eultural

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OctoberSanskrit Plays at Madras and Pondicherry

THE Prachyavani Mandir, which has alreadyearned an all-India reputation by stagingSanskrit dramas in different parts of

India, obtained fresh laurels by staging sixSanskrit dramas, composed by Dr. JatindraBimal Chaudhuri and directed by Principal Dr.Rama Chaudhuri, in Madras and PondicherryShri Aurobindo Ashram. The dramas stagedincluded Mahaprabhu-Haridasam, Shakti­Saradam and Bharata-Hridaya Aravindam,on the holy lives of Bhakta Haridas, ShriSaradamani Devi and Shri Aurobindo respec­tively. Three were staged in Madras underthe auspices of Shri Gaudiya Math, MadrasSanskrita Ranga and Ramakrishna MissionSarada Vidyapitha, Madras, and three werestaged at Pondicherry Ashram. The GaudiyaMath function was presided over by theGovernor of Madras. The PrachyavaniMandir troupe was given a reception byDr. Raghavan and others under the auspicesof Madras Sanskrita Ranga at the Y.M.C.A.,Roypettah.

Qawali in Urs Celebration'!

Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs were presentin large numbers to give a grand start to thethree-day Urs Celebrations of KhwajaNizamuddin Aulia at Dargah Nizamuddin, NewDelhi, on the evening of Oct. 20, 1959. Thehighlight of the celebrations was the partici­pation of nearly 150 delegates from Pakistanand a programme of Qwalis-one of the finestto be heard in Delhi for years. Among thosewho attended the programme were Shri B.P.Sinha, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ofIndia, Dr. P. Subbarayan, Minister of Trans­port and Communications, the U.A.R. Ambas-

sador and the Indonesian Ambassador, in NewDelhi.

ViennaPhilharmonic Orchestra

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra underits famed conductor, Herbert Von Karajan,brilliantly justified its reputation in a pro­gramme of masterpieces in three characteristicsymphonic forms before a keenly expectantaudience which packed Vigyan Bhawan, NewDelhi, on Oct. 19, 1959. Von Karajan, since1956 the permanent conductor of both theVienna State Opera Orchestra and thePhilharmonic, chose a programme of musicincluding the "Overture to Euryanthe" byWeber, the symphonic poem "Till Enter­spieget's Merry Pranks" by Richard Straussand finally the "Symphony No.5 in C. Minor"by Beethoven. The programme concludedwith the "Blue Danube" by Waltz, "KingJohann Strauss" and the "Radetzky March".

Indrani Dances for Press Guild

Smt. Indrani Rehman, the celebratedIndian dancer, gave a dance recital on Oct. 21,1959, at the Birla Hall, Bombay. The recitalwas in aid of the Press Guild Building Fund.Indrani presented four styles of classicaldancing-Bharat Natyam, Kuchipudi, MohiniA ttam and Odlssi styles. On the next day sheand her troupe left India for a tour ofIndonesia and Australia.

Drama Competitions at Naini Tal

The Lucknow University Union DramaticClub had annexed the shield in the dramacompetitions, which concluded at Naini TalonOct. 18 1959. Kala Mandir of Gwalior wonthe sec~nd prize, while the third prize waswon by the CRST Old Boys Association,

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Naini Tal. Mohan Joshi of the DSB Collegewas acclaimed the best actor and won the firstprize in one-act play competitions. In allfifteen teams including three outside culturalassociations participated in the three-daysdrama competition sponsored by the ShardaSangh, Naini Tal, as part of the autumnfestival programme.

Urdu Drama Staged

The Theatre Workshop presented onOct. 16, 1959, an Urdu Drama entitled<Yasmeen", written and produced by D.N.Zutshi at the AIFACS Hall, New Delhi. Theplay was based on Alexander Dumas Frenchclassic Camille. The plot narrated the storyof a martyr at the alter of love. ShantiMathur and H.K. Verma were in the stellarroles, having a supporting cast consisting ofD.N. Zutshi (father), Kedar Sharma (friend)and Bina. Michael Overman was responsiblefor the sets.

