A month ago I was at Janapada Jaatre in Bangalore, a cultural fair held fortnightly to showcase folk arts from various parts of Karnataka. It was a great event and every minute of the entire two-hour show was an awesome entertainment. Here are some images from the show.
Artists assemble on the stage with traditional attire before their performance begins.
Goravara Kunita is a form of dance where performers dress up and dance wildly with small drums called “thamate” in hand. It can be scary for children. In the yester years, the dance was meant to ward off evil, and was practiced in the some parts Southern Karnataka.
Yakshagana is the state’s official art form, and is popular in coastal Karnataka and parts of Malnad region. Yakshagana is a type of Opera, where performers dance to the songs depicting stories from Mahabharatha. Interestingly, it mixes dance and drama. After dancing with the drums for a verse, performers break into a conversation to elaborate the theme of the verse. As you can see from the picture, lot of work goes into the dress and makeup of the artists.
A traditional dance to the tunes of a folk song – “Moodal Kunigal Kere..”
Another character from a Yakshagana. He is a comedian, as is evident from the image. Jokers, or Haasyagaara as they are called, are part of nearly every episode of Yakshagana. The episode they were playing on the day I was there was “Sreekrishna Paarijaatha”, the story of stealing the divine flower from Indra’s gardens.
Bhootada Kola was the star-event of the day, performed at the end. Kola is another custom to ward off evil, performed in the southern coastal regions of Dakshina Kannada.
Janapada Jaatre Information
Janapada Jaatre is a festival held at 6pm every 2nd and 4th weekend(both Saturday and Sunday), at Lalbag Botanical Gardens, Bangalore. The location of the festival is as interesting as the festival itself – it happens in an open air arena, where audience sit on a hillock, making it a Cinema hall like arrangement under the stars. This is an event organized as part of celebration of 50th year of forming Karnataka – Suvarna Karnataka Varsha. The event started in November 2006 and is expected to go on till November 2007.
Also see: More images of Janapada Jaatre on my India Image Gallery
I had traveled to Chikmagalur two weeks ago. I was there, among other things, to have a look at the rare Neelakurinji flowers which are known to flower only once in 12 years. This was the year of flowering and they were in full bloom. In Chikmagalur, they bloom around the hills of Bababudangiri, also called Chandradrona Parvata.
While Kurinjis were the flowers I was looking forward to, I saw plenty of flowers different varieties all around. My first sight of flowers in abundance were much before I was at the hills. It was fun to see some jolly folks plucking lotus from a pond.
I also saw many touch-me-nots spread out in large numbers. Though they are pretty common, I think it has been a while since I had seen them before. So much for living in a city!
As I approached the town of Chikmagalur, I saw this hoarding inviting people to visit the hills to see the Kurinjis.
According to this, the flowering season is from September to November. So if you haven’t been there yet, hurry before they are gone!
As I climbed up the hill, it did not take me long to see the Kurinjis. They were in plenty, and they were everywhere. Some hills were entirely covered with just the Kurinji plants.
They looked beautiful and covered vast vistas of the hill range.
But they were not alone. There were so many flowers, many of them tiny, I could not not even count how many types were there.
And they had generously spread out all over the slopes and made the hills look prettier than ever.
And they came in many colors and sizes.
Some of them were so small, I would never have sighted them without looking hard for them!
But the most beautiful of the lot that I saw was also the biggest among them.
There were plenty of visitors to the hills, but to my surprise, almost everyone seemed to be oblivious to the flowers. But I was having a great time among the flowers and had no time to bother about that.
Purple flowers, I guess were the most dominant of all the lot, with Kurinjis having taken up most of the space. Small white flowers came next, followed by yellow ones.
Flowers of many colors spread together on the slopes was a treat for the eyes.
This pink flower below was one of uncommon ones on the slope. I would not have found it, had I not walked around so much around the hills.
But alas, it looks like we just can’t enjoy the beauty of these hills without doing our bit to spoil them. There were some disturbing sights too. Like some garbage, etc..
It was very pleasant day among the flowers, and watching the sunset among the Kurinjis before I headed back was a blissful moment.
Let us hope to preserve this pristine place and keep it clean and beautiful!
Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
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Ganga Aarti at Dasaswamedh ghat, close to Kashi Vishwanath Temple, is one of the prime attractions of Varanasi. It starts just after sunset, with a bunch of young men choreographing to the chantings, holding the lamps.
Preparations are on for the evening aarti
People start arriving at the ghats as early as 5pm. Dasaswamedh ghat becomes a hub of activity, with people sitting and waiting for the aarti, buying flowers and other things from nearby shops or performing pooja. I sat listening to an attractive old man who narrated Ramayana to a bunch of tourists who were listening keenly. Several babas sat near the ghats, looking for donations.
Also see:
* Ganga Aarti in Rishikesh
* Ganga Aarti in Varanasi
People wait for the aarti to begin
As the aarti begins, men take their positions at the platform and begin swinging the lamp to the tune of chantings.
Big lamps look beautiful after darkness sets in.
The choreography is excellent and worth seeing. But it also feels artificial in a devitional context. Like anywhere else in India, loudspeakers rob the pleasantness of the evening.
Read more about Varanasi on paintedstork.com
* Images of Varanasi
* Travelling to Varanasi from Corbett
* Arriving at Varanasi
* Many perceptions of Varanasi
* First day at the ghats
* Boat ride on the Ganges
* An encounter on the ghats
* Photo Essay: Ganga Aarti
* Life on the ghats
* About Varanasi