Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Colourful Yakshagana saris now for anyone’s wardrobe

June 8, 2020Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economyadmin

George Amanna weaving a Kase sari in Udupi. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Efforts are on to make and market Kase saris — which have colourful bold checks and are traditionally worn by Yakshagana (Badagathittu) artistes — to suit any woman’s wardrobe.

The Karkala-based Kadike Trust, which has been working to popularise the Udupi sari, which enjoys the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, is now doing the same with Kase sari, which come in bright shades of yellow, red and black checks.

“Some decades ago, the late Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, founder of the Crafts Council of India, who was attracted to the Kase sari, visited Manjunath Shettigar of Brahmavar, a master weaver, and collected some samples,” said Mamatha Rai, trustee of Kadike Trust.

A couple of years back, the Crafts Council of India sought a couple of saris for exhibition at a national conference in Manipal. It was then that the trust decided to encourage weavers to weave Kase sari, which is being marketed as “Yaksha Udupi Sari”. “The marketing of this sari is fetching better returns for weavers and we are sharing profits with them,” Ms. Rai said.

At present, about five weavers from three primary weavers’ cooperative societies (at Brahmavar, Shivally, and Talipady) weave these saris. “The Kase sari worn by Yakshagana artistes is 8.25 metres long. But we are getting it weaved for 5.5 metres with a pallu. We presently have orders for weaving 50 saris,” Ms. Rai said.

Use of social media

The trust has been using social media to popularise these special saris. It is also encouraging weavers’ societies in Udupi district to take up weaving of this sari and is facilitating its marketing.

George Amanna, 68, a weaver, said the initiative to popularise Kase sari was laudable at a time when the demand for handloom saris was low. “I hope the trend of wearing Kase sari catches on,” he said.

Shashikanth Kotiyan, secretary, Shivally Primary Weavers Service Cooperative Society, Udupi, said the society had weaved about 70 Kase saris (of 5.5 metres length) and supplied them to the trust for marketing so far.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Ganesh Prabhu / Udupi – June 08th, 2020

Kannada actor Chiranjeevi Sarja passes away

June 7, 2020Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, Alladmin

Chiranjeevi Sarja is a grandson of actor Shakthi Prasad who he is the maternal uncle of Arjuna Sarja and brother of Dhruva Sarja.

Bengaluru :

Chiranjeevi Sarja, one of the action heroes of Kannada film industry, passed away after he suffered a heart attack here on Sunday.

The 39-year-old actor was declared dead at Apollo Hospital, Ashoka Pillar, Jayanagar.

Chiranjeevi Sarja is a grandson of actor Shakthi Prasad who is the maternal uncle of Arjuna Sarja and brother of Dhruva Sarja.

He married actor Meghana Raj in 2018.

He made his debut with ‘Vayuputra’ at the age of 22 and worked in films like ‘Chiru’, ‘Dandam Dashagunam’, ‘Kempe Gowda’, ‘Varadanayaka, Whistle’, ‘Chandralekha’, ‘Singhaa, Khakhi’.

He last appeared in the movie ‘Shivarajuna’, and was working on ‘Raja Marthanda’, ‘April Ranam’, Kshatriya and ‘Dheeram’.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Entertainment> Kannada / by Express News Service / January 07th, 2020

Kannada’s first journal

June 6, 2020Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

The editor of Mangaluru Samachara, which started in 1843, was Hermann Mogling, a christian missionary

Mangaluru Samachara is the first printed newspaper/periodical/journal in Kannada language. The first issue of this journal was published on July 1, 1843. It was known popularly as Kagada (Kagada in Kannada is paper) This was being published every fortnight, on the first and 15th of every month. Hermann Mogling was the editor of this fortnightly and is known as the father of Kannada journalism.

Mogling who was a Christianity missionary at the Christianity Religion Preaching Camp was known as an a servant of Christ. Coorg, Dharwad and Mangalore were the areas of his fieldwork. Mogling was in India from 1836 to 1860. Though he was offered a well-furnished bungalow by the highest Christrian order, he did not accept it and was staying in a hut. He travelled the entire Karnataka by foot and mingled with common folk. He had renounced life of and lived in tiny villages in a very simple way. He had acquired profound knowledge of Latin, Greek, German, Sanskrit and Kannada languages.

