In connection with its 30 years of service to the fields of art, Sarada Kala Samithi of Vijayawada, with the co-operation of the A.P. State Film, T.V and Stage Development Corporation, celebrated a function in a colourful manner at Tummalapalli Kshetrayya Kala Kshetram.
The meeting, delayed nearly by an hour, was presided by Dogiparti Sankar Rao, president of Sarada Kala Samithi and was inaugurated by Padma Shri Turlapati Kutumba Rao, senior journalist. Other honoured guests were city Mayor M. Ratnabindu, Putta Jaganmohan Rao, P. Rajakumari, G.Pullaiah, veteran actors Mikkilineni Radhakrishna Murthy, Achanta Venkataratnam Naidu, M. Aditya Prasad, station director of Akashvani L. Swarnalata, regional director, State Information Department, S. Pedabramham, D. Satyanarayana Sarma, Champalal Jain, S. Narasaraju, A. Sankar Rao and industrialist Koganti Satyam.
The function was followed by a superb presentation of the mythological drama Vipranarayana , which bagged the Golden Nandi Award in the padya natakam category in the Nandi Natakotsavam organised by the AP state government. The organisers of the function fittingly honoured the members of the unit through G. Pullayya, a prominent businessman and a patron of arts.
The drama, though much delayed, succeeded in retaining the interest of the audience by the excellent performances by the actors and good technical values. The main characters were impressively played by T. Nagireddy (Vipranarayana), Surabhi Prabhavathi (Deva devi), P.V. Kumar (Pundareeka Sastri), T. Ramachandra Rao (temple priest), A. Venkateswarlu (Sri Ranganadha), Surabhi Ramalakshmi (Madhuravani), Anjireddy (Chola Raja), T. Ramachandra Rao (Chidananda) and Srilakshmi (Rangasani). The drama was well scripted and directed by P. Lakshmi Kulasekhar. Special honour was extended to T. Nagireddy who played the role of Vipranarayana.
