Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Vol. 15. No.4. April - 2015 KARNATAKA News KOLKATA OPENS CURTAINS FOR BHAVAN- INFOSYS PROGRAMME Justice Dr. Manjula Chellur, Chief Justice of Kolkata High Court lighting the lamp to mark the inauguration of Bhavan-Infosys Foundation outreach programme at Kolkata while the dignitaries and artists joins. In pursuance of its objective of promoting Indian culture through outreach programmes, the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan recently hosted a cultural festival in Kolkata at the Bhasha Bhavan auditorium, National Library. It was coordinated by Bhavan s Bengaluru Kendra under the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan- Infosys Foundation Cultural Outreach Programme jointly with the National Library, Kolkata, and held on March 6. This was a flagship event of the Bhavan to fulfill its mission to promote young talent in Indian music and dance. The programme will be held on the second Friday of every month. The event began with a melodious invocation by Dr. Moitra Sinha, a well-known Hindustani classical musician. Justice Dr. Manjula Chellur, Chief Justice, High Court of Kolkata, inaugurated the programme. Dr. P.Y. Rajendra Kumar, Director- General, National Library, was the Chief Guest. Justice Chittatosh Mookerjee, Chairman, Bhavan s Kolkata Kendra, presided. Sri H N Suresh, Director and Sri K G Raghavan, Hon. Secretary, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Race Course Road, Bengaluru - 1. Tel.: 2226 7303, 2226 5746. Fax : 2228 7373 Website : www.bhavankarnataka.com www.facebook.com/bhavan.bengaluru e-mail : contactus@bhavankarnataka.com Re.1/- Re.1/-
Justice Dr. Manjula Chellur, Chief Justice of Kolkata High Court being honoured by Sri. K.G. Raghavan, Hon. Secretary, BVB, Bengaluru. While others from left Dr. Rajendra Kumar, Exe. Director, National Library, Sri. Subramanian, Director, BVB Kolkata and Sri. H.N. Suresh, Director, BVB, Bengaluru joins. Bhavan s Bengaluru Kendra, were among the esteemed guests. Sri Suresh briefed the audience on the objectives of the cultural outreach programme, which had already opened its chapter in Bengaluru in February. Bhavan was at the forefront of nurturing Indian culture for the last 76 years, both in India and abroad. Infosys Foundation was lending the much-needed helping hand through its patronage. Recalling the association of Justice Chellur in Bhavan s activities, he appealed to those interested to join hands in promoting the country s rich cultural heritage. Artists from North Eastern region perform during the inaugural programme of the BVB-Infosys foundation outreach programme at Kolkata. 2
Justice Dr. Manjula Chellur felicitate Smt. Rani Karnaa, legendary dancer in the presence of Sri. Sunderlal Mehta, President, BVB worldwide while others join. Justice Chellur lauded Kolkata as the hub of art and literature in the country. As Munshiji had envisioned, Bhavan was indeed an Adventure in Faith, with an international outlook. She felt the Bhavan reflected the spirit of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam where every Bhavanite feels he belongs to one family. She said culture fills the vacuum in modern day life. Infosys Foundation was doing yeomen service in health care, education, vocational training, and entrepreneurship for destitute women and many fields of social importance, she said, hoping that the outreach programme would enhance the cultural flavour of Kolkata. Under the initiative, one event will be held every month of Ustad Hafiz Bale Khan and Ustad Rais Bale Khan perform Sitar during the inaugural programme of Bhavan-Infosys Foundation outreach programme at Kolkata 3
