Gudiya Sambhrama held at Hanumanth nagar , Anjaneya temple on the 13th of March 2011 was organised by Heritage Centre, a non-profitable organization. This performance was part of a series of performances spread over a period of four months at various temples of Bangalore.
Rukmini Vijay Kumar performing Bharathnatyam. Pic: Veena Basavarajaiah
It was a delight to see all the children sitting in the front row with their attention glued to a puppet show instead of a television set on a sunday evening. The show presented by Dhaatu puppet theatre on the story of Bhakta Prahalada with colorful properties and puppets had the magic of live animation.
Mridula Rao performing Kathak. Pic: Veena Basavarajaiah
The evening also featured solo performances by Mridula Rao (Kathak) and Rukmini Vijaykumar (Bharatanatyam) who engaged the audience with their stunning stage presence and effective execution of movement.The concluding performance, a recital by Jayanthi (Veena) & Kumaresh (Violin) was a musical treat for all the listeners. Indian classical music and dance has originated and flourished in temples since time immemorial.
In the past temples were breeding grounds of art, education , cultural and communal spirit. Since art moved to the king’s court and then on to the stage it has also distanced itself from a lay man’s life considerably. Gudiya Sambhrama took an initiative of educating the audience about the historical significance of many monuments and structures of Bangalore. The performance not only reintroduced art and cultural activities in a community space but also made art more reachable and affordable for people from different strata of the society.
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Since it was a “temple festival”, I wonder how many out of the 108 karanas were there in Rukmini Vijaykumar’s performance. Can we compare her “effective execution of movement” with something like this: http://bit.ly/fSZzLj