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Vol.18 No. 2 February - 2017

bhavanblrhns50@gmail.com

The year gone by—2016—was historic for BhavanBengaluru Kendra for severalreasons. Eleven states acrossthe country were brought underits ambit for holding traditionalarts events, economically weakartistes and rare and fading artsgiven prominence.

If this served the cause of artsand artistes, two outstation mega

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD

culture festivals in remote placesbrought the finest of performancesto a new and awed audience.

Both projects, under theumbrella of Infosys Foundation,marked the beginning of a newand exciting journey for Bhavan,testings its limits of organizationalskills and reach. It was a hugelearning curve, the planning andexecution of the projects involving

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choice of arts, artistes,networking, coordination, logisticsand technical support.

2016 was a game-changerfor traditional performing and finearts, the year itself beginning witha vibrant nature painting exhibitionby differently-abled artist AnuJain. Anu has no legs and onlyrudimentary elbows.

Her world, expected to begray and bleak, was insteadcolourful and full of life, as seen inher paintings.

Hence Bhavan consideredthis an auspicious beginning forthe year’s activities; it did turn outto be so.

The three-dayLakshmeshwara Utsav atGadag in the precincts of the

Someshwara temple in March,was a runaway success, drawingthousands of audiences every day.

The maiden attempt of theBengaluru Kendra in putting upsuch a huge event in a remotelocation opened up unchartedterrain in its organizational skills.

One of the aims of Bhavan isto take art to the people, anobjective that was well met in themonthly cultural programmes heldat the Indian Institute of WorldCulture, Bengaluru. The 2010Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan- InfosysFoundation venture achieved alandmark century April last,having provided a platform toover 500 artistes.

The well-entrenchedprogrammes, transparent in their

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conduct, encouraged InfosysFoundation to donate more fundsfor the Kendra to hold pan-Indiaconcerts.

Besides West Bengal,Tripura, Tamil Nadu andKarntaka, the Infosys FoundationCultural Outreach Programmewas spread to Andhra Pradesh,Telangana, Gujarat, Kerala,Maharashtra, Odisha andRajasthan, with Bengaluru as thenodal centre.

Fanned out across 11 centres,91 programmes have been heldsince inception May last, bringing1065 artistes on to stage.A steady audience is beingcultivated through theseprogrammes.

On the academic front,the first batch of 55 students of

Bhagavadgita classes receivedtheir diploma certificate after athree-year study course.

For the past four years,June has come to be identifiedas a period of celebration ofIndia’s glorious past, in herliterature, arts and philosophy,the Bhavan-ISKCONcollaboration of nationalconferences attracting scholarsfrom all over India and abroad.

Veda Samvada (2013),Upanishad Sandesha (2014),Mahapuranas (2015) andMahakavyas (2016) have beensignature events in retracingIndia’s heritage, the conference onMahakavyas proving to be ofinterest to a larger audience.

Bhavan believes thatidentifying with regional ethos

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is an essential part of cultural andnational integration. KarnatakaRajyotsava is celebrated with atruly native flavour.

The Bengaluru Kendra tied upwith Rotary Club –District 10, toput up a grand evening ofcelebrating Kananda languageand culture through music anddance.

Curtains were drawn onmajor events with the conduct ofthe Anupu festival in December onthe banks of Nagarjunasagar damin Telangana.

This was a fairy tale event,the three-day cultural programmesagainst the backdrop of aBuddhist monument completelyblanketing out the technical worldand replacing it with a dazzlingshow of traditional arts, all

drawn locally. It was a fittingfinale to an eventful year, whenBhavan stepped into the realmof a mega event manager andtraditional arts got a new leaseof life.

Other outings were ofno less value—the PallaviChandrappa birth centenary,presentation of the B. Saroja DeviNational Award to ParvathammaRajkumar, Dasara Gombe Habba,visit of Justice B. N. Srikrishna,former vice-president, BVBWorldwide to the BVB-BBMPPublic school—a flagship ventureof the Bengaluru Kendra, and thebook launch of “Rich Tradition,Richer Heritage” authored byBhavan President Sri Sunderlal G.Mehta --enhanced the dimensionsof the Kendra’s activities.

- Jyothi Raghuram

The stunning stage and backdorp of Anupu festival

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Shehnai recital : Maruti Bhajantri, tabla : Keshav Joshi

Hindustani vocal : Ayyappayya Halagalimath,tabla : Keshav Joshi, harmonium : Guruprasad Hegde

Sri. Binod Hampapur, EVP & Global Head - Talent & Technology Operations, Infosys,inaugurates Infosys Foundation Puligere Utsav at Lakshmeshwar, Gadag Dist.

PULIGERE UTSAV - 2017

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Kolata by

VirupakshappaB.