Variety Entertainment by Children

It was a huge crowd, men, women andchildren, at the Constitution Club, NewDelhi, on October 13, 1959. A three hour anda half programme of dance, music and drama,presented by the Fine Arts wing of the AndhraAssociation in connection with the DussehraCelebrations, was enjoyed by one and all.Some half-a-dozen tiny tots performed fourdance numbers to the Swaram rendered bySmt. Bhanumati Rao, and the two chosendisciples of Smt. Lalita Kamasastry, a notedteacher. The function ended with a shortqU!P and comedy Asampoorna Ramayanamwntten by Malladi Aradhani.

"Chitralekha" StagedIndraprastha Theatre's "Chitralekha";

adapted by R.G. Anand from the famous novelo~ Bhagwati Charan Verma, was staged at theFine Arts Theatre, New Delhi on Oct. I, 1959,and a fe~ days following. The play narratedthe moving story of the loves and hates of thebold and beautiful dancing girl, who livedonce. upon a time at Pataliputra.· KumariPramila enacted the role of the heroinewhereas Darshan Bedi played the part ofBeejgupta, and CD. Pande that of Kumargiri.They were supported by Chanchala, Mridulaand Bhushan Sethi. Sat ish Gujral was incharge of the costumes and the credit for thestage sets goes to CS.H. Jhabvala. SurinderSoni gave the music.

Tagore Theatre in Calcutta

The Government of India will pay Rs. 2.5lakhs as its share to the West Bengal Govern­ment .for the construction of a theatre inCalcutta to be named after Tagore. Thetheatre will be ready by 1961 to coincide withthe Tagore centenary celebrations. TheTheatre in Calcutta is being set up as a partof the Central Government's scheme to set upone theatre in each state capital to promotecultural activities all over the country. Thedecision on this was taken at a meeting inCalcutta between the Chief Minister of WestBengal, Dr. Roy, and Prof. Humayun Kabir,Union Minister for Scientific Research andCultural Affairs. The West Bengal Govern­ment has also agreed to make a plot availableto the Indian Council for Cultural Relationsfor a permanent building for the InternationalStudents House in Calcutta.

Madras State Sangit Natak Sangam

The Madras State Sangit NatakSangam conducted its first Seminar on Dramaon Oct. 4 at the Srinivasa Sastri Hall Mylapore,Madras. Sri V.C. Gopalaratnam, Advocate, aleading amateur actor and Vice-Chairman ofthe State Sangam, presided. Shri T. K.Shanmugam, one of the foremost professionalactors, spoke at the outset on 'Drama' ingeneral. The subjects which were taken' upfor discussion were: choice of play, story anddialogue, production, acting, place of music,dance and other allied arts in drama. Asmany as twelve speakers, including leadingprofessional and amateur actors, took part inthe discussion. Shri C.R. Miteru, Professorof English, Annamalai University, Shri CS.Kamalapathy of Shakespearian Head-players,Tiruchirappalli, Shri S.V. Sahasranamam ofthe Seva Stage Service, Shri N.V. Rajamani,a trainee of the Asian Theatre Institute,New Delhi, Dr. V. Ramamurthy, Shri C.G.Visvanathan and Y.C. Parthasarathy wereamong the speakers.

Musical Composition Competition

"The Queen Elizabeth of Belgium Inter­n~tional M~sical Composition ,Competition"Will be held In Brussels in the year 1961. Forfurther information the competitors maydirectly contact "The Queen Elizabeth ofBelgium International Musical Competition",Palais des Beaux-Arts; 11, rue Baron Horta,Brussels. (Belgium).

