Sphoorthi Theatre

I was invited for a Book Release function on "Baindla Katha Gaanam" by Sri Bonalu Prakash at Sundariaya Vignana Kendra in Hyderabad.  Baindla Katha???? What is all about??? My curiosity about this art form made me attend the function. Thanks to the organizers who even arranged for the Baindla katha performers by the Ranjeet troupe from Khammam District of Andhra Pradesh.  Baindla Katha or Jamukula Katha as it is also known is performed by  Schedula Caste-SC groups in India. These performers and this folk performing art is found in more than six states in India like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, and parts of Madhya Pradesh as per the analysis made by Prof. Jayadhir Thirumal Rao (Specialization in Telugu Bhasha Sahitya and Kalalu-Telugu Language, Literature, Culture and Folklore). Here in Andhra Pradesh, there are two groups called Malas and Madigas in the Schedule Castes group. Both these performers also known as Bavin...

I wonder a land without girls-how would it be like? Every day, I come across one or the other news or video about girl child battling between life and death. Millions of Girls are killed before and after their birth before attaining one year in India. The main reason for the widespread female feticide and the continuing occurrence of female infanticide in different parts of India was the dowry system for payment of huge amount at the time of girls marriage to the groom and his family, which though prohibited through enactment of Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, continues to play a prominent role in Indian society. "Female infanticide is the intentional killing of baby girls due to the preference for male babies and from the low value associated with the birth of females." Will ever the problem of female infanticide be solved in our country? Is the question I ask and ask... With much development in science and technology we have become inhuman, My wonder is the incident is ...

I remembered my Keralite friend by name Bhindu Panicker, who use to describe the festivities of Kerala in detail. One such was Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Mahostavam in Kerala. The festival is all about the union of women near the Attukkal temple and cooking Pongala and offering it to the Goddess. The Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Trivandrum, Kerala, celebrates the world famous Attukal Pongala every year in the Month of Kumbham-March or February. (Malayalam months are named after Hindu zodiac signs called Rasi). It is estimated that more than two million women participate in this Hindu ritual called ‘pongala.’ It is like annual gathering of women from Kerala and surrounding to offer Pongala to the Goddess. Attukal is the name of the temple. The 'Pongala' is Pongal or Pongali comprises preparing ‘prasad’ for the deity. Women cook rice and jaggery in earthen pots and they offer it to the goddess. They also cook different type of sweet dishes – called ‘mandaputtu,’ ‘appam,’ ‘ther...

It was my privileged to attend a National Conference jointly organised by Public health Foundation of India PHFI and Health Economics Association of India-HEAI at New Delhi initiated by Planning Commission of India. In recent years, talk on health and health coverage has gained the top most priority on political will across the globe. Health has infact was the reason for bringing drastic change in political scenario in Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia and so on. Of course not in India yet. Series of papers on full health coverage has been presented, discussed and it reveals that failing of better health system is perhaps India’s greatest predicament. I remember the topic given for Group Discussion during my PG selection at the university was on " Health for all by 2000". Now it is extended to 2020 as "Universal Health". Jan Swasthya Abhiyan-JSA recently called for a national public debate on the proposed universal health care system, saying that such an important i...

The Teacher is the third person who is respected and worshipped as Visible God next to Parents. It is the Mother and father worshiped and regarded as living and visible God “MATHRU DEVO BHAVA, PITUR DEVO BHAVA” and then it is “ACHRYA DEVO BHAVA”. Where do children get to learn first?-It is at HOME-by Parents, then SCHOOL-Teachers and finally SOCIETY. These components influence on children’s growth, development and make them responsible citizens. But these Mantras hold no good today. Why???? Where have we gone wrong, Is it at HOME, or at SCHOOL or at the SOCIETY???? This is second news about teachers being killed and stabbed to death by students. The police on Monday arrested one of the two students accused of allegedly mowing down a school teacher because he refused to allow one of their friends to cheat in the Hrayana Board Exam (April10, 2012) A teacher was stabbed to death in the classroom of a private school allegedly by a 15-year-old student who was upset at being repeatedly rep...

The Tholpavakoothu, known as a shadow puppet theatre in the Malayalam language, is an ancient traditional art form that is still actively performed in the districts of Palakkad, Thrissur, and Malappuram in Kerala, India. It is a matter of satisfaction to note that this particular traditional art form continues to thrive and is not considered extinct, unlike in other regions of India where its performance is few, with only a few exceptions. Regrettably, it is evident that the traditional temple art in Kerala is facing the threat of extinction. This is mostly due to the limited number of families who possess the necessary expertise in this ancient art form and continue to perform it as a ritualistic and customary activity within the temple premises. I had the privilege of engaging in a personal interaction with Sri Ramachandra Pulavar, hailing from Shoranur. The individual in question is the offspring of Sri Krishnakutty Pulavar, who holds the distinction of being...

Cut, Copy and Paste has become part of our life, without these syllables it is more difficult to work. No surprising that it has very common with nowadays kids. Other day, my son asked me to help him in his school activity. He asked to search the information in google, and cut, copy and paste the information in word document-Its simple Mummy! Indeed, sounded very simple, so I asked him to do it by himself. Result, he copied the whole page and pasted it in word page. Are the modern, tools compressing and completing us not to use our brain to its fullest. To quote from Albert Einstein, "You only Use 10% of Your Brain” and not 100 %. Of course, some even contradict this statement and call it myth. Well, the fact here is brain being a complex organ and is capable of doing wonder things if utilized properly. If one uses it in proper way and tap the left over 90% would be able to remember the π to twenty thousandth decimal place or even have telekinetic powers. Fine, if not...

Puppets are mainly of four types largely known to all in the world. They are Glove Puppets, String Puppets, Shadow Puppets, and, Rod Puppets. Most of the puppets existing around the world come under either of them. Some vary in sizes too and some adopt a combination of two or more. Chadar Badar does not fall under any of them. It is yet another type of unique puppetry called Chadar Badar of puppetry practiced by Santhal Adivasis of West Bengal and Jharkhand regions of India. Adivasis means Tribes. It is distinct from the common forms of puppets that are prevalent in other parts of India. The puppets are seven to nine inches long, and some are even five to eight inches carved out in wood and their movements are guided by a wonderful mechanism, supported by many levers. The puppeteer tugs the main cord which pulls the main lever, which in turn pushes a few small sticks upward and some downward; the limbs of the miniature puppets are attached to these sticks to make the puppets mov...