Runners by Kafka and Kon Ichikawa

Kon Ichikawa’s excellent documentary  Tokyo Olympiad (1964) 

courtesy: The Guardian and Photograph: Everett Collection Inc/Alamy Stock Photo

Runner 1907-1908, followed by Three Runners 1912-1913  by Franz Kafka

२०२० ऑलिम्पिक पुढे गेले पण त्याच्या आठवणीत ही पोस्ट इथेच राहिली....

दुर्दम्य आशा..... Escape Plan and Exit Strategy

जगातील सर्वोत्तम कार्टून हे समजले जाते:

Artist: Shel Silverstein,  Playboy, 1950's

दोन कैदी तुरुंगांत जखडून ठेवले आहेत आणि एक कैदी दुसऱ्याला म्हणतोय : "Now, here' my plan...."

दुर्दम्य आशेचा हा उदगार आहे.  

अलीकडे The Spectator मध्ये हे कार्टून पहिले

Artist: Robert Thompson

My "Still Life"....Another Lockdown July 2020

A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, etc.)

Tea, bread, butter, jam

(प्रशियन, कोबाल्ट, अल्ट्रामरीन) निळासांवळा..... Starry Night Over the Rhône

ही पोस्ट वाचण्याच्या आधी "ग्रीकांचा नीळांधळेपणा आणि (प्रशियन) निळासांवळा.... GA and Prabhakar Gorey's Prussian Blu" ही फेब्रुवारी ३ २०२०ची पोस्ट पहा.

कलाकार : प्रभाकर गोरे

अलीकडे हे वाचण्यात आले:

"Georg Brandt, born on this day in 1694, holds the distinction of being the first named person to isolate a new metal since ancient times. The Greeks and Romans knew about gold, silver, copper, iron, tin and lead, but in terms of metals, that was it. They didn’t know about cobalt, the metal that Brandt discovered and that helped change painting forever...

.... Painters innovated with this glut of new blues. Take Starry Night Over the Rhône, for example: Van Gogh used all three of the new colors—Prussian blue, cobalt and ultramarine—to capture the nighttime hues of the Rhône river..."

(smithsonianmag.com , जून २६ २०१७)

"दिवस तुडवत अंधाराकडे" का "दिवस तुडवत रात्रीकडे"... Will It Work on Marathi Stage?

जीएंनी अनुवादित केलेले "दिवस तुडवत अंधाराकडे" हे युजीन ओनील यांचे १९५६ सालचे नाटक (Long Day's Journey into Night) ऑक्टोबर २०१९ मध्ये विकत आणून सुद्धा मी अजून वाचले नाही.

मला उत्सुकता आहे ह्या मराठी रूपांतराचे रंगभूमी वरती किती प्रयोग झालेत ह्याची.

विकिपीडिया मध्ये पाहू शकता ओनिल ह्यांच्या नाटकाची किती productions झालीत ह्याची https://en.wikipedia.org/w…/Long_Day%27s_Journey_into_Night…

अनेक उत्तम आणि गाजलेल्या सिनेकलावंतांनी त्यात भाग घेतले आहेत.

त्यातील एक म्हणजे माझ्या फार आवडत्या जेसिका लांज (Jessica Lange ) ज्यांनी मेरीची भूमिका केली होती.

जेसिका लांज नाटकाबद्दल लिहतात:

"...Our set was more dreamlike than what O’Neill describes in the stage directions. It had a ghostly feel, more memory than reality. As the light moved east to west across the stage during the course of the long day, the fog seemed to seep through the walls. The foghorn a constant reminder of old sorrows . . . a plaintive, haunting refrain.
“Why is it fog makes everything sound so sad and lost, I wonder?”
Memorizing lines proved difficult at first. I found I would oft en lose track of where I was in the play. I came to understand it was due to the circular nature of the play, which is structured like a piece of music where the composer creates a melody and then repeats it again and again in altered forms. Theme and variations. The cycles of punishment and forgiveness, recriminations and excuses. A tragic score of love and hate.
It is linear only in the passage of time, morning to night, and the effects of the morphine increasing steadily as the day wears on....".

