• Dr Sylvia Rego

The play Raya Ravuthe can be studied from the perspective of masculinity and old age in the ruling class. Set against the historical background of Portuguese attempts at invading the Chouta kingdom at Ullal, and often referring to other regional invaders from the South, the play highlights the working of gender and power institutionalised in the office of the king. The play is also based on the medieval hero Kumara Rama, worshipped in many temples in Uttara Kannada. Kumara Rama, son of Kampila Raja, was said to have loved an aboriginal girl who then became his father’s wife. The young woman is rebuffed by the prince in her attempts to seduce him. The young queen then fills the king’s ears and the old king orders that his son be put to death immediately. The prince’s half-brother is a look-alike, and sacrifices himself. Kumara Rama then goes on to help his old father in several battles against their enemies, and dies in one such battle. Amrutha Someshwara has tapped into this source to weave a fascinating play of love, strife, and loyalty. The present paper explores the mythic and folkloristic expression of patriarchal power vested in the aging body of the king, and the responses of a young wife contesting such power. The paper attempts to analyse cultural anxieties and insecurities that go together with power and privilege.

Gerontology, martial, objectification, ageism, Tulu, Ullal, Someshwar

"Senescence and Gender in the Tulu Play Raya Ravuthe – The King’s Horseman", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.13, Issue 9, page no.b664-b669, September-2026, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2609173.pdf

"Senescence and Gender in the Tulu Play Raya Ravuthe – The King’s Horseman", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.13, Issue 9, page no. ppb664-b669, September-2026, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2609173.pdf