Born on May 29, 1811 at Franch Hyme, Germany, Mogling was awarded a doctoral degree in 1834 at the young age of 23. He worked in the field of Textual Criticism, Journalism, Reformation of Scripts, Folklore, Publication, Christianity and Education in Kannada. He has reformed Kannada script and has published Dasara Padagalu in 1850, and Rajendranaame in 1857 in the reformed script. He has edited and published in 1851, Kannada Bharatha of Kumaravyasa, the magnum opus of Kannada language. All these three books are printed in Litho Press. In addition to the above three books, he has edited and published Chennabasava Purana and Kannada Gadegalu (1847), Jaimini Bharatha (1848), Torave Ramayana (1849), Basava Purana (1851), Coorg Memories (1852), and Tulu Padthangalu. He has translated some portions of Kannada Bharatha and 12 Dasara Keerthanegalu into German Language. Apart from these, he has written many books on Christianity. Besides, he has published a Kannada Almanac (Ephemeris) for the year of Christ 1858, known as Kristashaka 1858, Kannada Panchangavu.

This fortnightly Mangaluru Samachara, which came as a first issue on July 1, 1843 from Mangalore, stopped its publication in 1844 and the 16th and last issue was published on February 15, 1844. All the 16 issues were printed from the Basel Mission Litho Press which belonged to Evangelical Mission, Mangalore. This same journal was published as Kannada Samachara from Bellary commencing from March 1, 1844 till it stopped in January 1845. Mangaluru Samachara was priced one pie, and under its mast head it said: ‘This paper is available for sale in Yajamana Appanna’s house which is opposite to Kotvalara Katte.’ It is also available at the school where Mogling works, near Taluk Office, Mangalore.

Writing about the content of the journal, he says: News of the Town, Government Orders, News of all States, New Surprise/Strange News, Other/others happenings, preachings, Stories, Authentic news sent by readers, Proverbs, and Songs of Purandaradasa. These are the classification of news items being printed in the Journal. Each issue contained a moral story from Panchatantra, and Mogling believed that the Journal should only publish truth, it should cater to the needs of all sections of society without compromising, and the journal should give good but not cheap entertainment. Interesting thing is the Journal improved qualitatively from issue to issue.

“Mangaloreans and native people are interested in hearing and telling stories and news. Since news is mostly distorted, it was decided that genuine news should be collected, and it should be priced low.”

In the last issue of Mangaluru Samachara, Feb 15, 1844, Mogling says that “people from Mangalore, Mysore, Tumkur, Bellary, Shimoga, Hubli, Sirsi and Honnavara subscribed to the journal. Henceforth, it will be printed in Letter Press at Bellary. People from all corners of the Kannada State can read this paper easily and clearly. In addition to this, people will get space to write and send more News, History, Educational Lessons and good sayings.” Next issue itself was Kannada Samachara, which ran till about Jan 1845.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Art / by K. S. Madhu Sudhana / June 06th, 2020

South Western Railways distributes emergency food packets and Channapatna toys to migrant worker families

May 31, 2020Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, Alladmin

Raushan Kumar, Divisional Commercial Manager, Bengaluru Division, South Western Railways, speaks about the Gantway Sathi Aahar and Put The Smile Back initiatives

“The train got delayed when we were about to reach Bihar. A route that should have taken two hours took 12. We were supposed to reach at 6 pm, but we arrived at 3 am,” says Sanjeev Kumar, a migrant worker who left this month from Bengaluru. “Had it not been for the emergency food packets provided to us at the Bangalore railway station, I don’t know what we would have done. We also received free servings of chitranna at Vishakhapatnam and upma at Vijayawada.”

The idea for Gantway Sathi Aahar (friend till destination) initiative, which provides emergency food packets in addition to cooked food, came to Raushan Kumar (27), Divisional Commercial Manager, Bengaluru Division, South Western Railways. Akhil Bhartiya Ekta Manch, United Sikhs, and IITians4India provided assistance in this endeavour. “Since trains were getting delayed, the migrant workers needed food packets that would sustain them during their journey,” says Raushan. That is when the idea for emergency food packets emerged. Bengaluru-based Sudhanshu Garg and Bikesh, alumnus of IIT Mumbai, and members of IIT4India, wanted to take action to help migrant workers instead of lamenting and criticising. Sudhanshu decided to speak with Raushan to see what they could do. “IITians4India is a group of IIT volunteers working on short term and long term high impact projects through the support of IITians across the globe,” says Sudhanshu. “Their first project is ‘Combat Food Bags for Migrants’ led by alumni of IIT Bombay, Bikesh and me. It started when the team wanted to do something to help the migrants as they commute. Sudhanshu reached out to the Railways department and that is how we contributed.”