हे सगळे विलक्षण आहे. प्रकाशाचे खेळ, धुके (आज २०२० साली महाराष्ट्रात कुठे आणि किती धुके पडते), नाटकाची वर्तुळाकार- एखाद्या संगीताच्या तुकड्यासारखी रचना, शिक्षा-क्षमा-आरोप प्रत्यारोप- कारणे यांचे रहाटगाडगे....

... पण नाटकाची खरी मजा पाहण्यात आहे , वाचण्यात नाही.

courtesy: FX

श्रीमती लांज नाटकाच्या शेवटा बद्दल सांगतात

"... Mary’s curtain speech is one the great moments in the theater for an actress. The simple truth that speaks to the quiet tragedy of her life.

“Then in the spring something happened to me. Yes, I remember. I fell in love with James Tyrone and was so happy for a time.”

The four actors onstage, absolutely still, all lost in Mary’s sad dream. You could hear a pin drop in the audience. It is a sublime moment to play. Unforgettable...."

हे ते कर्टन स्पीच :

MARY

Staring dreamily before her. Her face looks extraordinarily youthful and innocent. The shyly eager, trusting smile is on her lips as she talks aloud to herself.

I had a talk with Mother Elizabeth. She is so sweet and good. A saint on earth. I love her dearly. It may be sinful of me but I love her better than my own mother. Because she always understands, even before you say a word. Her kind blue eyes look right into your heart. You can’t keep any secrets from her. You couldn’t deceive her, even if you were mean enough to want to.

She gives a little rebellious toss of her head—with girlish pique.

All the same, I don’t think she was so understanding this time. I told her I wanted to be a nun. I explained how sure I was of my vocation, that I had prayed to the Blessed Virgin to make me sure, and to find me worthy. I told Mother I had had a true vision when I was praying in the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, on the little island in the lake. I said I knew, as surely as I knew I was kneeling there, that the Blessed Virgin had smiled and blessed me with her consent. But Mother Elizabeth told me I must be more sure than that, even, that I must prove it wasn’t simply my imagination. She said, if I was so sure, then I wouldn’t mind putting myself to a test by going home after I graduated, and living as other girls lived, going out to parties and dances and enjoying myself; and then if after a year or two I still felt sure, I could come back to see her and we would talk it over again.

She tosses her head—indignantly.

I never dreamed Holy Mother would give me such advice! I was really shocked. I said, of course, I would do anything she suggested, but I knew it was simply a waste of time. After I left her, I felt all mixed up, so I went to the shrine and prayed to the Blessed Virgin and found peace again because I knew she heard my prayer and would always love me and see no harm ever came to me so long as I never lost my faith in her.

She pauses and a look of growing uneasiness comes over her face. She passes a hand over her forehead as if brushing cobwebs from her brain— vaguely.

That was in the winter of senior year. Then in the spring something happened to me. Yes, I remember. I fell in love with James Tyrone and was so happy for a time.

She stares before her in a sad dream. Tyrone stirs in his chair. Edmund and Jamie remain motionless.

CURTAIN

Tao House
September 20, 1940

(download करून मोठे करून वाचा. मी वाचले. स्पष्ट आहे. )

कृतज्ञता: जी. ए.  कुलकर्णी यांच्या साहित्याचे कॉपीराईट होल्डर्स

 

हा आहे जीएंनी केलेला त्या स्पीचचा अनुवाद... चांगला आहे. 

पण ते इंग्लिश आणि मराठी मला दोन्ही अगदी फ्लॅट वाटले  आणि मराठीत या नाटकाचे किती उत्साहाने स्वागत होईल याबद्दल मी साशंक आहे. 