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NovemberComic Play Staged

The Three Arts Club presented at SapruHouse, New Delhi, on Nov. 28, 1959,Mr. Romesh Mehta's comic play, Under­Secretary in aid of the Indian New Education­al Scientific and Cultural Organisation Ibeforea distinguished gathering. '

. Bharat Natyam by TembeKumari Nalini Tembe, disciple of Natya­

charya S. Kulkarni of Dharwar, gave a BharatNatyam recital at Mor Bhavan, Nagpur, onNov. 27, 1959. The function was arranged bythe local Tamil Students' Union, under thepatronge of South India Ladies Club. Nalini'Tembe demonstrated Tandava-Nritya, Tillana,Jethiswaram and Taye- Yasoda. the music forthe dance was provided by Smt. Nalini Swamy,Nagalakshmi, Govindarajan, PattammalGanapathy, Ganeshan, Mudaliar, Km, SarasaVaidyanathan and Km. Usha Jayanathan.

East-West Music FestivalAccording to an announcement made by the

Congress for Cultural Freedom it is learnt thatplans are under way for a festival of easternand western music to be held in Tokyo in April1960. The festival to be called "East-WestMusic Encounter" will be sponsored by thesociety for International Cultural Exchange(K.B.K.) at Tokyo and the Congress, whoseinternational secretariat is in Paris. Thefestival will be a"musical confrontation" ofEast and West featuring outstanding artists intraditional and modem music. East traditionswill be represented by instrumental, vocal, cho­reographic and various theatrical performancesin India, South-East Asia and the MiddleEast.

French Comedy Screened

"Les Grandes Manoeuvers"(The Big Manoeuvres), first ofthe three Festival films fromFrance was shown to an invitedaudience at Sapru House, NewDelhi, on Nov. 30, 1959. ACannes International FestivalAward Winner, the film, pro­duced and directed by RendClai, is a light romanticcomedy in colour set in theprovincial France of 1960. Thecomedv featured MicheleMorgan, Gerard Philipe and

Brigitte Bardot in the stellar roles. The festivalhas been sponsored by the French Embassy andthe Bharatiya Natya Sangh.

"Putu! Khela" Staged at Delhi

Chaturanga of Delhi produced at the FineArts T~eatre "Putul Khela", an adaptation inBengaliby Shambhu Mittra of Ibsen's, "A Doll'sHouse", on Nov. 1959. Dipali Dass Gupta(Bulu), Sudhir Sarbadhikary (Bulu's husband)Amina Bose ~Krishna, friend of Bulu), Phulku:mar Sen (~nshnapada-the blackmailer) andSabyasachi (Dr. Roy) played the principal roles.

Ballet in Kathak StyleBharatiya Kala Kendra of New Delhi

presented a ballet Kalidas's immortal "KumarSambhav" in Kathak style at Pine Arts Theatreon Nov. 28, 1959. The direction in dancing wasgiven by Shambhu Maharaj, and music~ wascomposed for the ballet by the Daggar brothers.Brij Mohan Maharaj and Kumudini Lakhiaplayed the roles of Kamadeva and Rati respect­ively. Major S.S. Sokhey, husband of the latefamous Kathak ballerina, Menaka, distributedbouquets to the artists.

Humorous Play StagedThe Army Headquarters Dramatic Society

staged a humorous play "Little Lambs Eat Ivy"by Noel Langley on Nov. 20, 1959, at theA.I.F.A.C.S. HaJJ, New Delhi. It was one ofthe plays entered in the annual Drama Festivalorganised by the Delhi Natya Sangh. HarryChukerbawti directed the play and enacted therole of the nerve-wracked husband. Otherplayers were Preminda Prem Chand in the roleof the harassed and absent-minded mother offour problem daughters, Tony Griffiths as the

A Scene from "Kumar Sambhav"

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shifty butler, Anne Crabb as the vigorous­minded, intimidating nurse, and Eric Simeonas doctor-cum-suitor.

