After paying five-days of tribute to the legend of Indian cultural history, Rabindranath Tagore, Bahuroopi National Theatre festival concluded with a promise of another vibrant fest, here on Sunday.
As numerous personalities in the nobel laureate gets unveiled through drama and dance ballet based on Tagore’s works, exhibition and brainstorming intellectual discussions on his works, the Rangayana theatre repertory paid a fitting tribute choosing the theme on Tagore, Gurudeva - 150.
The repertory came alive on the Sunday when thousands thronged the venue on the closing ceremony of the festival. The weekend saw the Rangayana campus abuzz with theatre and cultural enthusiasts.
Favourite destination
It also turned out to be a favourite destination for desi food and desi shopping for many a people.
The amphitheatre Vanaranga witnessed a full house show for a dance drama, Karala Bete in Kannada (based on Tagore’s play) directed by noted danseuse Krupa Phadke.
Interestingly, students of Shanthiniketan, West Bengal conducted the Kannada show for the audience.
A Bengali play, Ranjabati Sen staged by Aarshi team of Kolkata and directed by Abanti Chakraborty received a moderate response at Kalamandir, while an Urdu play Ghai Zharuri Log, directed by Mushtaq Kak of Jammu at Bhoomigeetha also received a good response on the weekend.
Next fest
In his valedictory address, noted theatre activist Na Rathna said the Rangayana should organise more person-based themes.
Exploring works and like like Kuvempu, Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, and Bendre can bring forth some interesting discussions and theatre experiments. “The five-day fest was an eye-opener for me as it gave a chance to know Tagore better. The respect for Tagore has increased manifold. It is heartening that the fest is concluding today. Rangayana can organise more than one festival in a year,” Rathna said.
Successful event
Lingadevaru Halemane, Director of Rangayana took pride in the successful hosting of the event and said Bahuroopi has always tried to bring different cultures of India on a single platform.
The theme this year, Tagore himself is a man of multiple talents and faces.
“Our Rangayana team drew accolades for their staging of Gora, the toughest play of Tagore on the stage. The people from Shanthinikethan were impressed and want Rangayana team to perform at their premises in Kolkata,” he said and added that Rangayana will make efforts to organise Bahuroopi by December this year.
Deputy Director of Rangayana Nirmala Mathpathi and others were present.
Naturalist Manu, theatre activist Rajashekara Kadamba, Ajjampura Krishnaswamy, Dr K Shiva Reddy of Hampi University were honoured for their help in successfully completing the theatre festival.
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