अनेक उल्लेख ईसाई  धर्माच्या प्रभावाखालील संस्कृतीतील आहेत  (Mother, sinful, Blessed Virgin, the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes वगैरे). जीए कॉन्व्हेंट, नन  चा उल्लेख करतात जो माझ्याकडील नाटकात नाहीच आहे.  जी ए तर  Blessed Virgin ला ब्लेस्ड व्हर्जिन च ठेवतात. 

ते किती प्रभावीपणे मराठी/ भारतीय  संस्कृतीत आणले जाऊ शकतात? १९६०-७० च्या दशकात मराठीत रूपांतरित ग्रीक नाटकांचे अनुभव काय आहेत?

आणखी एक: पुस्तकाचे शीर्षक  "दिवस तुडवत रात्रीकडे" हेच योग्य आहे.... "दिवस तुडवत अंधाराकडे"  मुळे उगाचच मनावर काळिमा पसरतो. आणि घरात तर वीज आहे ना?

बोलणारा मुखपृष्ठांवरील दी प्लेग...Stunning Exhibition of the Covers of The Plague

"... Symbolic reminders of death and the fleetingness of earthly pleasures used in art for thousands of years. In the novel, the plague serves as this reminder. It forces people to realize their life may be over at any moment. Skulls are the most used symbol. Picasso’s Still Life with Steer’s Skull from 1942 depicts the skull of a bull, an animal representing life at its most vital. Another popular symbol is the grim reaper and its scythe. Others use an animal’s carcass—a standard of Dutch still life painting. The solutions range from representational to abstract and use painting, illustration, and photography...."

देव ऑर्फियसला:
"... क्षणभंगुरतेने माणसाने विषण्ण का व्हावे हेच मला समजत नाही. अरे, तो तर तुमच्या आयुष्याचा बोधस्वर आहे. अमर, चिरंतन असले शब्द तुम्ही बिनदिक्कत वापरता. पण तुमच्या बाबतीत तसले  सगळे शब्द वायफळ आवाज आहेत... "  

(पृष्ठ १२, 'ऑर्फियस', 'पिंगळावेळ', १९७७

अल्बर्ट क्यामु यांचे 'दी प्लेग' हे १९४७ सालचे पुस्तक २०२० सालच्या जुलै मध्ये , पुन्हा एकदा, बेस्ट सेलर झाले आहे. पुरेशा प्रति छापता येत नाहीयेत इतकी मागणी पुस्तकाला आहे!

त्याच्या मुखपृष्ठाच्या ७० वर्षांच्या प्रवासावर थक्क करून टाकणारा Dylan Mulvaney यांचा Literary Hub मधील   लेख नुकताच वाचला.

त्यात  मुखपृष्ठांचे खालील प्रकारे वर्गीकरण करण्यात आले आहे.

१) The City: Geographical, emotional, and mental isolation

२) The Rat: Disease, resistance, and persistence

३)  The Plague: Absurd human suffering

४)  The Plague Doctor: Resistance to suffering

आणि

५) Memento Mori: Mortality

सर्व मुखपृष्ठे यात बसतात. या पाच वर्गातून प्रत्येकी एक मुखपृष्ठ घेऊन मी खालील कोलाज तयार केले ..... 

अन् कोसळला भुईवर होऊन खाक... होऊन खंक...The Lament for Icarus

"...

याची कुंडली निघाली दरोबस्त दगलबाज.

नजर केले तिनं  त्याला मेणचटलेले पांचट पंख.

हेच पंख फुलवीत निघाला हा सूर्यबिंब गिळायला

अन् कोसळला भुईवर होऊन खाक... होऊन खंक

..."

