Series of Kannada science plays opens Friday

Kutuhali is a project to communicate scientific knowledge using popular media

Three science plays in Kannada will be staged in Bengaluru over two months, beginning December 9.

Kutuhali is a project conceived to communicate scientific knowledge in an engaging manner to people studying or working outside the subject domain.

A project by Vigyan Prasar, part of Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, it is being anchored locally by Karnataka Science and Technology Academy, Bengaluru.

A magazine, a podcast and science writing workshops are their other outreach programmes.

For the Bengaluru tour, Kutuhali has tied up with amateur troupes who organise the Mysuru Science Theatre Festival. They will stage translated works ‘QED’ and ‘Abdus Salam — A Trial’, and ‘Leelavathi’, an original production.

‘QED’ depicts a day in the life of Nobel Prize-winning American physicist Richard Feynman, best known for his contributions to quantum electrodynamics. The second play is mounted on another physicist and Pakistan’s first Nobel Prize laureate Abdus Salam, who was forced to leave the country after his sect was forbidden to call themselves Muslims. In ‘Leelavathi’, they pivot to mathematics and focus on ancient scholar Bhaskara II and the relevance of his work today.

Heavy-duty jargon can push viewers away and oversimplifying them can defeat the purpose of science communication. How do they walk the tightrope, Metrolife asks ASKVS Sharma, co-ordinator of Kutuhali.

“I don’t see simplifying as dumbing down. We try to convey the crux of scientific contributions. If I say pizza, people understand it’s edible; that is all they need to know. How is it prepared? It’s best left to the chefs. The same applies to science communication,” explains the retired chief scientist of Mysuru’s Central Food Technological Research Institute.

“Science is seen as an outlier in our daily life, and scientists are not seen as real people but geniuses sitting on a pedestal. We want to change that,” he says.

In some good tidings, he informs that some schools and colleges want them to bring science-centric plays. Recalling a ‘surprise’, he says, “We performed ‘QED’ and ‘Abdus Salam — A Trial’ in a village school in HD Kote taluk within a gap of eight months. It was interesting to see children comparing the works of Feynman and Salam as both have worked on similar concepts (electromagnetism).”

Touring is a logistical challenge as sometimes, their venue is a theatre auditorium, and other times, a school stage. “We keep characters and settings in the play minimal, and our equipment portable,” informs Sharma.

The unavailability of artistes is a recurring woe since they don’t do theatre full-time.

The literature on Indian scientists is also hard to come by, so they turn to translations. Shashidhar Dongre, who has translated ‘QED’ and ‘Abdus Salam — A Trial’, explains his task: “You need to be familiar with science and Kannada, in this case. One has to be wary of doing literal translation and also throwing much English jargon. Finding a balance is key. Another task is to use the language appropriately. Feynman, for instance, is a vibrant character who speaks a certain way.”

‘QED’ on December 9, 4.30 pm, ‘Abdus Salam — A trial’ on December 23, 4.30 pm, ‘Leelavathi’ on January 21, 1.30 pm, at Bangalore Lalithakala Parishat, National College, Jayanagar. Entry free.