Dance Jubilee by American Artists"Dance Jubilee", a talented group ofdancers

and musicians from the United States c;>fAmerica which arrived in India' mNovember 1959 Jor its India-wide tour,presented performance in a few big cities ofthe country, namely, Bombay, Ca!cutta" NewDelhi and Bangalore. The IndIan tnp <:>f"Dance Jubilee" is a part of its good willtour of Asian and Near East countries, inco-operation with President Eisenhower'sCultural Exchange Programme. The tour IS

administered by the American NationalTheatre and Academy. Consisting of sixteendancers, musicians and singers, "Dance Jubilee"is produced and directed by Rod Alexander, aleading American Dancer on stage, screen andtelevision. The company included Gemzo DeLappe, who had danced her way to triumphsin Europe and Australia as well as in hernative land America, and Carmen Guticrraz,a Mexican girl, who had been acclaimed asone of America's finest dancers. The programmeoffered in "Dance Jubilee" was "a cavalcade ofAmerican music and dancing for the pastsixty years."

German Folk Dance and Music EnsembleAfter completing their tour through

Indonesia the German Folk Dance and MusicEnsemble gave performances at Madras,Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay, Hyderabad and otherplaces. The Ensemble consisted of twocouples of dancers, instrumental quintet(including three accordions), a vocal quartet,two singers and a pianist. The Director isPaul Rahner, who is a famous conductor­composer. The items were preceded bycommentaries in EnglIsh and Hindustani. Thedelegation was led by Mr. Kleeberg.

"Ramlila" Ballet at Calcutta

After performing at Delhi and Lucknowthe students of Bharatiya Kala Kendra NewDelhi, gave a series of performances or theirballet Ram Lila at Calcutta. The shows wereorganised by Sangit Kala Mandir at Calcuttain aid of the Chief Minister's Flood ReliefFund. The ballet was in Kathakali techniqueand was directed by Guru Gopinath. The firstshow at Delhi was inaugurated by PresidentRajendra Prasad and the Calcutta show byChief Minister Dr B.C. Roy.

All-India Puppet Festival

The all-India Festival of Puppets andDummy Dancers was organised by the BharatiyaLok Kala Mandai at Udaipur in November,1959. The festival was inaugurated byShri: Humayun Kabir, Union Minister forScientific Research and Cultural Affairs,and was presided over by the ChiefMinister of Rajasthan, Shri Sukhadia. Thefestival was represented by various forms ofpuppetry and dummy dancing, e.g., the leatherpuppets of Andhra, the puppets of Kumbakon­am South India, the Dummy dances ofBa~galore, Madras and Tanjore, the KachiGodiesof Rajasthan, the puppets of Rajasthanmade of wood, cotton and cloth, the puppetgroups of Bharatiya, Kala Kendra, Delhi, thepuppet group' of all-India Radio, Delhi, thepuppet group of Goswami, Calcutta, the puppetgroups of Gulzarilal, Bombay, and the puppetgroups of Bharatiya Lok Kala MandaI.

"Shakuntala" Ballet Staged

Choreographed by. Narendra Sharma,Hindusthan Theatres produced Kalidas'sv Shakuntala" for a number of days at A.I.F.A.C.S. Hall in the month of November, 1959.Archana Mohan played the role of Shakuntala,and the role of Dushyanta was enacted-by Ashok Sarin, whereas Uma Sharma andShankar T. Yadav appeared as Priyamvada andthe fisherman respectively. Jyotirindra Moitrasupplied the musical scores, the script and thelyrics were from the pen of Niaz Haider andM.S. Sathyu was' responsible for decor andcostumes.

Kalidas Jayanti Celebrations

The Second All-India Kalidas JaYdnll.Celebrations were held at Ujjain in November,1959. Prime Minister Nehru inaugurated theJayanti, The week-long programme includeddramas and ballets based on the works ofpoet Kalidas. Troupes from Bombay, Calcutta,and Adyar (Madras), besides the troupes fromIndore, Ujjain and Gwalior staged dramas inthe specially erected pandal in the MadhavCollege ground.

Donations for 'Chow' Dance

A donation of Rs, 15,000 has been receivedfrom the Prime Minister's Discretionary Fundfor the promotion of 'Chow' dance of Seraikella(Singhbhuni district). The Govenment of Biharhave also donated Rs, 5,000 to this end. The

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donations are proposed to be spent on the cons­truction of a hall to be utilised as a "Chow"dancing centre at Seraikella.