Gantway Sathi Aahar food packets were thus provided in addition to cooked food. “They have a shelf life of more than three days and contain friend-till-destination food pack with litti (a delicacy in Bihar), four pieces of onion and green chillis, four buns, two one litre water bottles, two tetrapacks of juice, one biscuit packet, 250 grams of papdi namkin, two bananas and two chocolates. There were complaints that due to intense heatwaves migrant workers are suffering from dehydration. “So we have started to give one sachet of ORS (oral rehydration solution) to vulnerable sections, particularly lactating mothers, children and other women passengers,” says Raushan.

Considering the hardships migrant workers have faced ever since lockdown, with their arduous journey back home, either walking for thousands of kilometres without any money, food or water, or travelling packed in buses and trains, Raushan decided they could do more to uplift their spirits. “That is when we introduced the ‘Put The Smile Back’ initiative, in which we distribute Channapatna toys to children of the migrant workers. This way we not only uplift their spirits but also rejuvenate the local business of Channapatna toy makers. I had received a letter of appreciation from the Channapatna Toy Makers Association. Till now we have purchased toys worth ₹1 lakh. I am also trying to promote the toys in other states too. We have received orders from officers in Rajasthan, Pune and Ranchi.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society / by Sravasti Datta / May 30th, 2020

Mangalore musicians Ashwin Shriyan and Nishith Hegde come up with new single

May 31, 2020Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, Alladmin

Ashwin and Nishith, apart from composing jingles, have worked with several Hindi film singers

Ashwin Shriyan and Nishith Hegde have known each other since 2010. The two were a part of their respective metal bands then. The former as a bassist-producer-composer and the latter, primarily a guitarist. And, they have been working together on and off until last year when they started Nash Productions that primarily makes ad jingles. The musicians from Mangalore never released a single. One wonders why it took a decade and a pandemic to release their first, ‘Ye Pal’, which will be out on major audio streaming platforms in the first week of June.

Ashwin clarfies, “We were actually done with composing a year ago. We planned to make a bunch of songs, approach a director and get into film music. We had some ad work, which stalled the release. When we saw a lot of independent musicians releasing their tracks, we got inspired and decided we’ll release this one.”

He got the idea for ‘Ye Pal’ after watching The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) wherein the protagonist Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller), who is used to a monotonous life, sets out on an extraordinary adventure. The song, too, is kind of a dream-realising act for Ashwin and Nishith.

Nishith, who has sung the song, says, “I immediately liked the idea of the song when Ashwin told me about it. We have always been working on others’ ideas or creative inputs. For the first time, we were doing something that was our own.” Ashwin’s friend Shardul Yadav wrote the lyrics and another friend, Prasanna Suresh, programmed the song.

“It was easier for us to work on a song than to make jingles,” says Nishith. “Song-writing is something that comes naturally to us. With jingles, the message is more important. You are supposed to convey a certain emotion within a short time. A song on the other hand gives you more freedom.”

Ashwin and Nishith have worked on jingles for brands including Mastercard, Cadbury India, Renault and Van Huesen. The duo, apart from composing jingles, have worked with several Hindi film musicians including Amit Mishra, Siddharth Mahadevan, Akasa Singh, Jonita Gandhi and Nikita Gandhi.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Praveen Sudevan / May 26th, 2020

Tulu poems and renditions trending on Facebook

May 31, 2020Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, Alladmin

A screenshot of the #Tulukabhite campaign started by writer-cum-artiste Shashiraj Kavoor on Facebook.

It Is not just #samyochane [a campaign initiated by music composer Pravin D. Rao] that is trending on Facebook. #Tulukabithe, by writer-cum-artiste Shashiraj Kavoor, is catching the attention of poets, writers, singers and music lovers on the social networking site.

The campaign was started by Mr. Kavoor on April 23 inviting writers to upload their poems, to which musicians are responding in their style.

The campaign features not just new poems but even those of well-known writers such as Kayyar Kiyanna Rai, Amruth Someshwar and Mandara Keshava Bhat.

Mr. Kavoor, an advocate and who has been a lyricist for many Tulu films and has two Tulu poem collections to his credit, said that the idea of starting the campaign came to him after he saw how two of his Kannada poems were rendered by four singers in the #samyochane campaign.

“This made me start the present campaign to showcase the richness of Tulu literature. Apart from a new touch to the popular Tulu poems, singers have presented new poems in a way that reflects the ethos of this land,” he said and appreciated the support of 20,000 friends [on Facebook] for the success of the campaign.

