Stars Including Mangaluru Mayor Kavitha to attend ‘Kannada Vaibhava 2017’ in Bahrain
Bahrain: Preparations are at full swing for the Kannada Vaibhava 2017, a festival of the rich culture and heritage of the Indian state of Karnataka, to be held on November 24, at the Cultural Hall, Marina.
The mega event will also celebrate the Kannada Rajyotsava (anniversary of statehood) and the 40th anniversary of the formation of Kannada Sangha Bahrain.
The annual festival, organised by Kannada Sangha Bahrain, will be participated by top artistes from Karnataka and more than 50 talented members of the Sangha.
Chief guest at the event will be the Indian Ambassador to Bahrain, Alok Kumar Sinha. Veteran Kannada actor Devaraj and the popular Mayor of Mangalore City Corporation Kavita Sanil will be the honoured guests at the celebration. Actress Chandralekha Devaraj, wife of Devaraj will also attend the event as the honoured guest.
Versatile-Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi artiste Rekha Satish and multi-faced dance performer Sujay Shanbhag will be flown from Bengaluru for this event. Multi-talented young Akshatha Kudla from Mangalore will also showcase her various acts at the festival.
The show is free to attend to those who are interested in Karnataka and India culture. The event will start at 5 pm.
The Sangha artistes will present traditional and semi-classical dances as well as a dance drama. There will be a variety of entertainment shows, participated by children and adults as well.
“This is a golden opportunity for people to witness the rich cultural heritage of Karnataka in Bahrain. We will attempt to give a glimpse of the grandeur (Vaibhava) of our tradition during the show,” said Sangha president Pradeep Shetty.
“This is also a special occasion for all Sangha members as the Sangha is celebrating the 40th year of its formation. The event will be the highlight of the all-year celebrations,” he said.
Kavita Sanil, a national karate champion, is hitting headlines as a politician too. She is the popular Mayor of the coastal city of Mangalore and is making news as a tough taskmaster. Sanil, who entered politics in 2002, headed various committees of the corporation, helping to address the city’s needs. She is also currently the state Women’s Congress General Secretary.
Before entering politics, Sanil made a name as a Karate champion. She has been the national champion in Karate from 1992 to 2008 and brought the first international gold medal in this sport for India. Having won several national and international competitions, she has amassed 58 gold medals. She is also a powerlifting and weightlifting champion too. She has the national record in powerlifting 320kg. For her service to the sports field, she was awarded the Karnataka Rajyotsava award in 2004. Recently, once again she has bagged the Gold in the National Karate Championship held at Mangalore.
Devaraj, popularly known as the “Dynamic Hero”, has featured in more than 200 films playing various roles. He has also featured in Tamil and Telugu films. Devaraj, a well-known theatre artiste too, has won many awards including the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor for his portrayal as the protagonist in the film ‘Veerappan’ in 1991. His notable performances include ‘Aaganthuka’, ‘Navabharatha’ and ‘Indrajith’.
His wife Chandralekha Devaraj is one of the talented artistes of Kannada film Industry. She has acted in more than 7 Kannada Films. Arambha, Kendadha Male, Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma were her successful films.
Rekha Satish is a versatile Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi artiste, a teacher, choreographer and Yoga practitioner. She has mastered the traditional art forms for the last 25 years, initially at Kuchipudi Art Academy Chennai and later from Manju Bhargavi. She is at present perusing new innovations under Kishore Mosalikanti Chennai.
Rekha is an empanelled artiste for Doordarshan and Ministry of Culture. She has performed at many major festivals such as Khajuraho, Uday Shankar Festival, Hampi Utsav, Mysore Dasara, Soorya Festival, etc. She has been a judge of many top dance competitions including the Kerala Samajam competitions held in Bahrain; Hidden Idol dance competitions – Chennai and Bangalore Final Rounds; the All Kerala Medical College Dance Competitions held in Calicut.
Sujay Shanbhag began his journey as an artiste at a tender age of six. He started with his tutelage under the legendary Bharatanatyam exponent Dr Vasundhara Doraswamy of Mysuru. He has won many firsts in state-level competitions. His versatility covers playing mridangam, singing Carnatic vocal, performing Yakshagana, Kalaripayattu and staging dramas.
His interest also covers choreography, designing costumes and photography. He runs a trust for the promotion of Indian art and culture in North Karnataka. He has participated in various dance festivals like Kinkini Festival, Mysore Dasara, Hampi Utsav, apart from recitals at Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Agra, Mathura, Salem and other cities.
Another artiste from India, who will perform during the show is young Akshatha Kudla, a versatile talent who excels in mimicry, singing, mime, drama and dance.
She has participated in World Tulu Festival in 2014 and Alva’s Vishwa Nudisiri Viraasath 2013. She has won the Mangalore University Prathibha Puraskara in 2013 and the first place in state-level Youth Festival.