Indian Dancing Troupe at Stockholm

An Indian dancing troupe led by Smt.Mrinalini Sarabhai was given a reception bythe city of Stockholm at the Town Hall earlyin November, 1959. Guests included prominentSwedish artists, art critics and India's Ambas­sador to Sweden, Shri Kewal Singh. The Indiandancing troupe presented fifteen performancesin Stockholm.

Music Festival in Bombay

The Bombay Madrigal Singer's Organisationorganised the first ever international musicfestival in India at Bombay in November 1959.The festival featured musical celebrities who hadproved a draw the world over. The opening con­cert was given by Julian Olevsky on the violinwith Wolfgang Rosa at the piano. The majorworks that he played were the Brahms Sonataand Farini's "Devil's Trill". The Czech Philh­armonic Orchestra, one of Europe's premiersymphony orchestras, gave three concerts. Thesoloist was piano. virtuoso Jan Paneuka.Maestro Kral Ancerl and Ladislav Slovak werethe conductors. The orchestra performedTechaikowsky's fantasy overture, "Romeo andJuliet" and "Symphony No, 4". The remainingtwo concerts featured the Hungarian pianistLili Kraus. She played among others, the musicof Beethoven, Schubert, Haydn and Mozart.

Gangobai's Vocal Music Recital

Gangubai Hangal, the veteran vocalist, gavea spirited performance at the monthly concertof Bharat Sangeet Sabha at Birla Hall on thenight of Nov. 6, 1959. She chose some of herfavourite Ragas for the recital which opened witha kheyal in Raag Puriya followed by one in MaruBihag, After the interval, she sang kheyal inJai Jayanti, a brief drut kheyal in Adana andconcluded with a plain Bhairavi. Gangubai'sdaughter provided vocal accompaniment, RamNarain followed her on Sarangi andMadhavrao accompanied on Tabla.

"Jugal-Bandi" RecitalSarojini Devi Hall in Hyderabad was the

venue ofa magnificent musical concert-v''Jugal­Bandi" by Pandit Ravi Shanker on Sitar, AliAkbar on Sarod and Kanai Dutt on Tabla. Thetrio, great exponents in instrumental music,took the audience to ecstasy. on the night of

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Nov: 2, 1959. The hall. was packed and themusic lovers of the city had their money'sworth. The proceeds were contributed for theservice activities of the Lions Club ofHyderabad. The State's Chief Minister ShriNilam Sanjiva Reddy, was the guest of honourand he garlanded the artists and congratu­lated the sponsors for the wonderful perform­ance they had brought up. Among those whoattended the concert included State's FinanceMinister, Shri Brahmamnda Reddy, State'sLabour Minister, Shri D. Sanjivaiah, ShriRoshan Ali Khan, Mayor of Hyderabad andthe elite of the city.

Popular Cine Actor Dead

The death occurred on Nov. I, 1959 at theGovernment General Hospital, of Shri M.K.Thiagaraja Bhagavathar, musician and screen andstage actor, after a short illness at the age of 50.The late Shri Thiagaraja Bhagavathar was apopular idol of the screen for over a decade,and dominated the Tamil film industry in itsearly growth "Haridas" the Tamil film, inwhich he acted as hero, ran for two yearsin Madras city, an unbeaten record. "Ambik­apathi and Chintamani"; two other picturesin which he acted, ran for over a year. Heearned a name and fame in the music worldfor his melodious voice and charmingpersonality. Some of the popular films in whichhe acted were "Siva Kavi, <Thlrunealakantar"and Ashok Kumar. "Siva Kavi" was the lastfilm in which he acted.

Born on March I, 1910 in Tanjore, ShriThiagaraja Bhagavathar took to the stage atan early age. One of his earliest plays was"Harischandra" in which he acted as Lohidas.He was a successful musician, and was aregular singer on the All-India Radio and atconcerts. In 1934 Shri Thiagaraja Bhagava­thar made his debut on the screen and tookthe leading role in Shri K. Subramaniam'sTamil film, rPavalakodi",

December

Kamatic Vocal Music RecitalMayavaram S. Rajam gave a four hour

concert of Karnatic Vocal Music under theauspices of the Karnataka Sangeetha Sabhaon December 13, 1959 at Reading Road,New Delhi. The concert stood out for fourRaga expositions-Purvi Kalyan, Sankara­bharanam, Vrindavani Sarang and Todi.

