Date:18/10/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/10/18/stories/2006101824590200.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Festival of Kannada plays from October 24

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: The Suvarna Karnataka celebrations have a theatre component too.

Kannada Ranga Bhoomi-Namaskara, has been organised by the Karnataka Nataka Academy. There will be six plays to be staged from October 24 to 29 at Ravindra Kalakshetra. A unique feature is that they are all based on famous Kannada literary works.

According to theatre and film personality C.R.Simha, the idea was to make the works of Kambara, Kuvempu and Lankesh more faimilar to the non-Kannadiga people in Bangalore. By making them into easily understandable plays, those in the audience can overcome language barriers to understand what Kannada literature is all about. The plays have been translated into English for this purpose.

Theatre personalities such as Lakshmi Chandrashekar and Prakash Belawadi have translated the plays for a special audience. Among the plays to be staged will be Yayathi by Girish Karnad, Nanana Thangiondu Gandu Kodi by P.Lankesh, Smashana Kurukshetra by Kuvempu, Kathale Belaku by Sri Ranga, Mahamayi by Chandrashkara Kambara and Nammgolabba Najukayya by T.N.Seethram.

The Nataka Aacademy has also lined up other events for Suvarna Karnataka. Caseetes and CDs of the nonagenarian folk artist Yenagi Ballapa are being released.

There will be theatre festivals in the districts, featuring the works of persons from those regions connected with the world of theatre.

For example, Tumkur will have a play based on the life of the famous Gubbi Veeranna and Kolar on Kaiwara Thathaiah. The academy will also have events in cities such as Mumbai and Kolkata, according to its chairman G.Kappana.