Guranavaraand troupe

Hindustani vocal : Kaivalya Kumar Gurav,tabla : Sridhar Mandre, harmonium : Dr. Sudhanshu Kulkarni

Bharatanatyaby

RatikaNrutya

Niketan,Dharwad.

PULIGERE UTSAV

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Kathakby

NoopurPerformingArt Centre,Bengaluru.

Sitar recital :Shrinivas

Joshi, tabla :Anant Hegde

Hindustani vocal : Kiran Hanagal, tabla : Sridhar Mandre, harmonium : Guruprasad Hegde

PULIGERE UTSAV

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Hindustani vocal :Ganapati Bhat Hasanagi,

tabla : Sridhar Mandre, harmonium :Dr. Vyasamurthy Katti

Bharatanatya byNritya Nikethana, Udupi.

PULIGERE UTSAV

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Bharatanatya by Nrutyanjali Nrutya Samsthe, Pune.

Sitar & flute jugalbandi : Mohasin Khan and Raghunath Badi,tabla : Ravikiran Nakod

PULIGERE UTSAV

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Hindustani vocal : Poornima Bhat Kulkarni,tabla : Vishwanath Nakod, harmonium : Vyasamurthy Katti

Hindustani vocal : Jayatheerth Mevundi,tabla : Uday Kulkarni, harmonium : Guruprasad Hegde

Bharatanatya by Natyadeepa, Sirsi.

PULIGERE UTSAV

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Bharatanatya byBharathanjali Academy for Performing Art, Davanagere.

Dr. M.S. Murthy, Chairman, Karnataka, Lalithakala Academy,inaugurating the art camp

PULIGERE UTSAV

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Artists with their works

An aerialview of

Someshwaratemple

PULIGERE UTSAV

Audiencethrong inthousands

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BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN'S M.P. BIRLA INSTITUTE OFMANAGEMENT CELEBRATES KULPATI K M MUNSHI JI'S

BIRTHDAY THROUGH A SYMBOLIC VANAMAHOTSAVAEVENT ON 30TH DECEMBER 2016

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's M.P. Birla Institute of Management celebratedKulpati K M Munshiji' birthday through a symbolic Vanamahotsava event,

an event initiated by him 66 years ago, on 30th December 2016 at Bhavan's BangaloreKendra. Dr. B N Vishwanath Former Professor University of Agricultural Sciences and

President Garden City Farmers was the Chief Guest. Sri. H N Suresh DirectorBharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bangalore Kendra and Dr. G S D Babu DirectorM.P. Birla Institute of Fundamental Research were the Guests of Honour.Prof. K L Ramadas Joint Director (HR), MPBIM presided over the event.

MPBIM students planted 2000 saplings on the Metro Corridor January 2016and intend to make it an annual event.

BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN'S M.P. BIRLA INSTITUTE OFMANAGEMENT, BENGALURU CONDUCTED INTER COLLEGIATE

MARKETING EXHIBITION ON 13TH JAN, 2017Sri. Hitesh

Kumar BajpaiManagingDirector,Balajee

FraternityManufacturingCo. Pvt. Ltd.,Dr. RajdeepManwani,

Academicianand

MotivationalSpeaker, Sri.Krishna Byre

Gowda,Hon'ble Minister of State for Agriculture, Government of Karnataka, Chief Guest at the

event, lighting the lamp, Dr. N S Viswanath Director & Principal, Sri. Pranab PaniChairman & Managing Director MTMC Medi-Info Pvt. Ltd., are seen.

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BVB-INFOSYS FOUNDATION CUTURALOUTREACH PROGRAMMES :

NOV-DEC 2016; JAN 2017.

Ninety one programmeshave been conducted and 1053artistes have performed &approximately 31000 peoplehave witnessed the programmessince the launch of BVB-Infosys Foundation OutreachCultural Programme.

Notable programmeslike Rasa Leela, Ghudki Nata,Prahallada Nataka , OdissiSangeeth and MogulTamasha were held at theOdisha Kendra ; CharadupinniKali and Ottanthullal in Kerala;Chiratala Bhajana,

“Rasa LeelaMan-Bhanjan”

by Rupa & troupe,held on Nov 5th,at Bhubaneshwar

Karrasaamu, Tatvaalu and Dappu Gathulu, KinneraVaadyam, Kommu Vaadyam in Andhra Pradesh andTelengana; Sarhad Na Sur and Rang Kusmbal at Gujaratand an extinct art - Nat - Nati inRajasthan.

ODISHA

03/10/2016 – Rasa Leela –Man Bhanjan: As a dramaticform, it is popular in the coastalareas of Odisha. Rasa Leela isdevotional in spirit and content.The young actors play and sing

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“Ghudki Nata” by Nilakantha Tarai troupe held on Dec 5th, at Bhubaneshwar

on stage. This art was patronisedby temples, Vaishnavite kings andzamindars.

