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Vol.20 No. 10 October - 2019

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PROF V.K. GOKAK AWARD PRESENTED

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and

Vinayaka Gokak Vangmaya Trustheld the Prof. V. K.Gokak Awardceremony on September 8, 2019,at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,Bengaluru.

The event began with thelighting of the lamp by thedignitaries on the dais. Thenfollowed the reading of the shubhasandesha or message sent byJagadguru Shri Shivarathri

Prof. M. Basavanna, Eminent teacher, Writer and Philosopher and Shri Y.N. Gangadhara Setty,President Vinayaka Gokak Vangmaya Trust, after being felicitated pose with other dignitaries from left :

Shri Anil Gokak, Director, Vinayaka Gokak Vangmaya Trust, Shri. H.N. Suresh, Director, BharatiyaVidya Bhavan, Shri. Shri Chiranjiv Singh, Former Ambassador to UNESCO, and

Dr. V.R. Panchamukhi, noted Economist and Sanskrit scholar.

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Deshikendra Mahaswamiji of theSuttur Math, who said he washappy to know of the award tobe conferred by the VinayakaVangmaya Trust and BharatiyaVidya Bhavan and sent wishesfor a successful event.

This was followed by ShriAnil Gokak, V.K.Gokak’s sonand Director of Vinayaka GokakVangmaya Trust, welcoming thedignitaries and the audience.He welcomed Shri Y. N.Gangadhara Setty, President ofthe trust; Shri Chiranjiv Singh,former Ambassador toUNESCO, and member of

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,Bengaluru Kendra committee;Shri H. N.Suresh, Director,Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan; aswell as the awardee, Prof.M.Basavanna; and Shri.Panchamukhi, who presentedhim with the award.

Shri Anil Gokak also threwlight on Prof. Basavanna’spopularity as a professor ofpsychology by quoting how afemale student did not want tomiss his class even on herwedding day and so, she attendedhis class. He listed out the booksProf. Basavanna had written like

Shri Anil Gokak, Director, Vinayaka Gokak Vangmaya Trust, honoured byShri H.N. Suresh, Director, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

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Oedipus Complex, Interpretationof Dreams, Parenting, theconcept of Ardhanareeshwara,and others, all in Kannada. In thebook called PsychologicalComplexes, he had thrown lighton about 20-25 complexes, saidGokak.

Dr. V. K. Gokak was afamous writer in Kannada andEnglish, and an educationist.Having studied at the Universityof Oxford where he secured firstclass honours, he worked asPrincipal at Willingdon College,Pune; Director at Central Instituteof English and Foreign Languagesin Hyderabad, and as Presidentof the Sahitya Academy, amongothers.

The award is given in hisname every year to a personwho has made an immensecontribution to the field ofeducation. For the year 2019,it was presented to Prof. M.Basavanna, author and thinker,who taught Psychology and wasformer professor at ShriVenkateshwara University,Tirupati.

Dr. V. R. Panchamukhi,expert in Economics and a

Sanskrit Vidwan, and Chancellor,Shri Guru Sarvabhouma SanskritVidyapeeth, Mantralaya, AndhraPradesh, conferred the award onProf. Basavanna.

Shri Panchamukhi was alsoProf. Gokak’s student atDharwad, as mentioned byShri. Anil Gokak in his welcomeaddress. Introducing ShriPanchamukhi, Gokak said that hewas one in many and many in one.

Shri Panchamukhi went downmemory lane to Dr. Gokak’sEnglish classes which heattended. “When he quoted‘To be or not to be,’ or ‘Brutus isan honourable man,’ we felt thecharacters themselves spoke,” hesaid. Further, Shri Panchamukhispoke on how the wisdom of the

Dr. V.R. PanchamukhiNoted Economist and

Sanskrit scholar.

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Bhagavad Gita held insights intohuman psychology, on severalaspects such as how to avoidstress and anxiety and how tocontrol them, or dealing with atruant subordinate, and otherexamples. He concluded that theBhagavad Gita is a science onhuman behavior, it is akin tomanagement science and humanpsychology.

