Bahrain: Kalajagathu Presents Two-day Drama Festival
By Ronald D’Souza and Joe Andrade for Daijiworld News Network
Bahrain, Dec 5: It was a two-day Festival of Drama meticulously organized by Bunts Bahrain for its members and well-wishers at the Falcon Hall of The Palace Hotel. A taste of theatre for Tulu and Kannada enthusiasts from the Dakshina Kannada belt.
A 17-member troupe of talented artistes under the famous banner “Kala Jagathu” (The World of Culture & Arts), well known in Mumbai for over 30 years, under the able Directorship of Thonse Vijay Kumar Shetty, was flown into Bahrain by the organisers Bunts Bahrain during the last weekend. They staged two plays, one in Tulu and the other in Kannada to an audience that were enthralled to the end glued to their seats in awe.
On the Friday 30th November, 2007, the troupe performed a Tulu drama titled “Thu Tudar” (Hell & Heaven) depicting a hinterland family story wrapped in contemporary high drama of power, money, abuse, treachery, love, crime and hate that was laced with pockets of humour and glued the audience to their seats to exclaim: “what next? The stage play depicted how misunderstandings could add fuel to the fire. To add to its dramatical touch, it depicted an enthusiastic film director on the hunt for a perfect film script to encrypt this whole script within the drama script!
On Saturday, 1st December, 2007, the contingent performed another awe-inspiring Kannada play, their 51st episode, titled “Sara Shayya” (Pyre of Arrows) based on the character Bhishma and taken from Mahabaratha.
The “Kala Jagathu” troupe performed like a teamwork with precision along with some local support.
The stage set-up and support for the troupe on both days were due to the untiring and dedicated efforts of two popular doyens in the Bahrain chapter of drama theatre, Sri Girish Iddya and Sri Shankar Jathanna. Every effort was made to portray the right stage effect for the two plays.
The Chief Guest of the evening was the Indian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain H.E. Balkrishna Shetty and the Guest of Honour was the President of Bunts Sangha, Mumbai , Sri Bhoja Shetty, who were introduced to the audience and given the opportunity to say a few words on the occasion. A short felicitation program compered by Sri Krishna Shetty, was organized for the entire troupe to whom mementoes were presented and their performance applauded. Sri Thonse Vijay Kumar Shetty, spoke on the occasion and promised to come back again with some more plays in the near future. The Chief Guest and Guests of Honour were also felicitated on the dais in the presence of Sri Jinraj Shetty, President of Bunts Bahrain.
The Vote of Thanks was given by Sri Pradeep Shetty, the Secretary of Bunts Bahrain who thanked the main sponsors and all those who were instrumental in making the Drama Festival another chapter in the history of Bunts Bahrain.
It is heartening to note that the members of the Kala Jaggathu troupe are leading ordinary businessmen and housewives as well as enthusiastic students who during their spare time gather to uphold their own culture and tradition and perform memorably as a hobby and passion. Hats off to them all for their endeavours