Page 11 - programmes conducted during year 2016

PROGRAMME : APRIL - 2016

LANDMARK CENTURY AT INDIAN INSTITUTE OF WORD CULTURE

A culture NGO with phenomenal reach, infrastructure, networking and public goodwill
is Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB), anywhere in the country. Its activities continue to lend
hope that ancient Indian wisdom and traditions will not disappear against the onslaught of
western cultural and lifestyle influences.

A sure fire pointer to this is the 100 successful conduct of the BVB-Infosys Foundation
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(IF) programme on April 15 at The Indian Institute of World Culture (IIWC) venue in
Bengaluru, marking a century of shows of the varied traditional arts of Karnataka, especially
dying arts.

Besides music sabhas, several private organizations promote classical music and dance
year round in the City. This is apart from some of the major annual festivals devoted to these
arts. What ails other traditional performing arts is patronage, finance, and viaibility, a lacuna
more than rectified by the BVB-IF project.

It provided an opportunity for over 500 artistes to go on stage since inception in April
2010; brought to fore some rare arts form; created an interested and appreciative audience,
and acted as a clap board for young artistes from all over Karnataka, especially from rural
areas, many of whom had their first glimpse of a metro such as Bengaluru, when they came
to perform for Infosys Foundation.

Six years ago, when the association of the two organizations was concretized for this
project, it was a coming together for a cause—promoting young talent, especially from the
economically weaker sections, and those from rural areas. The ideal has been more than met,
the 100 programme of devotional music on not marking a culmination of the venture but
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ushering in a renewed beginning of much more to come.
If Sudha Murty thought it best to propagate Indian culture through the Bhavan there was
a sound reason behind. Way back, in 1997, she set up an annual endowment programme in
her personal capacity in memory of her grand father, Hanumanth Rao Kadim Diwan, a
teacher by profession, and a true Indian at heart...... his love for the country‘s culture and
philosophy was what prompted Murty to set up a programme in his name. This association
got further cemented in 2010 through the BVB-IF project.

Says H N Suresh, BVB Director, Bengaluru Kendra, ‗This project has been an ideal
channel for the less seen and less heard arts and artistes. In that sense it is the unique project
which is truly altruistic in nature‖.
Pointing out that every programme has been above average in quality, he says the project
will have a cascading effect with its nurture and revival of near-extinct art forms. ‗The public
in South Bengaluru have responded well; the key is to to provide interesting programmes‘,he
says.

Harikatha, Gamaka vaachana, puppetry, magic shows, yakshagana, vachanas, fusion
music, daasapadas, light music, devotional songs, DVG‘s famous ―Mankuthimmana Kagga‖
in music form, instrumental music such as violin, flute, veena, jaltarang, mukhaveena and