Sri. Surenderlal Mehta, President, BVB, Worldwide felicitates Smt. Sutapa Talukdar Renowned Odissi Danseur. Also seen in the picture Dr. Lalitha Srinivasan, Director, Nupura, School of Bharatanatya, Bengaluru. the year. Dr. Rajendra Kumar pointed out that a library is also a cultural centre, besides being a provider of works on literature. He informed that Infosys Foundation had agreed to digitise Justice Ashutosh Mookerjee s collection of over 87,500 books in various languages including in Pali & Praktrit. Justice Ashutosh Mookerjee was Vice-Chancellor of Kolkata University and Chief Justice of the Kolkata High Court. The National Library is Sri. K.G. Raghavan, felicitates Dr. P.Y. Rajendra Kumar, Director, National Library while Sri. H.N. Suresh, Director, BVB joins. 4
Sri. K.G. Raghavan, Hon. Secretary, BVB, Bengaluru felicitates Dr. Lalitha Srinivasan, Director, Nupura, School of Bharatanatya. While Sri. H.N. Suresh, Director, BVB, Bengaluru, Sri. Subramaniam, Director, Kolkata BVB, joins. over 112 years old and the biggest library in Asia with nearly 25 lakh books. Sri Raghavan recalled Kolkata s contribution to modern India and the world in the fields of literature, science, arts etc. Justice Chittatosh Mookerjee thanked Infosys Foundation, the National Library and Bharatiya Vidya Artists perform during Purandara Namana at National Library, Kolkata 5
Sri K.G. Raghavan, Hon. Secretary, BVB, Bengaluru and Sri. H.N. Suresh, Director, BVB, Bengaluru during a conversation with Sri. Sunderlal G. Mehta, President, BVB, worldwide at Kolkata. Bhavan, Bengaluru, for conceptualizing the outreach programme. A sitar Jugalbandi by brothers Ustad Rais Bale Khan and Ustad Hafiz Bale Khan, marked the inaugural concert. Practitioners of the Kirana & Dharwad Gharana, the brothers belong to the family of renowned sitarists Ratna Rahimat Khan(great-grandfather), Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (grandfather) and Ustad Bale Khan (father), who were instrumental in popularizing sitar in South India. The concert, which featured raag Pooriya Kalyan, was ably supported on tabla by Pandit Sandip Ghosh. The second performance of the evening was a breathtakingly beautiful folk dance performance by artistes of the northeastern state of Tripura, Folk artists from North Eastern states perform during the inaugural programme of Bhavan-Infosys Foundation outreach programme 6
Justice Chittatosh Mookerjee, Chairman, BVB, Kolkata Kendra being honoured by Sri. H.N. Suresh, Director, BVB Bengaluru while Sri. K.G. Raghavan, Hon. Secretary BVB, joins. who performed the famous Hojagiri dance. The next day March 7 featured Purundara Namana, a dance feature choreographed and directed by Dr. Lalita Srinivasan, an eminent Bharatanatyam dancer. Held under the auspices of the Smt. C Rangamma and Sri C. Beemappa Chetty Memorial Endowment programme, it was a visual delight, featuring the compositions of Purandaradasa. Suladi Prabandha, and a solo, SMT. C RANGAMMA AND SRI C. BEEMAPPA CHETTY MEMORIAL ENDOWMENT PROGRAMME 7 Kele Gopi Ninna... in ragamalika, by Kusuma Ranjita Viven recital. The artistes, Ms. Manasa Rao, Ms. Sri Vidya, Ms. Kusuma Ranjita Viven and Sri. Ajay Viswanath were felicitated. Ms. Ranjita Viven is the daughter of Justice Chellur. Justice Dr. Chellur recalled how her parents Sri C. Bheemappa Chetty and Smt. Rangamma, encouraged their children to learn fine arts. Justice Altamas Kabir, former Chief Justice of India, complimented Justice Chellur for setting up the endowment in the name of her parents. Bhavan honoured legendary dancers Padmashri Smt. Rani Karnaa and Smt. Sutapa Talukdar on the occasion.