“Some of the videos of the songs posted on my FB wall have more than 2,000 views,” he said.

Among the songs with a good number of views include the Tulu lullaby Tunkuve Tottil… by Narayana Kille sung by Supriya Raghunandan. Songs by Pallavi Prabhu, Ravindra Prabhu, Muralidhar Kamat, Pramod Sapre and “Mime” Ramdas have also been well received.

“I am continuing this campaign till the end of the lockdown. Anybody with interest in Tulu art and music can take part,” he added.

____________________________

Shashiraj Kavoor started #Tulukabithe after two of his poems were rendered on #samyochane campaign

_____________________________

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Raghava M / Mangaluru – May 29th, 2020

Ananya Cultural Academy celebrates its silver jubilee

May 28, 2020Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, Alladmin

Founder RV Raghavendra speaks of the exhaustive library, the 2,500 programmes in the last 25 years and the help extended to musicians during the lockdown

RV Raghavendra, founder of the Ananya Cultural Academy, which turns 25 today, (May 27) was disturbed by the plight of musicians and performers who had no means of earning a livelihood during the lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Raghavendra organized financial assistance to deserving artists helping nearly 105 artistes throughout Karnataka. “We will be disbursing around ₹12 lakh to people connected with music, dance, folk arts and light music. We have distributed ₹7 lakh from March.”

The monetary help was possible through donations from Raghavendra, Ananya’s Arogyadhara Medical Help Scheme and through donations. “Just one announcement on Facebook garnered an unprecedented response from the music-loving public.”

Ananya is a self-funded, non-profit cultural organization. It was established in 1995 to propagate and nurture different art forms. Jnanpith Awardee Dr. UR Ananthamurthy was its founder-chairman. Since its inception, Ananya has been working in the fields of music, dance, literature and painting.

“Our activities are multi-dimensional. We organise music, dance and visual art (Ananya Drishya) shows. We have individual performances, festivals, lec-dems, workshops, thematic programmes and interactive sessions. We have a well-defined space for young and upcoming artistes. With artist SG Vasudev as the present chairman, we look back at over 2,500 programmes in the last 25 years.”

After a Masters in Geology from University of Mysore in 1973, Raghavendra obtained PhD in Geo-Chemistry from IISC in Bengaluru. He established Geological and Metallurgical Laboratories (GML), an industrial test house for various industrial materials, in 1980. “The profits from the business helped me run Ananya all these years.”

Born in 1952 in Chitradurga to RN Viprakallachar and Susheela Bai, Raghavendra says though he does not come from a musical background, his mother’s informal renderings of devotional songs at home did have a strong bearing on his personality. “After moving to Mysore for my Post Graduation, I started attending concerts. Coming to Bangalore only increased my craving for all genres of music and dance. I soon became a member of every possible music club in the city.”

Ananya has been publishing Ananya Kalasinchana, a music magazine in English for 23 years. The magazine is now available for free online. “My wife, Pramila Bai, a former professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at IISc, helps me run the magazine. We have articles on music, dance, literature and interviews. We have a 7,000-strong subscription base.”

Raghavendra has over the years collected books, audio-clips and photos of classical musicians. To make the collection accessible to the public he started Ananya Sangraha, a reference library, in West Park Road, Malleswaram. “People who attended our concerts at Ananya auditorium in Malleswaram were encouraged to make use of the material at Ananya Sangraha.”

The collection includes nearly 15,000 hours of live programmes and rare recordings by yesteryear and present day artistes. “I started collecting music three decades ago. Audio recordings such as composer Mysore Vasudevachar’s vocal rendering of kritis, Mysore composers’ Javalis, pieces by Mallikarjun Mansur, Violin Chowdiah, Veena Doreswamy Iyengar, Rudrapatnam RK Srikantan, Alathur Brothers, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Lalgudi and MSG amongst others are part of the collection. We have digitised almost 6,000 hours of music as of now. Music from South Asian countries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal in several dialects are part of the collection, which has music in nearly 25 languages.”

