State to conduct 24 mega cultural events

Three-day Amaravati Theatre Festival begins; four events will be held at Vijayawada

Andhra Pradesh will witness 24 mega cultural events in days to come and out of which four will be held at Vijayawada, according to Chief Executive Officer of Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority Himanshu Shukla here on Friday.

Speaking at the inaugural function of the three-day Amaravati Theatre Festival, he said the on-going fest will feature six Telugu, three Hindi and one English plays at three venues – Tummalapallivari Kalakshetram, Kaladarshini and Siddhartha Academy.

“The new State of Andhra Pradesh needs these festivals to create it own identity in the cultural front and also help local artists to interact with their fraternity from other States. The need of the hour is innovative events. The exchange of ideas will play an important role in developing as better artists,” he said.

Theatre had strong roots in Krishna and Guntur districts as nearly 300 drama troupes were found in both the districts, Mr. Shukla added.

MLA Bonda Uma Maheswara Rao said that Hyderabad, as the capital city of united Andhra Pradesh, played a key role in enhancing the prestige of the State by staging many cultural fests. “The role is now passed on Vijayawada. Like Ravindra Bharati, the renovated Thummapalli Kalakshetram will play a pivotal role in promoting cultural activities. Soon an international-standard convention centre will be established at Ibrahimpatnam to promote events,” he said.

Lord Buddha festival

District Collector Lakshmi Kantham said that Vijayawada, which is playing the role of the capital city, has the responsibility to play role of cultural and social cities as well and in the process guide the establishment of new capital city coming up at Amaravati.

He said soon Lord Buddha festival and International Rose Garden festival will be staged in city.

Bollywood actor Chitrangada Singh said that the role of the State government-backed programmes is important for the promotion of the culture activities and said she felt humbled in the presence of legendary actors like Kota Srinivasa Rao and Kota Sankara Rao.

Padmasree awardee Kota Srinivasa Rao asked the youngsters not to forget their mother tongue and exhorted mothers to teach Telugu words instead of English to their infants during their growing up.

Famous theatre artist H.S. Misroo, and AP Creativity and Cultural Commission Chief Executive Officer Vijay Bhaskar were present.