Mangalore: Children mesmerize theatre fans as Konkani drama fest begins

Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (NM)

Mangalore, Oct 17: Talented children took over the stage on Wednesday October 16 enchanted theatre lovers with three back-to-back Konkani plays revolving around stories of the past, Konkani tradition and more. The plays were part of the two-day Konkani children's theatre festival ‘Rum Pum Po-2013’ organized by World Konkani Centre (WKC) at Town Hall.

Earlier in the evening, president World Konkani Centre Basti Vaman Shenoy, poet Melvyn Rodrigues and Dinesh Prabhu inaugurated the occasion by symbolically unlocking a huge box. Nearly 30 small children – most of them participants in the drama – came out of the box apparently suggesting that the programme was an opportunity for the children to showcase talents.

Three plays - ‘Dharyachi Maya’ (Witch of the Sea), Chithal Thondacho Ghov’ (Groom with a Deer Face) and ‘Ajyapachi Mudhi’ (A Miraculous Ring) - were performed on the first day. Each drama was of 30 minutes duration.

They were performed by the children belonging to three distinct Konkani speaking communities in their respective Konkani dialects.

‘Dharyachi Maya’ , based on a Konkani folk tale from the Konkani Kharvi community, was presented by All  India Konkani Kharvi Mahajan Sabha. The script and direction is by Vinod Gangolli and group manager is Purushottam  Arkati.

‘Chithal Thondacho Ghov’ (Groom with a Deer Face), based on a Konkani folk tale from Kudal Deshkar community, was presented by children’s group of Shri Poornananda Seva Prathistan, Mangalore. The direction is by Shridhar Achar, script is by Prashanth Prabhu and Geetha Ratnakar, and group manager is Sanjiv Samanth.

‘Ajyapachi Mudhi’ (A Miraculous Ring), based on a Konkani folk tale from the Roman Catholic community was staged by Amritha Social Trust, Shaktinagar. The play is directed by Gopalkrishna K, script is by Joy Nelson Monteiro and group manager is Prameela Mendonca.