I was excited by the story of Yayati. This exchange of ages between the father and the son, which seemed to be terribly powerful and terribly modern. At the same time I was reading a lot of Sartre and the Existentialist. This consistent harping on responsibility which the Existentialist indulge in suddenly seemed to link up with the story of Yayati.

This story of Yayati from the Mahabhrata generated interst in him to become a playwright and he explains this here.Sahu, Nandini title=The Post-colonial Space: Writing the Self and the Nation (2007). Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 978-81-269-0777-9.