Artists perform during the dance recital Purandara Namana : From left Smt. Kusuma Ranjitha Vivin, Kum. Sreevidya Somayaji, Sri. Ajay Vishwanath and Smt. Manasa Rao Smt. Karnaa, an accomplished dancer in Kathak, Odissi, Bharatanatyam and Manipuri, was a disciple of Nrityacharya Narayan Prasad, and also learnt from Guru Hiralal, Pandit Birju Maharaj, and Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra. She guides the Sangeet and Nritya Shikshan Bharati, a division of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kolkata. Smt. Karnaa said dance for her is an Ananta yatra, a journey from one stage to another in life. CONTRIBUTION OF GURU KELUCHARAN MOHAPATRA RECALLED 8 Smt. Sutapa Talukdar recalled her five decades as a dancer and a teacher, and her learning under Kelucharan Mohapatra. She said it was devotion, dedication and discipline that had made her what she was. Nupura School of Bharathanatyam has built an enviable reputation in Karnataka, under the guidance of Guru Lalitha Srinivasan a dancer, choreographer and research scholar. What is special about Nupura is its strict adherence to the indigenous form of Bharatanatyam on the one hand, and the innovative spirit it works with, to contemporize its highly communicative art on the other. Nupura has come to be a flag-
bearer of the Mysore style of rendition has made it a mission to imbibe its flavor, customize its intricacies and emerge with a style that typifies grace and dignity and a different way of rendering abhinaya. Smt. Srinivasan heads Nupura, founded in 1978. She has to her credit numerous dance ballets like Chitrangadha, Sri Krishna Parijatha, Lasyotsava, Prem Bhakti Mukti, Koushika Sukritam, Gowdara Malli, and Deva Kannika, the latest being Anveshane and Nisha Vibhrama. In addition to the numerous dancers she has tutored, she is MYSORE STYLE OF RENDITION : A DIFFERENT WAY OF RENDERING ABHINAYA the holder of the prestigeous Shiromani and Priyadarshini awards at the national level and the Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy and Kannada Rajyothsava awards at the state level. She was a fellow of the Ministry of Human Resource Development Government of India. Folk artists from North Eastern region perform during the inaugural programme of Bhavan-Infosys Foundation outreach programme at Kolkata. 9
Lalitha, initially a student of Guru Keshavamurthy, later specialised in abhinaya under Smt. Dr.K.Venkatalakshamma and Smt. Jejamma. Her mastery over abhinaya is a treat to watch. Sutapa Talukdar has popularized Odissi at the national level. She set up her dance school, Gurukul, in 1987, where stringent practice is the hallmark. She entered the world of dance at the age of six, learning three diverse forms simultaneously Manipuri, Kathakali and Mohiniattam. She first learnt Odissi from Guru Muralidhar Majhi. Rani Karnaa was born in 1939, into a Sindhi family in Hyderabad, in present- day GURU SUTAPA TALUKDAR AND GURU RANI KARNAA FELICITATED Pakistan. Her early teachers were Nrityacharya Narayan Prasad and Sundar Prasad. She mastered the Jaipur gharana under Guru Hiralal and the Lucknow gharana under Pandit Birju Maharaj. She later learnt under Kelucharan Mahapatra, also trained under various other gurus such as Amubi Singh, Narendra Kumar and Lalita Shastri. He has researched on the aesthetics of Kathak. 10
February 27, 2015, was a landmark day for the Bhavan s Bengaluru Kendra, as it ushered in a new and ambitious project launched specifically to reach out to art lovers spread across the City the BVB-Infosys Foundation Outreach Cultural programme got off to an auspicious start with a reverberating classical music concert, Swara Laya Madhuri, comprising an array of instruments. This outreach programme series has been planned in association with Ananya trust. It was a grand team effort of veena artistes Geetha Ramanand and Revathi Murthy, flautist BENGALURU USHERS IN OUTREACH PROGRAMME Tejaswi Raghunath, violinist H.M.Smitha, mridangist A.S.N. Swamy, ghatam artiste S.N.Narayana Murthy, khanjira player B.S.Nagaraj, and morsing artiste Bhardwaj Sathavalli, all of them established artistes in their own right. Lead by Smt. Ramanand, it was a distinctive concert, boasting of melody and rhythmic richness., satiating the tastes of those who prefer melody, and Smt. Vimala Rangachar, President, M.E.S. institutions lighting the lamp to mark the inauguration of Bhavan-Infosys outreach programme while Sri. Raghavendra, Founder of Ananya, Sri. H.N. Suresh, Director, BVB, joins. 11