17/10/2016 – Ghudki Nata& Odissi Sangeet; Ghuduki isan indigenous string musicalinstrument. This dance form hasbeen named after the instrument.Normally the dancers also sing,

playing the cylindrical shapedwooden instrument. One side ofthis instrument is covered withlizard skin. The male partner whois the central character works outvarious rhythmic patterns byplaying his fingers on the stringand the female partner dancesintermittently. The contents of the

“Prahalhad natak” by Guru.Sj.Simanchal Patra & troupeheld on Nov 21st, at Bhubaneshwar

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songs are in question and answerform. The partners make theinterrogatory form quitehumorous.

07/11/2016 – Folk TheatreDance Form – PrahallhadNatak : A dance drama writtenaround 1860 AD in Odiyaattributed to Raja Rama KrishnaDev of Jalantra, now in AndhraPradesh. This play was originallyenacted over seven nights.Now it is restricted to one.

An important aspect of thisplay is the use of the mask ofNarasingha. The mask isworshipped in the kotha ghara orin the temple. All artistes andmusicians who participated in thisplay were amateurs.

21/11/2016 – OdissiSangeet : Odissi music is a genreof classical music shaped duringthe time of Oriya poet Jayadeva,who composed mesmerizinglyrics.

“Odissi Sangeeth” by Guru Dr. Ramhari Das, held on Nov 21st, at Bhubaneshwar

Odissi Sangeeta by Guru Nimakanta Rautray & troupeheld on Dec 5th, at Bhubaneshwar

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05/12/2016 – Odissi Music:Odissi Sangeeth was presentedby Guru Panditgopala Chandra, ateacher, singer, researcher andauthor of many books on Odissimusic.

19/12/2016 – MogulTamasha : This is a satirical playon the moghuls; peculiarly thetradition of the play is confined tofew villages surrounding the townof Bhadrak in Odisha where thereis concentration of Muslimpopulation. Mogul Tamasha ismultilingual. It has songs anddialogues in Persian, Urdu,Hindi, Oriya and Bengali.

The play continues with thecharacters coming to the stageone by one. Enough humour andsatire is provided throughdialogues

KERALA

02/12/2016 –Charadupinni kali : It is performed in the suburbanareas under NedumangadTaluk of ThiruvananthapuramDistrict in Kerala. This is a folkdance similar to “ThiruvathiraKali” which itself is an elegantgroup dance by womenfolk ofKerala.

Mogul Tamasha by Sanket Cultural Association,held on Dec 19th, at Bhubhaneshwar

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Ottanthullal presented byKalamandalam Nandakumar

held on Dec 17th at

Wadakancherry

17/12/2016 –Ottanthullal : KalyanaSoungandhikam story(Sheethangan Thullal) istaken from the Vanaparvaepisode of Mahabharata,where Draupadi expressedher desire to obtain thesaugandhikam flowerwhich has a sweetfragrance. Bhima promisesto bring them to her.

“Charadu Pinni Kali” by Vithura suhruth nataka kalari & balbhavan,held on Dec 2nd, at Thiruvananthapuram

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ANDHRAPRADESH &TELENGANA.

21/12/2016 - ChiratalaBhajana, Karrasaamu andTatvaalu; This folk art is knownonly to the conventionalpractitioners of rural areas.Chiratala Bhajana was performedin its original form by artistesfrom Karimnagar District.The group held a pair ofwooden pieces chiselled and

riveted with jingling bells andmetal pieces that producedmetallic and rattling sounds.“Karrasaamu” is a popular folkform of rural Telengana.

22/12/2016 - DappuGathulu, Kinnera Vaadyamand Kommu Vaadyam :Dappu is made of goat skin andis a tambourine-like drum beatenwith sticks, creating a rhythm thatis softened only by the ankle bellsthat the 16-20 dancers wear.

Dappu Gathulu, Kinnera Vaadyam & Kommu Vaadyam by artistes from Karimnagar,Mahaboobnagar & Ananthpur, held on Dec 22nd, at Hyderabad

ChiratalaBhajana

Karrasaamu&

Tatvaaluby artistes

fromKarimnagar,

Ramagundam& Ananthpur,

held on Dec 21stat Hyderabad

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Musical programme based on ancient folk instruments from desert,designed byKaushal Chhaya, held on Nov 19th at Ahmedabad

GUJARAT

19/11/2016 - Sarhad Nasur : A unique programme basedon instruments and vocal, it was adifferent experience where ancientfolk instruments such as jodiyapava (dual flute), morchang,santar, mandolin, nobat andshehnai were presented.

