Gujarati as it is Gandhiji’s mother tongue and I wanted to read his original works he wrote in his own language.”
She feels getting to be part of this first-of-its-kind play on Kasturba that provides a unique insight into transformation of Mohan into Gandhi Bapu and Kastur into Ba is the most wonderful opportunity of her life. “Getting to work under Dada – one of the most authentic Gandhians today – is a blessing. By getting a role in this production, I feel as if I have got a chance to re-live Gandhian era surrounded by people of that time,” she added.
Show of Kasturba is to take place on March 3 at Gujarat Vidhyapith. Gandhi Theatre and Jaswant Thakore Memorial Foundation have joined their hands to come out with a series of performances of this play locally and nationally.