Prof. Basavanna, therecipient of the award, said thathe was not worthy of the award,and spoke on how his journey asa writer began unsuccessfully.A high point of his speech was hisstatement that all human beingsfeel the need to be wanted. Hehas several books on psychologyto his credit, all of them written in

Kannada, such as Lucifer effect,Psychological complexes, andSigmund Freud. Prof. Basavannastudied M. A. in Psychology atMysore University, followed bya diploma in Clinical Psychologyat NIMHANS, Bangalore.He didhis PhD at Shri VenkateshwaraUniversity in Tirupathi and joinedas a lecturer in psychology andretired as professor. He servedas Visiting/Guest Professor atGulbarga, Karnatak andBangalore universities.

Shri Chiranjeev Singh, theChief guest, said that the eventbrought together scholarship,spirituality and exalted seniorpersonalities. He recalled meetingDr. V. K. Gokak in 1986 inconnection with the 1st VishwaKannada Sammelana, the worktowards which came under theDepartment of Kannada andCulture, which Shri Singh thenheaded as Secretary.

Shri Singh suggested thatDr. Gokak give the introductoryspeech. Shri Hegde wanted thespeech to be in English. WhenSingh contacted Dr. Gokak,“he agreed gracefully” thoughit was a Kannada event.

Shri Chiranjiv Singh FormerAmbassador, UNESCO

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Another time, Dr. Gokak’spublisher approached Shri Singhfor support from the governmentfor publishing Gokak’s famousBharatha Sindhu Rashmi (forwhich he received the Jnanpithaward). Shri Singh said he wassurprised that such a classicshould require support. However,he added that such was the casewith most regional literature.Dr.Gokak later sent him anautographed copy.

Shri Chiranjiv Singh felt thatDr.Gokak possessed a balancebetween worldliness and

spirituality. May be it is time torediscover Gokak, he believed.

Shri Gangadhara Setty,President of Vinayaka VangmayaTrust, said that it was due toShri Anil Gokak’s hard workthat the trust had been able tohonour such eminent contributorsto education. (Shri Setty,incidentally, donated Rs 1 lakhto the BBMP school run byBVB in Shrirampuram).

A unique aspect of theevent was that the wives of ShriBasavanna and Shri Panchamukhiwere also felicitated.

BHAVAN-INFOSYS FOUNDATIONCULTURAL OUTREACHPROGRAMMES : AUG 2019.

Krishna Gana Sudha : Vocal : Ms. Aishvarya Mahesh,Keyboard : Shri Dushyanth, Tabla : Shri Krishnananda Prabhu on Aug 24,

at Vasantha Vallabha Kalyani, Konanakunte, Vasanthapura, Bengaluru.

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The inauguration of the

centenary celebrations of thefamous Guru NatyacharyaShri. H. R. Keshavamurthy,was held on September 7, 2019,at the Khincha Hall at theBharatiya Vidya Bhavan,Bengaluru Kendra.The eventwas a collaboration withBharatiyaVidya Bhavan.

Steeped in dance, forShri.Keshavamurthy, dance waslife.The centenary celebrationswere conducted by his childrenand pupils: Karnataka KalashreeB K Vasanthalakshmi, KarnatakaKalashree Dr. Shyam Prakash,

Vidhushi Sumitra, Shri Ramkumar,and Shri Ravishankar.

Eminent personalities likeVimala Rangachar, Foundermember and President, MysoreEducation Society Institutions,Shri Chiranjiv Singh, formerAmbassador to UNESCOProf. Mysore V. Subramanya,veena artiste and art critic, andShri. H. N. Suresh, Director,BharatiyaVidya Bhavan werepresent at the event.

The Natyacharya’s daughterin law, Dr.Malini Ravishankar,

CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS OFNATYACHARYA SHRI. H. R. KESHAVAMURTHY

Dignitaries pose for a photograph after lighting the lamp to mark theinauguration of Centenary celebrations of Natyacharya Shri H.R. Keshavamurthy

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and son Pravardhan sang theGaneshaprarthana followedby the welcome address byNatyacharya’s son, Dr. ShyamPrakash.

A dance, directed byDr.Malini Ravishankar, waspresented by the artistes ofLasya Vardhana. After thiswas a dance performanceby the grandchildren ofShri. Keshavamurthy, namelySmt.Vidya, Manasi, Swathi,Shri Raghunandan,Nandakishore and Lasyapriya.A pushpanjali accompanied

by shloka and Ganeshastuthifollowed.

