A bird’s-eye view of Kannada ‘nataka’ on World Theatre Day

Coffee-table book and two special postal covers to be released tomorrow

The cover of the 60-page coffee-table book on Karnataka Ranga Parampare Hakki Nota that will be released on World Theatre Day Monday at Ravindra Kalakshetra.

It will be a trip down memory lane on World Theatre Day on March 27, with the Department of Kannada and Culture and the Karnataka Nataka Academy opening an exhibition of 100 rare photographs chronicling the State’s theatre history.

A 60-page coffee-table book on Karnataka Ranga Parampare Hakki Nota will also be released on the occasion on Monday at Ravindra Kalakshetra. For the first time, two special postal covers featuring yesteryear theatre personalities, including Tiger Varadachariar, M.V. Subbaiah Naidu, Malavalli Sundaramma, Ashwathamma, and comedian Guggu, will be brought out, besides a special cover to mark 50 years of Ravindra Kalakshetra.

20-minute documentary

A 20-minute documentary on Kannada theatre, Ranga Parampare-Nudi Chitra, will be screened and 10 important personalities will be felicitated, said K.A. Dayanand, Director, Kannada and Culture. He said Minister for Kannada and Culture Umashree, a theatre personality, had taken special interest in the project.

The day will see another important theatre personality and former Rajya Sabha member B. Jayashree rendering Ranga Geethegalu (songs sung in professional theatre) along with R. Paramasivan, who is a repository of these compositions.

According to Manjunatha Somakeshava Reddy (Mansore), director of the documentary, the film is an attempt to cover the pioneers of Kannada theatre to the present generation.

“The earlier evidence of Kannada theatre, perhaps, dates back to 12th Century, as it was during this time that development and nurturing of various folk theatrical elements took place,” he said.