Male Mantrika at Ranga Shankara

Richard Nash is best known as a writer of Broadway shows.At one point in his life, he worked as a ten-dollar per hour boxer before he went to college to study English and Philosophy. After writing two books on philosophy, he wrote his first play, Parting at Imsdorf. Soon after, he wrote his highly acclaimed drama, The Second Best Bed, which was produced in Broadway. His other acclaimed plays include See the Jaguar and The Rainmaker. The Rainmaker is set in Depression era America in the West. The play tells the story of a pivotal hot summer day in the life of spinsterish Lizzie Curry. Lizzie keeps house for her father and two brothers on the family cattle ranch. She has just returned from a trip to visit her cousins, which was undertaken with the failed expectation that she would find a husband. As their farm languishes under the devastating drought, Lizzie`s family worries more about her marriage prospects than about their dying cattle. A charming confidence trickster named Starbuck arrives and promises to bring rain in exchange for $100. His arrival sets off a series of events which enable Lizzie to see herself in a new light.
The inspiration to translate and stage the play in Kannada comes from the loss of faith and self-belief that is seen in the play, a universal theme. The father appears listless and confused about his authority as a parent. The older brother is overtly rational, while the younger brother is a dreamer. The daughter, despite being intelligent and witty, has no belief in herself. The drought in the land is a reflection of the spiritual drought in their lives. It takes the conman, the rainmaker, to induce the power of self-belief in the family, and this change is again reflected by the rains that arrive at the end of the play.