(इकारस, सदानंद रेगे, 'निवडक सदानंद रेगे', १९९६- २०१३, पृष्ठ २६)

Robin Waterfield, 'The Greek Myths: Stories of the Greek Gods and Heroes Vividly Retold', 2011:

"…Within his cell, Daedalus fashioned for himself and his son strong wings. Great eagle feathers covered a light wooden frame, which could be strapped to the arms. The feathers were coated with wax, both to glue them to the frame and to make them strong enough to bear the weight of a human being. When all was ready, the two of them, man and boy, perched on the window ledge of their lofty prison and launched themselves into the air.

Daedalus’ latest invention was astounding: human beings could fly! As they began to flap and glide their easy way toward Sicily, Daedalus warned Icarus to steer a middle course. “The peril stands equal, my son,” he said. “If you fly too low, the hungry waves may lick up and drown you; but if you fly too high, the sun may melt the wax which binds your wings together. Fly not too high, my son!”

Again and again the anxious father had to warn his son about the danger, and every time Icarus obeyed at first, but soon began to experiment, as teenagers will, with the limits of his father’s marvelous invention. He swooped and soared to his heart’s delight, and Daedalus was pleased to see that the wings were sturdy enough to stand this much stress. But in such hazardous ventures, one mistake is all that is needed. Icarus rose too high in the sky, preparing for a joyous dive. The wax melted, the feathers fell off, and the boy plummeted headlong to his death in the sea.”

"The Lament for Icarus", 1898 by Herbert James Draper (1863- 1920)

Women and Vodka: Chekhov, Gorky, Dostoievsky, Tolstoy, Kuprin and many others!

I don't know what the title "Women and Vodka" has to do with the Russian greats but then I loved it....

courtesy: Dangerous Minds

काफ्कांचे 'दि कासल' आणि जी एंचा मठ....K and S

Franz Kafka, The Castle:

"...But do you think your entire earlier life is so submerged (except of course for the landlady, who won’t let herself be forced down with it) that you no longer know how hard one must fight to get ahead, especially if one is coming up from the depths? How one must use everything that can somehow give one hope?..." 

या विषयावरती जमल तर जास्त लिहायची इच्छा आहे. ही पोस्ट फक्त सुरवात समजावी.

इंग्लिश विकिपीडिया 'दि कासल', १९२६ची ओळख अशी करून देतो:

" In it a protagonist known only as K. arrives in a village and struggles to gain access to the mysterious authorities who govern it from a castle. Kafka died before finishing the work, but suggested it would end with K. dying in the village, the castle notifying him on his death bed that his "legal claim to live in the village was not valid, yet, taking certain auxiliary circumstances into account, he was permitted to live and work there". Dark and at times surreal, The Castle is often understood to be about alienation, unresponsive bureaucracy, the frustration of trying to conduct business with non-transparent, seemingly arbitrary controlling systems, and the futile pursuit of an unobtainable goal."

 जी ए कुलकर्णींची कथा 'स्वामी', १९७३ वरकरणी ह्याच्या अगदी उलट आहे अस वाटेल कारण स्वामीला तर फसवून मठात ऐषोआरामात डांबल आहे. पण वास्तव तस नाहीये. 

स्वामीचा legal claim, K सारखा, to LEAVE the convent (मठ) is judged as not valid... 'स्वामी' कथा सुद्धा 'dark and at times surreal' आहे ....तसेच ' is often understood to be about alienation, unresponsive bureaucracy, the frustration of trying to conduct business with non-transparent, seemingly arbitrary controlling systems, and the futile pursuit of an unobtainable goal.'

किंवा असही म्हणता येईल की जिथे  'दि कासल' संपते तिथे 'स्वामी' सुरु होते पण तरी काही बदलत नाही.... तेच alienation, unresponsive bureaucracy, the frustration of trying to conduct business with non-transparent, seemingly arbitrary controlling systems, and the futile pursuit of an unobtainable goal... सुरूच राहतात. 

ह्या सगळ्याला कदाचित एकच रुपेरी किनार आहे... माणसाचा झगडा आणि आशा

कलाकार : Tom Humberstone, The New Statesman