Artists perform during the classical music concert Swara Laya Madhuri under the direction of Vidushi.Geetha Ramanand also those who like a touch of toe-tapping experience even in a classical concert. That so many individually-sought-after artistes came together, was in itself a treat for the audience. The programme was inaugurated by none other than the king of creative percussion endeavours, Sri. Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma. Smt. Vimala Rangachar, President of the prestigious MES chain of institutions, shared the dais with Sharma. It came as no surprise when she announced that her educational institutions would whole-heartedly support the outreach programmes, as Smt. Rangachar has founded and built several cultural and art institutions in Karnataka, all of which continue to be flagship organizations in upholding the fundamental spirit and form of the State s arts and crafts. 12
Jatayu Moksha is one of the most touching episodes of the Ramayana which lends itself well to dramatization on stage. Sometimes, almost the entire epic is encapsulated into the episode, to bring out the story of Rama in contextual form, while focussing on the nobility and sacrifice of Jatayu. The Rashtrakavi Govinda Pai Samshodhana Kendra, Udupi, a 50-year-old oriental research centre known for its vast and rare collections on the history and culture of the region, has an active cultural wing its Yakshagana Kendra has not only preserved JATAYU MOKSHA IN YAKSHAGANA FORM this performing art through training, but has blossomed into a fine professional performing troupe. This troupe, under the direction of Prof. H. Krishna Bhat, Hon. Director of the Kendra, presented Jatayu Moksha on March 15, got up by the Dr. K. M. Munshi Institute of Artists from Rashtrakavi Govinda Pai Samshodhana Kendra, Udupi, performing Yakshagana - Jatayu Moksha 13
Arts & Culture, Bhavan Kendra, Bengaluru, at its premises. Beginning with the exile of Rama, the performance traversed through the Shurpanakha, Maricha, and Sitaapaharana episodes, leading up to the valiant fight of Jatayu, to save Sita from Ravana. Granting of salvation to Jatayu, by Rama and Lakshmana, ended the Yakshagana recital, whose main vocalist Sathish Kedilaya added to the dramatic content. Devadas Rao Koodly (maddale) and Krishnamoorthy Bhat (chande) were the other accompanists. The characters were played out by Moggva Ganesh Naik (Rama), Manjunath (Lakshmana), Prasad Kumar Mogebettu (Seetha), Krishnamoorthy Urala (Shurpanakha), Umesh Pujari (Ravana), Pratish Kumar (sanyasi), Mithun Bhramhavara (deer), Karthik Subhramannya (Jatayu), with Maddhukar and Pradeep Achor as curtain holders. Art direction was by Sanjeeva Suvarna. Yakshagana artists performing - Jatayu Moksha 14
Fri 6.00 p.m. - 10. Carnatic Vocal by Kum. K. Lavanya (in association with Infosys Foundation) Venue : Indian Institute of World Culture, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru. PROGRAMME : APRIL - 2015 Sat 6.30 p.m. - ESV Hall 18. Astrology lecture Topic : Delay in Marriage Speaker : Dr. Krishna Kumar Fri 6.30 p.m. - Khincha Hall 10. Bharathanatya Arangetram by Ms. Divya Uthappa (Disciple of Guru Kolar Ramesh) Sat 6.30 p.m. - Khincha Hall 11. Kuchipudi Dance by Ms. Saraswathi Rajathesh Director, Natya Saraswathi Dance Centre. under Horizon Series, (In association with Indian Council for Cultural Relations) Thu - Fri 11.00 a.m. - Khincha Hall 16-17. Bhavan s MPBIM Paradigm 15 Sun 6.30 p.m. - ESV Hall 19. Book launch by Dr. M. Rama Jois Jeevana Kale Bhagavad Geethe authored by Sri. S.V. Manjunath Fri 6.30 p.m. - 24. BVB Infosys Foundation outreach cultural programmes Vadya Vaibhava Multi violin concert by Vid Dr. T.S. Krisnamurthy Venue : Vasavi Education Trust, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru Wed 10.00 a.m. - Khincha Hall 29. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Karnataka Nritya Academy presents : World Dance Day Inauguration : Smt Umashree Hon ble Minister for Kannada and Culture Guests of honour : Sri H.N.Suresh Director, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bengaluru. Presided over by Smt Gangamma Keshavamurthy Prisident, Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy, Bengaluru
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bengaluru Kendra News Reg.No. : KARENG / 2001 / 6498 / 29 APR 2002 April - 2015 "Registered News Papers" PRINTED BY L.V. SRINIVASMURTHY AT THE BANGALORE PRINTING & PUBLISHING CO., LTD., 88, MYSORE ROAD, BENGALURU -560 018 AND PUBLISHED BY H.N. SURESH FOR THE BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN BENGALURU KENDRA, RACE COURSE ROAD, BENGALURU - 560 001. EDITOR : H.N. SURESH