Media Release
Bahrain, Nov 20: Preparations for Kannada Vaibhava 2017, festival of the rich culture and heritage of the Indian state of Karnataka to be held on November 24 are in full swing at the Cultural hall, Marina.
The mega event will also celebrate Kannada Rajyotsava (anniversary of statehood) and the 40th anniversary of the formation of Kannada Sangha Bahrain.
Top artistes from Karnataka and more than 50 talented members of the Sangha will participate in the annual festival, organised by Kannada Sangha Bahrain.
The chief guest at the event will be the Indian Ambassador to Bahrain, Alok Kumar Sinha. Veteran Kannada actor Devaraj, and the popular mayor of Mangaluru 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-faceted dance performer Sujay Shanbhag will be flown in from Bengaluru for the event.
Multi-talented young Akshatha Kudla from Mangaluru will also showcase her various acts at the festival.
Those interested in Karnataka and India culture are welcome to the show which will begin at 5pm.
The Sangha artistes will present traditional and semi-classical dances as well as a dance drama. There will be a variety of entertainment shows, performed by children and adults.
“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 round celebration,” 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 Mangaluru and is making news as a
tough task master. 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 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 with a national record in powerlifting 320 kg. For her service to sports, Sanil was awarded the Karnataka Rajyotsava award in 2004. Recently, once again she bagged gold in National Karate Championship held at Mangaluru.
Devaraj, popularly known as '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 as well, 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 seven Kannada films. Arambha, Kendadha Male, Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma were her successful ones.
Rekha Satish is a versatile Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi artist, a teacher, choreographer and yoga practitioner. She has mastered traditional art forms in the last 25 years, initially at Kuchipudi Art Academy Chennai and later from Manju Bhargavi. She is at present persuing new innovations under Kishore Mosalikanti Chennai.
Rekha is an empanelled artiste for Doordarshan and Ministry of Culture. She has performed in many major festivals namely Khajarahoo, Uday Shankar Festival, Hampi Utsav, Mysuru Dasara, Soorya Festival and more. She has been a judge for many top dance competitions including Kerala Samajam competitions held in Bahrain; Hidden Idol dance competitions - Chennai and Bengaluru final rounds; the All Kerala Medical College Dance Competitions held in Calicut.
Sujay Shanbhag commenced his journey as an artiste at a tender age of six. He began with his tutelage under the legendary Bharatanatyam exponent Dr Vasundhara Doraswamy of Mysuru. He has won many firsts in state level competition. 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, Mysuru 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.
The patrons of this mega show are Rajiv Menon, Shantharama Shetty, Mohammed Mansour, Abdul Sattar, Sudhakar Shetty, Naveen Shetty, Savin Shetty and R V Hegde.
Title sponsor of the event is BMMI. The main sponsors are Al Safir Hotel, Exelon, Prudential Manpower, Auma Middle East, President Group of Hotels, Nass Asphalt, Pappillon Restaurant and Malabar Gold.