Opening makes for unique start
Like every year, Bahuroopi, the national theatre festival, was opened to the loud applause of art connoisseurs, but with a touch of novelty.
A tome with the portrait of Jnanpith laureates on the cover page was opened only to find an artiste with an earthen lamp inside.
The artiste was none other than ‘Mime’ Ramesh, who with his body painted blue walked out in an artistic way to hand over the lamp, to light the wicks in the lamp, thus marking the beginning of the festival.
A group of dollu kunita artistes aptly dressed for the event, showcased their talent giving a resounding start.
Needless to say, Jnanpith winning Kannada litterateurs form the crux of the theatre festival this year. From Rashtrakavi Kuvempu to the recent Chandrashekar Kambar (a total of eight, the most from Kannada literature) have been honoured with the highest award in literature.
Most of the recipients - Kuvempu, Da Ra Bendre, Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, Shivarama Karanth, Vinayaka Krishna Gokak popular as Vi Kru Gokak, Girish Karnad, U R Anantha Murthy and Chandrashekar Kambar have both drama and other forms of literature to their credit. They are also being staged during the nine-day theatre festival that will culminate on January 22.
