Cultural Medley At Kannada Koota Event
The Nrupathunga Kannada Koota celebrated Sankaranthi at the Campbell Middle School in Smyrna on March 6. The cultural fest included music, drama and more.
The program opened with a traditional invocation by children, and the US national anthem. A skit called Mantrada Gulige (magic tablets) followed. The hilarious play was about three married women, who are greatly influenced by TV and radio commercials for weight loss and beauty products. While trying out one of the products, the tablets fall into the hands of their husbands. Upon consumption of the tablet, one of the three men turns into a small kid, the second one a baby and third one lands in his mother's womb. The laugh-out-loud skit was adapted and directed by Lakshmi Murthy. Participants were Nagalakshmi Inamdar, Balakrishna Inamdar, Lakshmi Murthy, Sheetal Byagadhvalli and Ashwini Deshpande.
A melodious light music program, Sugama Sangeetha, filled the auditorium next. Artists narrated the life and works of each poet, then expressed eloquently the meaning of each lyric for the benefit of the younger generation. The works of famous poets such as late Dr. K.S. Narasimhaswamy, Prof. Nissar Ahmad, Prof. Gopalakrishna Adiga and Dr. K.V. Puttappa were sung by Vathasa Gokare, Deepa Sreetal, Ravi Dharanidra, and Krishna Madakasira. Deepak Shenoy accompanied on the tabla and Pulikeshi Torgal on the keyboard.
The romantic lyrics of K.S. Narasihma Swamy addressed the young and the newly married in the audience. Nissar Ahmad's works evoked emotions, love and human kindness. His lyrics were invigorating and brought the beauty of nature into the auditorium. Prof Adigs's lyrics "Yaava mphana murali Kareyithu?."(what symphony of music attracted you to cross the ocean and come here) struck an emotional chord with the community.
Young artists had a platform to display their acting skills in a drama, Poli Kitti, written by T.P. Kailasam. This drama tells the story of a Poli (vagabond) who goes by the name Kitty ? a ragamuffin in his ways, but with a heart of gold. The play was directed by Mysore Sudhir. The drama was presented flawlessly and even the lengthy meaningful dialogues were punctuated with humor. Ashwath Belavadi,Muralidhar Naryan, Nataraj Kallur, Prakash Ramachandraiah, Ravi Dharanendra, H.S. Gururaj, Pushpa Kallur, Chythaanya Nagendra, Rahul Gokare, Pushpa Kallur, Smitha Barki, and Mysore Sudhir were part of the play.
The program concluded with the Indian national anthem.
A set of CDs recorded on the 30th anniversary celebrations of Kannada Koota was released on the occasion. Two youngsters, Rahul Anand and Rahul Gokare toiled hard to make the CDs possible.
Nrupathunga Kannada Koota was started in 1973 as a tax-exempt nonprofit cultural organization, to promote Kannada language and the culture and art of Karnataka State. It celebrated its 30th anniversary recently with about 500 people attending the all day cultural activities at Southern Polytechnic State University.
A colorful souvenir Chiguru was released on the occasion.
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