theatre, the play depicts the 14th-century Sultan of Delhi, Mohammad Tughlaq in contrasting styles, a tyrannical and whimsical ruler and at the same time, an idealist who sought the best for his subjects. Most plays written by Karnad have either history or mythology as their theme, with a focus on their relevance to modern society. The most acclaimed novel of the era was Samaskara by U.R.Anantha Murthy (1965). The novel details the search for new values and identity by the protagonist, a Brahmin, who had sexual intercourse with the untouchable mistress of his heretic adversary. Another notable work is the Swarupa (1966) by Poornachandra Tejaswi. Anantha Murthy's Prasne (1963) contains his best collection of short stories including Ghatashraddha, which describes the tragedy that befell a young pregnant widow, from the point of view of a boy. His collection Mouni (1973) includes the stories Navilugulu ("Peacocks") and Clip Joint. The Navya movement was not without its critics. The doubt, dilemmas and indecision in every turn of the plot resulted in increasingly sophisticated and complex narrations, which some readers found uninteresting. It was derided as an intellectual exercise of the middle class intelligentsia; in its extreme sophistication, it was thought to have lost its touch with realities of life. This led to a gradual waning of the Navya school as it was supplanted by emerging waves of Navyottara, Bandaya (protest) and Dalit schools. Post-modern trends From the early 1970s, a segment of writers including many "Navya" writers started to write novels and stories that were anti-"Navya". This genre was called Navyottara and sought to fulfil a more socially responsible role. The best-known authors in this form of writing were Poornachandra Tejaswi and Devanur Mahadeva. In his preface to Abachurina Post Office, Tejaswi expressed a path breaking observation towards then prevailing literary movements. Tejaswi won the "most creative novel of the year" for his Karvalo in 1980 and Chidambara Rahasya in 1985 from the Sahitya Akademi. Modernisation and westernisation continue to inform sensibilities and spawn new literary techniques and genres. The most striking developments in recent times have been the rise of the prose form to a position of predominance — a position earlier held by poetry — and the prodigious growth in dramatic literature. More recently Bandaya (Rebellion) and Dalit literature, in some ways a throwback to the Pragatishila (Progressivism) days, have come to the fore. Mahadeva's Marikondavaru ("Those who sold themselves")