Sunday, April 8, 2012

Happy Yugaadi, 2012.

"Gandhada Gudi", a Shadow Play, 2011.
When you are away from the land of your upbringing, any activity that you run into in the far away region has special meaning to you, particularly when the activity involves unique talent. And, what talent among the troupe, identified only as "Gaampara Gumpu"1, that presented "Gandhada Gudi", a special shadow play describing the history and diversity of the State of Karnataka!

Happy Yugaadi, 2012.
This was a very beautiful, carefully selected, presentation of the various aspects of the State of Karnataka, with very appropriate musical backgrounds. This was performed as part of the cultural Yugaadi 2012 program that the Kannada Koota of Northern California presented on 7 April 2012 in Campbell, California. (The embedded video in this blog post, however, is what was presented in Sacramento in 2011, but is very representative of what was presented in Campbell).

Kannadigas everywhere, take note! The "Gaampara Gumpu" troupe of Sacramento, California, ought to make you feel proud. This presentation is an excellent realization of the motto of the State of Karnataka: "ಸಿರಿಗನ್ನಡಂ ಗೆಲ್ಗೆ, ಸಿರಿಗನ್ನಡಂ ಬಾಳ್ಗೆ".

Kannada is living well in California.

1The quotes are not mine: the troupe refers to itself with the quotes. For those who know Kannada, it is ಗಾಂಪರ ಗುಂಪು.