Nov 09 2024 to Nov 09 2024 2 p.m.

EVENT HAS ENDED

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Kannada | 70 mins | Suitable for all ages

How many Ramayanas? A hundred, two hundred, three hundred and so on. A.K. Ramanujan, a multilingual scholar, wrote an essay “Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation” which scholarly narrates the existence of many Ramayanas in India and in South Asian countries. This play could be one amongst them, and this production is inspired by this essay.

Throughout the Valmiki Ramayana, Sri Rama occupies the central stage as the main character. Many folk versions of Ramayanas (Chitrapata Ramayana, Ravana Chaya etc.) narrate the story of Sita. She occupies the centre stage. In Adbhuta Ramayana, Sita is the protagonist. She is not only a manifestation of Goddess Lakshmi but also the first force of creation known as Prakruti (Nature). Sita is the focus of the story rather than Rama, and it seeks to establish the greatness, courage, valour, strength, power, and potential of Womanhood which are traditionally so cherished. Sri Rama fails to subdue and vanquish Shatakhanta Ravana, who was ten times more powerful than his younger sibling Dashakhanta Ravana. Sita defeats this great demon and restores peace on earth by eliminating the courage of all evil-mongering demons representing vices and perversions.

Based on Kandagal Hanamanta Rao’s Company Drama
Directed by Rajani Garud
Adapted for Puppetry by Prakash Garud
Music by Raghava Kammar
Produced by Gombe Mane (Puppet House), Dharwad

About Gombe Mane/Puppet House:

Puppet House is a practicing centre for both theatre and puppetry. Founded in 1996 by Theatre Practitioners, Dr Prakash Garud and Rajani Garud, it has produced dramas and puppet plays for the last 25 years, with nearly 50 plays and 15 puppet plays to its credit. It regularly conducts theatre and puppetry workshops for children and young artists in Dharwad and other parts of the state. The core group is trained in theatre basically.

Puppet House has undertaken several collaborative projects with the support of various organizations. It collaborated on an art project with the financial support of the India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore, developing leather puppetry for contemporary audiences, particularly children. It also undertook an art education project for primary school children with support from the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai. Additionally, it has participated in puppetry festivals and training programs organized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi. The Central Ministry of Culture Department, New Delhi and the Department of Kannada and Culture, Bengaluru have supported its theatre and puppetry endeavours.

Some of Puppet House’s notable productions include plays like Mahamayi, Anjumallige, Shivaratri, Andhayug, King Lear, and children’s plays such as Panjara Shale, Pushparaani, and Emperor’s New Clothes. Its puppet plays comprise Gardhabha Manushya Prahasana, Hakki Haadu, Red Flower, Akata Vikata Vilakshana, Papu Bapu and Adbhuta Ramayana.

Puppet House has actively participated in various festivals and events across India, including Bahurupi Festival Rangayana Mysuru (2007), Dharwad Utsav (2008), IFA Puppetry Workshop in New Delhi (2007), Putul Yatra in New Delhi and Lucknow (2011), Abhinaya Theatre Troupe in Thiruvananthapuram (2010), Putul Ranga Gandhi Sangha Festival in Agartala (2018), and Malebillu Children Theatre Festival by National School of Drama in Bengaluru and Mangaluru (2011).

In collaboration with the India Foundation for the Arts, Bengaluru and the Goethe Foundation Bengaluru Chapter, Puppet House organized the Kali-Kalisu Art education program for teachers in Karnataka, conducting Puppetry workshops in 2012. It also developed Puppetry for Child Labour Eradication programme in association with Nunhems & Bayers Company and the International Labour Organisation, Bengaluru. Over the last 20 years, Puppet House has regularly organised Puppet shows and workshops at schools in Karnataka, giving nearly 1000 shows in productions like A Man of an Ass, Bird’s Song, Akata Vikata Vilakshana, Red Flower, Papu Bapu, and Anche Mane in Schools, Colleges and cultural organisations.
Artistes
Rajani Garud
Director

Rajani Garud completed her degree in Theatre Education at NINASAM. She is a founder member of the Balabalaga Srujanasheela Shikshana Trust, established in 1996. She engages in alternative educational activities and Theatre for Education programmes. She has a background in ‘Yakshagana’, a traditional folk performing art. She is a founder member of Puppet House (Gombe Mane), and she is a puppet designer and puppeteer. She has directed children’s dramas and puppet shows. She worked in NINASAM’S TIRUGATA DRAMA repertory company as an actor. She has also conducted children’s theatre camps and directed more than 25 children’s plays, namely Bepputakkadi Bholeshankar, Bettappana Kanasu, Kailagada Maigallanige, Buddha Helida Kathe, Hakki Haadu, etc. She has acted in Cherry Orchard, Good Woman of Setzuan, Othello, Hamlet, Bettale Vesha, Helthini Kela Geleya, Vishama Vivaha, Anjumallige, Jadabharatana Kanasugalu, Swapnadarshana, etc. She has also written and directed a few puppet plays, namely Hakki Hadu, Kempu Hoo, Angula Huluvina Parakaya Pravesha, Putta Gouriya Chandamama, etc. She has worked as a puppet designer and puppet script writer for issues like child labour eradication. She is the main resource person for Kali-Kalisu, an art orientation training programme jointly conducted by the Goethe Institute, Germany, and the India Foundation for the Arts, Bengaluru. She has worked under eminent theatre directors: Fritz Benivitz, K.V. Akshara, Chidambara Jambhe, Rustum Bharucha, K.G. Krishnamurthy, Dr Prakash Garud, Nataraj Enagi, S. Raghunandan, and B.V. Karanth. She is the recipient of the Karnataka Balavikas Academy Award (2014).
Prakash Garud
Playwright

Dr. Garud is a Theatre Actor, Director, and Leather Shadow Puppeteer. He completed a Diploma in Theatre from the NINASAM Theatre Institute Heggodu. He obtained a Postgraduate degree in Theatre from Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, and a Doctorate in Theatre from Kannada University, Hampi. He served as the Director of Rangayana, the Dharwad Repertory Company (2014-2017).

Dr. Garud directed the plays: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Dreams of Jadabharata, Siri Sampige, Anjumallige, Mahamayi, Choorikatte, Maduve Album, Shivaratri, Saayoaata Satyaharischandra, etc. He also directed children’s plays like Our Friends The Ogres, Ivan The Fool, Panjarashale Hakki Haadu, Buddha Stories, The Emperor’s New Clothes, etc. The Garud family is known for its contribution to professional theatre in Karnataka. His grandfather, Sadashivarao Garud (1882-1954), and father, Shripadrao Garud (1932-2007), were ardent practitioners of the Sangeeta Natataka form. Dr. Garud has written four plays and a couple of essays on theatre. Company Theatre arthat Vratti Rangabhumi is his doctoral thesis work.
Raghava Kammar
Musician