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udradi, at the foothills of Western Ghats
in Udupi district, is drawing attention of the theatre buffs from far and wide
in recent years. Thanks to the
activities of Nama Tuluver Kala (Natka) Sanghatane, this otherwise non-descript
remote village has emerged a prominent spot on the theatre map of Karnataka. Not confining itself to Tulu, as the name connotes,
it has brought on stage several acclaimed Kannada plays.
Way back in 1985, Dharmayogi Mohan, a culture
enthusiast, founded Nilayada Kalavidaru, a forum for cultural activities at
Mudradi. It was mostly Yakshagana in
those days. On the occasion of its decennial year, Nilayada Kalavidaru was
rechristened as Nama Tuluver Kala Sanghatane, Natka. The organization that made a humble beginning
has grown leaps and bounds in these 33 years of its existence.
Initially there used to be a single drama
in a year. Later a nine-day theatre
festival Navarangotsava was started during Navaratri at the abode of Goddess
Adishakti founded and managed by Dharmayogi Mohan. On the occasion of its twentieth anniversary,
Nama Tuluver created a record of sorts by staging 24 plays in 20 days.
Mudradi Rashtreeya Rangotsava is an annual
event since its silver jubilee. The week-long
national-level theatre festival has featured dramas in languages like Tamil,
Telugu, Marathi and Konkani besides Kannada and Tulu. Many theatre veterans from across the country
are recognized and honoured with awards on the occasion.
The amateur troupe has taken its plays to Mumbai,
Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Dubai and many other places and brought plays from
various parts of the country to Mudradi as well. It has staged around 40 dramas
in around 1,500 shows so far. Besides many dramas being staged hundreds of
times, the Tulu play Pilipatti Gadas alone has been staged 390 times. The
prizes won at various drama completions by Natka touch the mark of 200. Sukumar Mohan, who heads Natka, has been honoured with CGK Award and
Suvarna Ranga Samman.
The team is ecstatic about its feat at the
recently concluded Kuvempu Memorial Drama Competition in Mumbai. It presented Dashanana
Swapnasiddhi, a theatre adaptation of the last part of Kuvempu’s Jnanpith
Award winning work Sri Ramayana Darshanam. The drama, directed by
Manjunatha L. Badiger, won the second place and the outstanding efforts fetched
it prizes for direction, acting both male and child categories, music, costume
and lighting.
The speciality of the troupe is that the
entire Mohan family is into the field of drama. Dharmayogi Mohan’s four
children Sukumar Mohan, Sugandhi Kalmady, Surendra Mohan and Sudhindra Mohan
and their respective spouses Vani Sukumar, Umesh Kalmady, Pavithra Surendra and
Poornima Sudhindra have embraced theatre and turned out excellent performers. Now even the third generation, the little
Swastik and Swarnika, is taking baby steps into the world of theatre. Theatre
is the mainstay and the common thread that binds the family.
Though none have any academic training in the
field, they grew from drama to drama under the watchful eyes of the directors
like Shreepada Bhat, Prasanna Heggodu, Krishnamurthy
Kavatthar, Bhasuma Kodagu, Jeevanaram Sullia, Pramod Shiggaon Udyavara Nagesh
Kumar, C Basavalingayya, Sheena Nadoli, Gururaj Marpalli, Manjunath L Badiger,
Dakshayini Bhat and Mallikarjuna Mahamane The interest of the Mohan family has rubbed
off on the youngsters of the neighbourhood. They too are part of the troupe now
that comprises around 18 members. In fact, Nama Tuluver has brought out the theatre
culture in this part.
Sukumar Mohan, also a former member of the
Karnataka Nataka Academy, admits the activities are not self-sustaining. “The occasional
funds from government or otherwise are not sufficient for the scale of events that
we organize”, says Sukumar. But nothing
comes in the way of their passion. As the activities grew, Natka felt the need
to have an auditorium. Hence came up an open-air auditorium Chowtara Bayalu at
Mudradi at a cost of around Rs. 60 lakh.
Natka organizes training programmes for
students and theatre workshops. Many activities related to drama are held at
frequent intervals. It has acted in many street plays bringing awareness on
social issues. Natka has also conducted CGK drama competition and a children’s
drama festival. Sukumar has plans to tour various places with two dramas every
year.
Well-known artistes such as Hamsalekha, H S
Shivaprakash, B Jayashree, Yenagi Balappa, Master Hirannayya, Nagendra Shah and
Mukhyamantri Chandru who have been invited on various occasions have
appreciated the dedicated theatre activities at the far-flung Mudradi. The
theatre activities of Natka are so intense that Mudradi Grama Panchayat has
named the area Natkadur. Perhaps a rare affirmation and recognition to a
theatre group anywhere else.
- - Sanoor Indira Acharya
