Atanu Ghosh remembers his first meeting with the late Girish Karnad

Renowned playwright, filmmaker and actor Girish Karnad breathed his last at his Bengaluru residence on Monday morning after prolonged illness. He was 81. His demise brings an end to a golden chapter in modernist Indian theatre which he guided shape through his work from the early 1960s.
As soon as the sad news was announced, many celebrities from the film fraternity took to social media to mourn the loss.
'Mayurakshi' director Atanu Ghosh too took to his Facebook handle to recall the first meeting he had with Girish Karnad in Bengaluru.

He wrote: “Playright, actor, scholar, an inspiring personality with brilliant intellect, wit and humour, my earliest remembrance of Girish Karnad is an eternal favourite - as Swami's father in Malgudi Days. Years back, when I met him at a festival in Bengaluru, he had the twinkle in his eyes and the beaming smile on being reminded of the deep impression Malgudi Days had on us. And then he went on to discuss at length, the impact of the classic, so characterestic of his warmth and generosity. The man who gave us such masterpieces as Tughlaq or Yayati, also moved us deeply with his performances in Manthan, Nishant, Swami and so many other cult films of the Indian New Wave era. And it was such a wonder watching him on stage. Farewell to an institution - we rarely come across such profound people nowadays. Would miss you badly Sir.”