By: Jaya Ramesh, Team Mangalorean

Muscat November 17, 2009: Come November 19th 2009, Muscat will reverberate to the artistic resonance of the ballet troupe Prabhat Kalavidaru, Bengaluru, India.  The Karnataka Wing of the Indian Social Club is presenting this spectacular event to the Indian Expatriate community in Oman.

Innovations, like inventions, add spice and can enhance any presentation, without altering the original essence and flavor of a performance.  This is exactly what the Bengaluru based artistic team of Prabhat Kalavidaru strives to retain and each and everyone watching their performance will vouch for this.  Embellished with varied themes, their dance ballets are exquisite creations wherein each time, small minor changes are executed to result in a successful presentation.

The onset of Prabhat Kalavidaru Festival will herald a cultural renaissance from the pure classical form to a blend of fusion amalgamated from other folk and dance forms.  The trio ballets that are scheduled to be held in Muscat this week are Karnataka Vaibhava, Punyakoti and Kindarajogi.  They will throw light on the detailed nuances of the troupe and will fulfill many artistic expectations of a discerning Muscat audience.

The main artists of the troupe, Harish and Deepashri Harish met with Team Mangalorean and spoke about their artistic aspirations and accomplishments, and most of all about the passionate bond that kept them connected to the Prabhat Kalavidaru ballet troupe of Bengaluru. Harish and Deepashri are not only married to each other but also to their art and in both cases its a full-fledged committment.

On their performances

Apart from India (both North and South), the Prabhat Kalavidaru Bengaluru has performed in Kuwait, Singapore, Malaysia and the USA.  Harish reminisces on a proud moment when the troupe was given a standing ovation for 15 minutes in Chicago.  It is moments like these that make it all worthwhile, he says.  One of their ballets ‘Cinderella,’ is a western ballet that has been adapted to Kannada and speaks of the universal message of the triumph of good over evil.  It is difficult to perform this ballet abroad as it involves the transportation of countless props, which is why it has been performed only 1500 times as opposed to their other ballets which Harish says have been performed over 10,000 times.  A formidable number indeed.  Speaking of numbers, the Prabhat team, has the unique distinction of giving over one lakh performances to packed audiences all over the world.  The ballets are performed in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, English and Sanskrit, depending on the State and Country in which they are performed.  Deepashri says she has gained a tremendous amount of dance training from this troupe and is happy to perform with them. She was of the opinion that it is vital to understand the nuances of each character prior to acting out the role. Harish and Deepashri both act in Kannada serials, yet they both vouch that its theatre that brings them that creative satisfaction.

The Artistic Lineage

It all began in the year 1930 in Tumkur, Karnataka when four dynamic revolutionaries started a theatre workshop and sowed the seeds for the growth of Prabhat Kalavidaru.  The process of artistic evolvement still continues under the experienced direction of T.V. Gopinathdas, its pioneer and Harish’s grandfather. As Harish puts it “Even as far back as 1930, my grandfather used innovative techniques in lighting, sound, music and costumes, techniques that we use even today, though technically we have improvised hugely to suit more modern trends.” The Director T.V. Gopinathdas is supported by Dance Choreographer Hema Panchmukhi who is an exponent of Bharat Natyam and trains all the artists on the show.  Music for the ballets is provided by Mysore Ananthaswamy and conducted by T.G. Venkateshachar.

Audience Response  

The audience for all the ballets that have been staged so far has been overwhelmingly responsive, says Harish.  Unlike when you go to watch a movie, a theatre audience is infinitely more selective and it is very satisfying to see a sizeable number of youngsters who come for the shows and appreciate them.  Harish explains that in India, they don’t advertise neither do they give press releases.  All it takes is a hoarding in front of the theatre to announce the date of the show and the auditorium is packed to its capacity.  Answering a query on performances in Mangalore, Harish said they had performed both in Mangalore and Udupi and found the audience to be very artistically supportive.

Future Plans for the troupe

Harish opines that so far their ballets have been based on Harikathas and mythological backgrounds.  He also says that though they haven’t touched upon any social subjects as yet, they have done a ballet where they highlighted the importance of nature and the environment. Future plans include branching out into historical subjects, for example concentrating on the great historical figures of Karnataka. 

With all the major challenges behind them, the Prabhat Kalavidaru Bengaluru is all set for their maiden performance in Muscat on Thursday, November 19th 2009 at the Oman Auditorium, Al Bustan Palace Intercontinental Muscat.  The people of Karnataka who are residing in Muscat are all set to welcome the artists of this spectacular ballet troupe from their hometown.  The countdown begins now and ends on the above date at 6 pm.