'Drishya Chavadi' for art lovers

The weekend cultural or literary performances/ programmes either held in Town Hall or in Ravindra Kalabhavan or may it be in any other sought out destinations of the city does their best in quenching the thirst of Mangaloreans to experience the cultural and literary activities.

On the other side, there takes place small discourses attended by few enthusiasts who join together once in a while under a single roof to interact and debate on issues of interests. To provide a platform for such programmes and discussions, the former President of Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy, Vaman Nandavara along with his better half Chandrakala Nandavara has built a stage in his own residence at Lohit Nagar of Derebail. Named as ‘Drishya Chavadi,’ the platform is artistically built in the house terrace, letting no space in the terrace go waste.

Speaking to City Herald, Vaman Nandavara said that the idea of building Drishya Chavadi spurt up in his mind with wish to build a place that provides a platform for informal talks and discussions among the equal minded Mangaloreans. “It is quite a herculean task in the city to find a suitable venue for the small scale literary and cultural meets. An organiser from a middle class background can’t even afford to pay hefty amounts to book the venue. While keeping all this in mind, stuck the thought of building a simple yet cosy platform called Drishya Chavadi which would facilitate for organising the programmes with a friendly touch,” says Nandavar.

The entire terrace walls are painted with designs depicting the rich cultural heritage of Tulunadu. The walls are beautified with pictures of Tulunadu bravos Koti-Chennaiah, Naga devaru, cock fight (Kori Katta) among others. The theme of Drishya Chavadi is conceptualised by popular artist Gopadkar while, another artist of the region Tharanth Kairangala and his friends have brought the task into reality.

“As the platform is envisaged at supporting literary and cultural aspects, we decided to paint Tulu culture on the walls. When one enters into the house or the house terrace - Drishya Chavadi, the presence of literary or cultural aspect in the house can be grasped by the visitor. The paintings would support the activities that would take place in Drishya Chavadi,” says Gopadkar. All the pictures are painted in ‘line art’ form which is basically originated from Varli and Madhubhani art forms. Nandavara couple intend to organise at least one literary or cultural programme in Drishya Chavadi every month. “The place can also accommodate for drama or art workshops for children,” informed Vaman Nandavara. Drishya Chavadi will be inaugurated on January 2 by litterateur Prof B A Vivek Rai.