Date:05/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/05/stories/2008110557350200.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

When music was hearty company

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Ranga Shankara is organising a Karnataka Nataka Sangeetha Vaibhava, the journey of Kannada theatre through its music, on Wednesday at 7.30 p.m. as part of the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival ’08, which pays tribute to Company Nataka.

A musical extravaganza, it narrates the story of 70 years of Company Nataka in the State through evocative music that has long been central to Kannada theatre.

The song ‘Kaminee maa nee’ sung by the character Bhasmaasura in the play ‘Tilottame’ (1936); ‘Baramma baare sodaree…’ sung by Krishna in ‘Sangeetha Subhadra’ (1940); ‘Enna Siriye’ by the protagonist in Bedara Kannappa (1944); ‘Vyaamohave ee…’ sung by Ramaakaanta in ‘Bhakta Ambareesha’ (1952); and Sita’s lament ‘Thoredanenna Pathi’ in the 1960 play ‘Lava Kusha’ are the songs that bring life back into a bygone era.

Directed by Y.K. Muddukrishna, the songs will be sung by R. Paramashivan, P. Vajrappa, Y.K. Muddukrishna, Attiguppe Krishnamurthy, Shantha Kumar, Hulikal Nagaraj, M.S. Umesh, Ma.Na. Murthy, Prathibha Narayan, Bhagyashree, B.P. Rajamma, B.S. Manjulamma, and B.S. Poornima. Tickets, priced at Rs. 100, are available at Ranga Shankara from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7.30 pm; Vodafone stores at Koramangala, Brigade Road, Seshadripuram and Indiranagar; Sabkar’s The Book Store on Old Madras Bank Road; and online at www.bookmyshow.com