20/11/2016 – RangKusmbal- Folk Literature :Ancient Gujarati folk stories in the

form of songs and katha vachikamwere presented with a flavour ofancient times.

04/12/2016 - Sakhi a devotee : Thisprogramme was performedby the students of KalamandirPerforming Arts. The presentationwas about a love story ofLord Krishna and Radha.It was about divine lovedepicted through classicaldance.

Literature based Gujarati folk stories by young students of Sukhdev Gadhvi,held on Nov 20th at Ahemedabad

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Sakhi A Devotee - Classical dance by Kalamandhir Performing Arts,held on Dec 4th, at Ahmedabad

Nat -Nati - Kalabazi by Jahar Singh and Rajki held on 15th, Dec at Jaipur

RAJASTHAN

15/12/2016 - Nat - NatiKalabazi : Here the artistesdisplay their skills in acrobatics and various acts of balancing,

concentration and coordinationinvolving synchronousmovements of all participantsThis is an ancient art of Rajasthanwhich is on the verge of extinction.

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BHAVAN-BBMP PUBLIC SCHOOLANNUAL DAY - 2017

Nursery children confidently dancing on stage

LKG children welcoming the audience

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BHAVAN-BBMP PUBLIC SCHOOLANNUAL DAY - 2017

Goa dance by LKG children .

UKG kids salute the nation.

Thumbelina,a musical,by childrenof 1st, 2nd ,

and 3rdgrades.

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BHAVAN-BBMP PUBLIC SCHOOLANNUAL DAY PICTURES - 2017

Dr. RukminiKrishnaswamy,

Director, SpasticsSociety of

Karnataka,Bengaluru,

inaugurating the5th annual day

on Dec 23.Principal

Pushpalatha S.is also seen.

Vaayuthe

Deityof Life :Grades4,5,& 6enact a play,

bringinghistory

andmythologytogether.

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BHAVAN-INFOSYS FOUNDATIONOUTREACH CULTURALPROGRAMME : DEC 2016.

veena-venu-violinveena : Shubha Santhosh, venu : Vani Manjunath, violin : Prema Vivek

mridanga : Anoor Anantha Krishna Sharma, ghata : Phaneendra Bhaskaraon Dec 24 at Indiranagara Sangeetha Sabha,

Purandara Bhavana, Bengaluru

BHAVAN-INFOSYS FOUNDATIONPROGRAMMES ATIIWC, BENGALURUDEC 2016.

Carnatic music by Adhiti B. Prahlad & party on Dec 9.

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PANDANALLUR MUTHAIAH PILLAIENDOWMENT PROGRAMME

ON DEC 29 AT BVB.

Five-year Diploma Course

Bharatiya Vidya BhavanKalabharathi : Mohiniattam

JOIN NOW :

LIMITED SEATS

Admissions are open for

Mohiniattam Classes at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.The classes will be held on

Saturday between 4pm - 6pmby

Guru K.P. Shruthi

Bharatanatya

by

Chinmayee

Kamakotika

Venkatraman,

a disciple of

Guru

Revathi Satyu

PROGRAMME :FEBRUARY - 2017

Sat 6.00 p.m. - Khincha Hall04 Gauri Shankar Endowment- an evening of Kathak recitalby students of Guru Anjana Gupta

Sat 6.00 p.m. - KRG Hall11. Dr. N.S. AnantharangacharMemorial Endowment Lecture by

Prof. Lakshmi TatacharTopic : Dr. NSA’s contributions toVishistadwaitha Vedanta andSrivaishnavism

Fri 6.00 p.m. -10. A musical feature onVidushi Sharada Dasi’sGeetha SinchanaMusic direction :VidhushiM.L. BharathiVocal :by the studentsVenue :Indian Institute of World Culture,Basavanagudi, Bengaluru.(in association with InfosysFoundation)

Tue 11.00 a.m. -07. BVB -Infosys FoundationOutreach programme :Sugama SangeethaArtists :Vocal : Harish NarasimhaTabla : M.C. SrinivasKeyboard : DushyanthRythempad : GururajCo-vocalist : Vidya MohanVenue : G.R. Education Institution,Kanakapura Road, Bengaluru

Sat 6.30 p.m. - Khincha Hall11. Horizon series -Kuchipudi danceArtist : KalaimamaniGuru Smt. Sailaja( Academy of Excellence inKuchipudi and Bharatanatya)(in association with IndianCouncil for Cultural Relations)

Fri & Sat 10.00 a.m. - Khincha Hall24 & 25. A two-day Nationalseminar about Art and Philosophy

with reference to Kannada cinema,

Sri.T.S. Nagabharana, Coordinator.In collaboration with Indian Council

for Philosophical Research,

New Delhi

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February - 2017

BOOK POST

JYOTHI RAGHURAM