Kuwait: TKK celebrated its 15th Anniversary with grandeur during the “Tulu Parba 2015” held at the American International School on 30 October, 2015. The chief guests to the event were the Ambassador of India to Kuwait – Sunil Jain, Khaled Al-Saif and Valerian D’sa. Guest artistes who came from India included Sujayendra Hande – who hails from a very illustrious family of Yakshgana, Sumangala Rathnakar – a gifted Natya Vidushi in both Yakshagana and Bhartanatyam form, Umesh Mijar – a renowned name in Tulu Drama, Laksmeesh Gangimatta – a versatile actor and well-known musician Shreenath Anchan.
The event was inaugurated with the lighting of the lamp by the Managing and Advisory Committee members along with the event sponsor Nilesh and with the release of a souvenir. It was followed by the grand procession which displayed the unique feel of Tulunadu. The audience was then welcomed by the Vice President of Tulu Koota Kuwait, Harish Bhandary.
The cultural activities began with a welcome dance from Heart Beatz, followed by the spectacular semi-classical fusion of Ras Leela by Upasana dance studio. Tulu Nadu folk festival, directed by guest artiste Sumangala Rathnakar by Tulu Sir Kids, displayed an impressive amalgamation. It was very interesting to see the kids dance on Chinnara Yakshagana Natya Vaibhav and Yakshagana Vaibhav by Sujayendra Hande and the Tulu Siri Kids. The extravagance of the contemporary fusion dance drama of Jesus, the Muslim Traditional Folk Dance and the Yakshgana Natya Jugalbandi were performed by Sujayendra Hande and Sumangala Rathnakar.
The chief guests then honoured the guest artistes, committee members namely Swarna Shetty, Ramesh Kidiyoor, Mohd Iqbal, Yadunath Alva and Ramesh Bhandary. Scholarships were given to the deserving students and the sponsors were also honored. The audience were left spell bound with the glamour of the South Indian Classical Jugalbandi, and the patriotic dance by Heart Beats and Upasana dance group.
The audience was in splits, entertained by the Tulu comedy drama “Network Tikkuji”. The drama was written by Dinakar Bhandary and directed by Umesh Mijar. The acting skills of the local artistes were at par with those of professionals and it showed in their overall performances.
The event was ably compered by Prajwal D’Mello and Manoj Shetty, while the felicitation was conducted by Dr Preethi Shetty. The lights and sound were given by Zain Events while the photography and videography was done by Snipers Clickz. The programme was well coordinated by cultural secretary Sathish Acharya.
The programme concluded with the presentation of tokens of appreciation to the drama artistes and the National Anthem.