City dwellers are oblivious to the fact that there are hundreds of Sannata dance- drama troupes alive in the rural areas, folk scholar and theatre personality Veeranna Rajur said in Hukkeri recently.
He was speaking after inaugurating a Belagavi district Sannata convention organised by the Karnataka Bayalata Academy.
“The urban population has limited understanding of art, culture and entertainment. It has foregone live performances for its mobile screens. It does not know what it is missing. It is oblivious to the fact that hundreds of Sannata teams that provide entertainment through live performances are still active in the villages,” Prof. Rajur said.
He urged the academy to take steps to preserve and protect folk arts like Sannata. He asked the academy to publish a data base of all Sannata artists and manuscripts of plays performed by the teams.
Writer Ramakrishna Marathe said that the popular play Sri Krishna Parijata was first performed in Hukkeri taluk in the British era.
“Sannata teams were responsible for popularising dramas like Sangya-Balya and Radhanata,” he said.
Writer Gurupad Mariguddi said that Sannata teams that consisted of common villagers uphold moral values and the spirit of secularism and harmony through their performances.
Joint Director, Kannada and Culture, K H Channur was the chief guest. Academy chairman K.R. Durgadas, artists Bheemappa Huddar, Mallamma Madar, Prakash Hosmani and others were present.
Published - September 08, 2024 06:49 pm IST