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V. K. Venkataramaniyam accompained himon the violin and Mylattoer Ramachandran onthe Mridangam.

Violin Recital

Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu, who gavea full-length violin recital at Vigyan Bhawan,New Delhi, on December 12, 1959, under theauspices of the Fine Arts Club, was accom­panied on the violin by his daughter, Manga­yatayaru, and son, Suryanarayana, T. V.Gopala Krishnan played on the Mridangam.Opening his recital with a rendering o~Nattakurinji Varnam, Dwaram played VatapiGanapathim in Hamsadhwani, followed byAparadhamu in Latangi. Thereafter he tookup Hindolam and Sankarabharanam.

Czech Cultural Show at Kanpur

The Czechoslovak Culture Festival, orga­nised by the Czech Embassy in India washeld at Kanpur on December 12, 1959, underthe auspices of the International Centre. ShriSyed Ali Zaheer, U.P. Minister for Financeand Forest, inaugurating the function, saidthat Czechoslovakia was one of the fewcountries which readily accepted "Panch Sheel"as one of the doctrines for maintaining peacein the world. An exhibition of Czech art wasalso opened.

Natya Sangh's Annual ConventionThe annual convention of the Natya Sangh

was held in Delhi in December, 1959 inwhich the delegates from all over the cou~trydiscussed problems facing the theatre move­ment, in particular relation to the activities ofthe Bharatiya Natya Sangh. Its presidentSmt. Kam~ladevi Chattopadhyaya, in heraddress, said that the Natya Sanghs shouldnot take over the functions of theatre groupsby venturing in.toproductions, they should onlyhelp to coordinate the activities of variousgroups. S.mt. Chattopadhyaya having reso­lutely declined the delegates' persistent requestto continue as president of the Natya Sanghfor another year, the convention elected Smt.Bharatidevi Sarabhai in her place.

Eisenhower Entertained

India greeted the U. S. president Eisen­how~~ at the Rashtrapati Bhawan through hertraditional and folk dances and music underthe auspices of All India Radio. The pro­gramme included Kamala Laxman's Alarippu

and Varnam through Bharata Nat yam style,Indrani Rehman's Odissi dance and Vyjayanti­mala's Kurathi (Tamilnad) dances. India'snorth-eastern part was represented by theperformances of Manipur and Maibi dances.Nirmalendu Chowdhuri sang a few Bhatialifolk songs of Bengal.

Yugoslav Dance Ensemble

Kolo-a dance and song ensemble fromYugoslavia-compnsing fifty well knownartists, led by Mrs. Olga Skovaru., staged fourperformances in the capital. Proceeds fromthe performances were donated to the PrimeMinister's National Relief Fund.

Indian Dancer's Success in Australia

According to a report of Commonwealthof Australia News and Information Service,released by the Australian High Commission,Australian critics highly praised the talentedIndian dancer, Smt. Indrani Rehman, whenshe presented a short season of classical dancein Sydney, Brisbane, Ipswich, Southport andother places of Australia. Her programmeconsisted of Odissi and Bharata Natyamdances. The tour was arranged by the ArtsCouncil of Australia, which presents out­standing Australian and overseas artists. Shewas accompanied by four reputed musicians,Lokiah (singer and cymbal player), KrishnaPillai (drummer), SrinivasaMurthy (flutist)and Deva Prasad Das (Tambura and Mardalplayer). Before returning to India Indranivisited Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand

Indrani Rehman watches two 0/ the principal dancers 0/the Borovansky Ballet rehearse the Sleeping Princessatthe Empire Theatre Sydney. The Ballet director,

Mr. EdouardBorovansky is with her.

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and gave performances there. She had pre­viously danced in Ceylon and China. and lastyear toured round Europe and the UnitedKingdom, where she received rich encomiums.

