Folk troupes steal show
Artistes from across the State add colour
As the nine-day Dasara festivities concluded in style with the cultural pageantry Vijayadashami procession, the grand finale provided a peek into the rich folk culture and heritage state.
Foreign artistes from Rwanda and Bylakuppe (Tibetan settlement) also added to the excitement.
The folk artistes from different parts of the state enthralled the lakhs of spectators gathered alongside the procession route.
Around 1000 artistes kept entertaining the Dasara crowd with traditional folk dance and their manoeuvre. A troupe of Nandi Dhwaja folk artistes led the procession followed by Mangalavadya and Nadaswara troupes. The police band (Vaadya Vrunda) seated in a specially decorated-Aane Gaadi grabbed the attention of the onlookers with their soothing music.
Amid Navilu Nrithya and Veeragase, artistes from Ruwanda enthralled the spectators. Artistes from Bagalkot presented the folk dance Karadi Mela, while men from Jamkhandi (Bagalkot) brought alive the traditional form of Dollu Kunitha. The Jhank Pathak artistes from Bagalkote and Belgaum enlivened the event.
To add to the excitement, the Keelu Kudure and Karadi Majalu artistes from Belgaum, Jogathi dance and Hagalu Vesha and Alai Hejje Mela from Bellary made the audience spell bound with their different manoeuvres. The Hagalu Vesha artistes are known to present themselves in a different roles.
The folk art from Chamarajnagar district – Goravara Kunitha, Donne Varase, Gorukana Kunitha and Huli Vesha also entertained the people. The Goravara Kunitha and Veeragase artistes from Chikamagalur and Keelu Kudure artistes from Mangalore infused a different costume and style into traditional form of folk dance. Artistes of Kangeelu Nruthya introduced the folk form of coastal Karnataka – with the men from Bantwal, Dakshina Kannada offering a cultural treat to the audience.
The Jaggalagi mela and Hejje Mela artistes from Dharwad brought the rich culture of North Karnataka folk forms and the music. The all women Dollu Kunitha troupe from Heggodu (Shimoga) and Veeragase received the wide applause from the gathering. The pata Kunitha and Chit mela from Hassan and Boothanruthya – Gombe Nruthya fromt he group of artistes from Madikeri brought folk forms of the Malnadu region to the Dasara event.
The Shahnai artistes from Koppal and saxophone artistes from Mandya too enthralled the crowd. Besides, the Veerabhadra Kunitha and Kamsale from Mysore, Lambani dance (Raichur), Siddhi Kunitha from Uttara Kannada and Koraga dance from Shimoga added colour to the folk troupe. If a team of youth from Bylakuppe (Tibetan settlement near Periyapatna) presented a Tibetan folk dance, artistes from Ruwanda (Africa) gave a global touch to the Naada Habba.