Navarasa Ramayana,composed by Shri.Keshavamurthy nearly 50 yearsago, was then presented.

Then, the Natyacharya’ssenior student, Guru Dr. LalithaSrinivasan’s Nupura dancetroupe performed D.V.G.’sAntahpurageete - NatanavadidalTaruni and Shringaralahari thatbore the stamp of her Guru’sstyle. She also recalled herGuru’s dedication and devotionto his work.

A dance performance by the grand children of

Natyacharya Shri Keshavamurthy

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KALA BHARATHI : 2019

SMT. SUSHEELA NANJUNDAIAHMEMORIAL ENDOWMENT

‘CASH’ PRIZE AWARDEES

The annual Kalabharathi

Diploma Examination was heldon Aug 4 and 11. In all about60 students from 9 disciplinestook examinations in both theoryand practicals.

But there are hundreds ofmusic and dance and art classesin Bengaluru. So, what makesthose offered by Kala Bharati atBharatiya Vidya Bhavan sodifferent?

For one thing, all classesare held under one roof:Carnatic vocal, Hindustani vocal,Sugama Sangeeta, tabla, veena,drawing and painting, Kathak,Bharatanatyam, key boardand violin classes are heldcurrently. These are held for twohours on Saturday evening andtwo on Sunday morning. So,one need not travel from oneend of the city for Kathak and

Lekha. VCarnatic Vocal

( II year)

Alisha K. BhattDrawing & Painting

( II year)

Deeksha. B.Hindustani Vocal

( I year)

Sushmita N.Key Board( II year)

K.TanujaVeena

( I year)

TOPPERS

Lakshmi VinayDrawing & Painting

( II year)

N.P. Pooja LakshmiDrawing & Painting

( II year)

Karishma M. RathodDrawing & Painting

( III year)

Meghana PuttyDrawing & Painting

( III year)

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KALA BHARATHI : TOPPERS : 2019

once more travel to yet anotherend for music classes.

What is even better is that asa student, you can have the bestof both worlds – for example,complete an hour in theBharatanatyam class and followit up in the next hour withCarnatic music on the same day,thus employing the inter-disciplinary approach andmaking the most of your time.

Classes are held on Saturdaysfrom 4pm to 6pm, and Sundaysfrom 10am to 12 pm.

As done every year thequestion papers were set byexternal examiners and practicalexamination was assessed bythem. The list of toppers in alldisciplines were announced.Bhavan news congratulates alltoppers and other students whohave successfully completed theDiploma course.

S. Padma BaiDrawing & Painting

( III year)

Khanak MaluDrawing & Painting

(V year)

Pavitra. KDrawing & Painting

(V year)

TOPPERS

Sayyeda IqraHindustani Vocal

( I year)

Vijaya PrabhuHindustani Vocal

( I year)

K.P. PallaviKey Board

( I year)

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A total of an impressive

639 programmes featuring 6,229artistes attracting an audience ofapproximately 1,90,421– this hasbeen the substantial offering ofBharatiya Vidya Bhavan-InfosysFoundation Cultural Outreachprogramme since its launch in2015 February. And it has onlygrown from strength to strength.

The following werepresented at various BharatiyaVidya Bhavan Kendras:

At Jaipur Kendra(Rajasthan), a unique experimentof play by puppets, SwamiVivekananda Life andteaching, was presented byShri. Jeevan Lal & party.

A puppet dance for folk songs,The Puppet, was presented byShri. Rohit Kumar Menariaandparty. A folk music and danceprogramme, Soul of Mewatwas performed by Smt. Poojaand party.

At Pune Kendra(Maharashtra), a musicalprogramme of popular Hindiand Marathi folk song,Geet Bahar, was presentedby Smt.Shubhangi Mulayand troupe. And a musicalprogramme on the occasionof Kargil Divas, Gaan-Ras-Rang, was presented bySmt.Vrushali and troupe.

BVB-INFOSYS FOUNDATION CULTURALOUTREACH PROGRAMMES : NEW UPDATES

Soul of Mewat by Smt. Pooja and partyheld on Aug 30th at Alwar

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At Kolkata Kendra(West Bengal / Agarthala),a young dancers festival,Navapallava, by Smt.T. ReddiLakshmi and troupe and aviolin recital,Nava Violin, bySri.S.Ranganathan and troupewere conducted.