Ananya Sangraha also has a vast collection of books — nearly 10,000 titles including rare ones such as a Kannada translation of Subbarama Dikshitar’s Sangeeta Sampradaya Pradarshini by Anandarama Udupa and edited by SK Ramachandra Rao. “This is one of Dikshitar’s greatest works. Practicing musicians, theorists, editors and publishers have continuously drawn inspiration from it. We are lucky to have this monumental work in translation.” Ananya also has the work of nearly 50 composers, books on instrument playing techniques and sahitya (lyrics) ideologies.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Art / by Ranjani Govind / May 27th, 2020

Bengaluru-based violinist becomes vocal against corporates for asking free services from musicians

May 26, 2020Arts, Culture & Entertainmentadmin

At a time when artistes have found themselves in a precarious financial position, this hasn’t gone down well with many.

Bengaluru :

Exposure doesn’t pay bills’ is what up and coming artistes retort when they are asked to play pro bono. But this is something renowned classical musicians have also been facing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

At a time when artistes have found themselves in a precarious financial position, this hasn’t gone down well with many. Taking up the issue, violinist-composer Dr Jyotsna Srikanth, who is also the artistic director of London International Arts Festival, has lashed out on social media against corporates and event management companies for asking artistes to play for free.

“They want to either promote their own page or ask us to perform as part of a recreational activity for their employees. They even refuse to include a digital tip-jar where the viewers can contribute as per their wish to the artiste,” says the medical doctor-turned-musician who has also played the violin for nearly 300 films under music directors like Ilaiyaraaja.

Srikanth recalls how two weeks ago, she was invited to perform by an organisation for their members and she asked them to include a tip jar. “They agreed. But five minutes before going live, they said it should be a free performance. Is this fair? If this is happening to senior musicians, what about upcoming ones?,” she wonders.

According to Manasi Prasad, classical vocalist and museum director, Indian Music Experience, this expectation to perform free for exposure existed even earlier, and has only amplified now. “The idea began during the lockdown when we thought this would encourage people to stay indoors. But now it seems the assumption is that free online concerts will continue indefinitely,” says Prasad, who points out that while some artistes are uncomfortable with the idea of tip jars, seeing it as a compromise on dignity, it could benefit others.

“If the artiste is comfortable with it, then it should be considered,” she asserts. While musician Praveen D Rao has heard of these instances, he looks at it differently. “For many, this is the only source of livelihood. Until now, online concerts were a small part of a musician’s life. I feel these shows are a trial run for bigger concerts. For instance, there was an online show recently where 49 artistes performed, and this was to be showcased to sponsors for a bigger festival in August,” he says.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Vidya Iyengar / Express News Service / May 24th, 2020

Corona Bandaite Jopaana: Folk Song On Coronavirus Goes Viral

May 26, 2020Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, Alladmin

Mysore/Mysuru:

A song written, composed and sung by a College Lecturer with a folk touch on Coronavirus has gone viral. Dr. Vijayalakshmi Manapur, a lecturer working in Maharaja’s College in city, has not only written the song titled ‘Corona Bandaite Jopaana,’ she has also composed music and sung the folk song much to the delight of people living in rural areas and as a result, the song has become an instant hit in social media.

Her husband P. Premkumar Wellington, whose mother-tongue is Tamil, has also translated the song into Tamil (Coronavin Karappu Nilal) and has sung the Tamil version. And their son P. Pranil has sung the Hindi version (Corona Mahamari Ka). All the three versions of this composition are popular now.

Dr. Vijayalakshmi is an expert on folk and teaches folk subjects in her College. “Over 80 percent of our population live in rural areas. I wanted to create awareness about this deadly virus among rural folk. I thought folk tune would be a good idea and hence wrote the song, composed the music with folk touch and sung it. This song has now reached rural households in Karnataka,” she said.

The Tamil version of the same song has also been a hit. Her husband Premkumar, who works in Mysore Akashavani, is delighted about this. Interestingly, the Hindi version of the song sung by their son Pranil has now reached other parts of the country through their friends in Delhi, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / May 24th, 2020

Writer Shantadevi Kanavi dead

May 25, 2020Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, Alladmin

Veteran short-story writer and thinker Shantadevi Kanavi died at the KLE hospital in Belagavi on Friday. She was 88. She was the wife of writer Channaveera Kanavi.

Her stories have been translated into English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. They routinely found their way into anthologies that became part of university textbooks.

She hailed from Vijayapura and settled in Dharwad after marriage to Mr. Kanavi. She received awards from Karnataka Sahitya Akademi and the Dana Chintamani Attimmabbe Puraskara of the State Government.

She leaves behind nonagenarian Mr. Kanavi, five children, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren and friends.

Mangala Metgud, president of the Belagavi zilla Kannada Sahitya Parishat, has expressed grief at the death of the senior writer.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Belagavi – May 23rd, 2020

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