This retired professor from Mysuru is on a mission to bring the Bard to schools, colleges

Expo of B.N. Balaji’s collection of Shakespearean souvenirs held in Bengaluru

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A figurine of Shylock from Britain, three matchbox-sized books of Shakespearean tragedies, descriptions of flowers mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays and an encyclopedia of the playwright—Professor B. N. Balaji’s collection of rare souvenirs and artefacts are sure to fascinate admirers of the Bard. A 100-page thesis on Hamlet and Shakespearean sonnets in Kannada are also part of his exquisite collection.

Balaji, a retired professor from Mysuru is on a mission to bring the Bard to schools and colleges. Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru recently hosted an exhibition of his priceless treasures.

Among the many items at the exhibition is a photograph of John Wilkes Booth, a Shakespearean actor who assassinated Abraham Lincoln. Booth’s portrayal of Hamlet had earned him great fame.

Balaji, fondly called Shakespeare-wallah of Mysuru, began his tryst with the Bard during his school days. “My father coerced me into learning Mark Antony’s speech when I was in second standard,” he says. One of his teachers helped to deepen his love and understanding of Shakespeare. “ He was an extraordinary orator. He would act out scenes from Shakespeare and I was highly inspired,” recalls Balaji.

Balaji had great teachers like U.R. Ananthamurthy, and he gained new perspectives on Shakespearean characters as he grew up. “Shylock becomes a tragic character in the end, not a villain. He becomes a weak and helpless father. He loses not just his daughter and money but also ends up abandoning his religion. All his property is taken away by the duke,” says Balaji, who sprinkles his conversation with Shakespearean quotes.

Shakespeare captured the spirit his times. “Some people call Merchant of Venice an anti-Semitic play. But what I see in it is the 'milk of human kindness'. It is indeed a dark comedy,” he says.

In India we don’t care for our poets. “In England, they sell Shakespeare pencils, pens and T-shirts. And they have made him the national poet. Do we care for Vyasa or Premchand like that,” asks Balaji.