Resounding homage

A scene from 'Chandalika'. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam.

Rendering of Rabindra Sangeet and presentation of the Telugu version of the Bengali dance ballet Chandalika scripted by Rabindranath Tagore at Kalabharathi, Vishakapatnam, marked the celebration of the 150th year of the Gurudeb. A.P. State Renaissance Artistes and Writers Association (RAWA), headed by S. Gopala Sastry organised it along with the secretary of the local Bengali Association, Aamra Kajori (a few of us) of the Kali Temple on the Beach Road.

Secretary of the Bengali Association Dilip Acharya individually and together with Paromita Chakraborthi besides R. Kukherjee, Dilip Karmarkar, Kesab Chakraborthi, Sukanta Banerjee and Barnali, Chayanika, Anamika, Smitha, Phalguni and Sima among others tunefully rendered Rabindra Sangeet for an hour. Ranjit Bhattacharya on tabla and Somanath Dey on flute lent good support.

Then the ballet,

Chandalika , started with the noted Kuchipudi guru, A.B. Bala Kondala Rao herself getting enacting the title role along with her disciples as her four companions and equal number of Buddhist monks and their leader whom she met incidentally. The story shows how she lost her heart to him and wanted to get married to him. The story, until she took up Buddhism, was shown attractively and convincing till the end.