At Hyderabad Kendra(Andhra Pradesh / Telangana),

BVB-INFOSYS FOUNDATION OUTREACH PROGRAMMES

a folk art programme, ChinduYakshaganam, by Shri. PillutlaPrakash and Group; a verypopular form of folk dance,bull play, Gangireddulu Aata,by Shri. J.Bal Raju and Group;and Tulasi JalandharaNatakam by Sri MaheshwariChindu Yakshagana kala Brundamwere conducted.

MAHARASHTRA

Lakshya was presentedby Smt. Mandakini Trivedi andtroupe on 05/07/2019. Initially,Smt. Guru Mandakini Trivedi,senior MohiniAttam exponent,presented her dance. This wasfollowed by Ms. Shruti Tekawade(Bharatanatyam) and Ms. AmrutaGogte (Kathak).

Geet Bahar was presentedon 19/07/2019 by Smt.ShubhangiMulay and troupe. A musicalprogramme of popular Hindi and

Lakshya presented by Smt. MandakiniTrivedi and troupe held on Jul 5th

at Pune

Geet Bahar presented by Smt.Shubhangi Mulay and troupe held on Jul 19th at Pune

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Marathi folk songs and folkmusic, the participant artisteswere Mrs. Shubhangi Mulay(Vocal) accompanied by HemantWalunjkar, Kedar Paranjape,

BVB-INFOSYS FOUNDATION OUTREACH PROGRAMMES

Jayant Sane, Mohan Parasnisand Hemant Potphode.

Gaan-Ras-Rang presentedon 26/07/2019 by Smt.Vrushaliand troupe. On the occasion ofKargil Vijay Diwas, Abhangs,Bhakti Geet, Ghazal, Dadara,Kawwali, Lavani, Koli Geet andpatriotic songs were presentedby the artistes.

WEST BENGAL/AGARTHALA

Navapallava was presentedon 10/08/2019 by Smt. T. ReddiLakshmi and troupe. Navapallavais an organisation whichencourages fresh talent andoffers a platform for artistes toshowcase their skills. Theprogramme was organised inassociation with ICCR andBickram Ghosh Academy.

Gaan-Ras-Rang

presented bySmt.Vrushaliand troupeheld on Jul26th at Pune

Navapallava by Smt. T.ReddiLakshmi and troupe held on

Aug 10th at Kolkata

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ANDHRA PRADESHTELENGANA

Chindu Yakshaganamwas presented on 26/07/2019by Shri. Pillutla Prakash andGroup. This art flourished acrossvillages of Telangana. Theperformers called ‘Yakshulu’ alsohave varied names like Nagasulu,Kurmapulu, Asanulu andBhogalu. They later earned the

BVB-INFOSYS FOUNDATION OUTREACH PROGRAMMES

name ‘Jakkulu’. Chindu means tojump, the artistes render thedrama in a poetic form while theyare very animated. They jump andsing and dance and narrate thestory. Hence the name‘Chinduganam’ or ‘Chinduyakshaganam.’

This repertoire is quiteimpressive. They cover all themajor epics like Mahabharata,

Nava Violin by Sri.S.Ranganathan and troupe held on Aug 18th at Kolkata

Chindu Yakshaganam by Shri. Pillutla Prakash and Group held onJul 26th at Hyderabad

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Ramayana or Bhagavatha andother stories of day to day life.It is a poetic narration tointroduce stories to the ruralcommunity. They have storiesabout local Goddesses, too,especially ‘Yellemma’. Thisself-help group makes its ownornaments for the characters.They don make-up in streetcorners or under a tree, singand play instruments and usea harmonium as the shruthiinstrument.

The story is of a very piouswoman, who, with her undauntedspirit comes out of the clutchesof her wicked teacher. She is asymbol of courage and chastityfor rural folk. Men dressed upas women performed.

BVB-INFOSYS FOUNDATION OUTREACH PROGRAMMES

Gangireddulu Aata waspresented on 31/07/2019 byShri. J.Bal Raju and Group.Gangireddi is a decorated oxand its master is “Gangireddullu”.are people of nomadic casteslike ‘jangam’. Gangireddu Aataor bull play is a very popularform of folk dance in AndhraPradesh and Telangana. Thesepeople receive old bulls fromfarmers after they become unfitfor farming. They train them forsix months to dance or performto entertain the crowd.

