Expressing discontentment over poor public knowledge of the rich theatre tradition of Karnataka, Mallepuram G. Venkatesh, senior scholar and former vice-chancellor of Karnataka Samskrit University, stressed the need and the importance of documenting it.
He was speaking at the S.B. Jangamashetty Theatre Award conferring programme at Visvesvaraya Bhavan here on Wednesday. The event was organised by Ranga Sangama, a theatre group, for conferring the award on Saraswathi alias Julekha Begum, a senior theatre artiste from Mysuru.
“Karnataka has a rich tradition of professional theatre that nurtured and gave life to innumerable number of theatre artists. Because of poor documentation, a number of wonderful theatre personalities are simply vanishing without being known to the next generations. Nata Sarvabhauma, a fiction authored by A.N. Krishna Rao, attempted to shed some light on the theatre tradition in the State. There is a dire need to properly document the theatre tradition, its transformation from time to time and the lives and struggles of its stakeholders - actors, actresses, musicians, directors, script-writers, make-up persons, drama company owners and others. The efforts in that direction may result in the publication of 10-12 vivid volumes,” he said.
Commending Ms. Begum for her contributions as an actress to the development of theatre in the State, Prof. Venkatesh said that the fact that the artiste had performed in over 10,000 shows of around 500 dramas travelling the length and breadth of the State itself spoke volumes about her dedication and hard work.
“It is not a small achievement. We need not feel bad for the fact that no government has recognised Ms. Begum’s talents and contributions and honour her with an award. Nor do we need to desperately long for such government-sponsored awards. The award that she received now from a non-governmental theatre group may force the government to open its eyes,” he said.
Appagere Somashekar, Assistant Professor at the Central University of Karnataka, made a lucid presentation of Ms. Begum’s life. Chaya Bharatanur, Associate Professor at Sharnbasva University, enthralled the audience with her vocal musical feast.
Film director T.S. Nagabharana, senior writer Vasantha Kushtagi, journalists Mahipal Reddy Munnur and Shivaranjan Satyampete, Ranga Sangama functionaries Sujatha Jangamashetty and Chinna Devi, Gulbarga University Syndicate member Chandrashekhar Nitture and others were present.