This folk art puts thespotlight on the Indian cultureof protecting old bulls instead ofselling them to slaughter houses.They take care of the ox until itsdeath. Gangireddullus walk from

GangiredduluAata by

Shri.J. Bal Rajuand Group

held onJul 31st

atHyderabad

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BVB-INFOSYS FOUNDATION OUTREACH PROGRAMMES

door to door begging for oldused clothes. It is a commonsight in every village during thefestivals of Sankranthi andDussera. They blow trumpetsto entertain the people at thehouses they visit.

In AP and Telangana,people offer the ox food andtake its blessings when it visitstheir houses. The artiste alongwith his team and the trainedbull entertained students withtheir exceptional narration.The children enjoyed the showand danced along with the bullto the rhythmic music.

Tulasi JalandharaNatakam was presented on01/08/2019 by Shri Maheshwari

Chindu Yakshagana KalaBrundam. The artistes werefrom Banapuram, Janagamdistrict of Telangana. Tulasi(Brinda), a devotee of LordVishnu, married Jalandharawho was an atheist. His powersincreased due to the piousnessof Tulasi. Puffed with pride,he wanted to defeat Lord Shivaand rule the universe.

All the Gods and Goddessesrequested Lord Vishnu to protectthem from Jalandhara. LordVishnu went to Tulasi, disguisedas Jalandhara and touched heras part of his plan. Jalandharalost his powers as Tulasi lost herpiousness and was defeated byLord Shiva. Tulasi came to know

Tulasi Jalandhara Natakam by Sri Maheshwari ChinduYakshagana Kala Brundam held on Aug 1st at Hyderabad

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about this and cursed LordVishnu,saying he would beturned into ammonite stone andthen sacrificed her life. Lord

BVB-INFOSYS FOUNDATION OUTREACH PROGRAMMES

Vishnu was pleased with Tulasi’sholiness and gave her a boon:she would be worshipped byeveryone in their homes.

The Puppetby

Shri.Rohit Kumar

Menaria & partyheld onJul 29th

atJaipur

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Tue - Wed 10.00 a.m. - KRG Hall01. - 09 Gombe Habba –Navaratri Utsava 2019.

The dolls exhibit are by ‘BengalLamps’ Raja Iyengar’s family lead byhis granddaughter Sowmya Srikanthand supported by his daughterMalini Jagannathan and his othergrand-daughters Vasumati Srinath,Prathibha Arun and Rama Shreesha.The dolls that are being displayedhave been with the family for morethan six to seven decades and all thedolls have been carefully preservedand maintained.

Sun 9.00 a.m. - KRG Hall13. Rotary BengaluruIndiranagar organizes a intercollege quiz competition

Fri 6.30 p.m. - Khincha Hall18. Bharatanatya recital :Shashwathi N

Sat 6.00 p.m. - Khincha Hall19. Pt. Rama Rao V NaikEndowment music concert.Hindustani vocal music concert :Shri Dhananjaya HegdeTabla : Dr. Udayaraja KarpurHarmonium.:Shri. Madhusudhan Bhat

Sun 9.00 a.m. - Khincha Hall20. Sree Rama Kalavedikeorganizes Pt. Seshagiri HanagalBirth anniversary.Hindustani music concert.

Fri 6.30 p.m. - Khincha Hall25. Kathak recital :Minjink Rani Brahma

Sat 6.00 p.m. -26. BVB -Infosys FoundationCultural outreach programme :Devotional folk and bhavageethe :Smt. Nagachandrika BhatKeyboard : Srusti UmeshFlute : Vasant KumarTabla : LokeshRhythm pad : Srusti SrinivasVenue : Vasantha Vallabha Kalyani,Konanakunte, Vasanthapura,Bengaluru.

PROGRAMME :OCTOBER - 2019

Fri 6.30 p.m. - Khincha Hall04. Bharatanatya recital :Smt. Pranjala J.

Sat 11.00 a.m. - KRG Hall05. Discourse on‘Sundara kandada Sundara’Shri. K.G.Raghavan,Vice Chairman, BVB

Fri 6.30 p.m. - Khincha Hall11. Carnatic music :Varijashree Venugopal

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October - 2019

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