Veteran Musician HonouredThe citizens of Bangalore presented the

title of "Gayaka Sikhamani" and a goldmedal to Shri Sangeetarama M. R. Rama­krishna Bhagavathar, Organiser of ShriPurandara T~yagaraja Pathshala, Mysore, onDec. 11 at Vidyamandir Hall of Shri Sidda­rudha Swamy, Rangaswamy Temple Street,Banglore.

Indian Dancers From Ceylon

The Karnataka Sangeetha Sabha held onDec. 12, 1959, a "Dati Varundhu" in whichthe Hindu Woman's Society of Ceylon gavedance and musical items at Vigyan Bhawan,New Delhi. It was interesting to see BharataNatyam danced by young Ceylonese Tamil~irls-an art that has only recently beenintroduced among the Indian population ofthe island. This cultural contact with theisland is praiseworthy, and it is hoped that infuture solid dance instruction will be availableto the daughters of Ceylonese Indians. Themusical items. performed by a ladies' orchestraconsisting of violins, vinas, a flute andJaltarang, included light music and an admix­ture of different ragas.

I.P.T.A. ConferenceThe Third Bihar State Conference and

Festival of the Indian People's TheatreAssociation will be held at Sonepur in thedistrict of Saran in the first week of Aprilnext. Guru Gopinath, the eminent danceexponent of the Kathakali style, is likely tomaugurate the conference. Troupes fromManipur, Bengal Uttar Pradesh and BombayWIll participate in the cultural festival.

National Theatre for Every StateThe Government of India would set up a

natIonal theatre in each state capital in con­nection with the centenary celebration ofRabindranath Tagore in 1961, Shri HumayunKabir, Union Minister for Scientific Researchand Cultural Affairs, announced at Calcutta.while presiding over the twelfth anniversarycelebration of an amateur dramatic organi­sation. "Sree Mancha" on Dec. 24. 1959.Shri Kabir said that in the fourteen Statecapitals and two centrally administered States.

national theatres were being set up with avIe"Y to encouraging the amateurs and pro­fessional dramatic groups, who would beallowed to stage dramas only at a nominalrate.

Conch Music Recital

There was a Shankhavadyam (conch music)performance by Tiruvarur Mahalingam, at ameeting of the Experts Committee of theMadras Music Academy held on Dec. 29, 1959,Vidwan Madurai Mani Ayyar presided.Accompanied by Ramamurthi of Madras onthe violin and Tiruvarur Krishnamurthi on theMridangam, Mahalingam rendered a Thiruppu­gazh piece in Mayamalavagowla. He playedNadatamumanish Sarasasamadhana Paratparaand Manasa-Sancharare. He demonstrated

.the scope for raga alapana on the conch byrendering a ragamalika. There was a metalmouth-piece attached to the conch, but noreed was employed. The Committee thenlistened to a recital of the compositions ofRajaganesa Dikshitar of Chidambaram. T. V.Seetarama Ayyar and his son T. S. Vasudevan,later, gave a recital of songs from the Krishnaleela tarangini of Narayana Tirtha.

Music in Railway Trains

Passengers travelling long-distance by airconditioned express trains between New Delhiand Howrah and New Delhi and Madras willbe able to keep themselves posted with thelatest national and international events whiletravelling. Arrangements are being made bythe Northern Railway to relay the A.I.R. newsbulletins at 8 a. m. and 9 a. m, daily. Thecorresponding news broadcasts in differentlanguages will also be relayed in those of theregions through which the trains would pass.Selected instrumental and orchestral tape­recorded music will also be played in trains forentertainment of passengers.

Charity Show in Aid of Child InstituteThe Little Theatre Group gave a Charity

performance on Dec. 13, 1959, at MinervaTheatre, Calcutta, in aid of Primary School­cum-Clinic, where apart from generaleducation curriculum, scientific investigationsare undertaken to help children developnormal and healthy psychology. Intelligencequotients are measured and play techniquesand drama techniques etc. are applied for byenhancing students' mental faculties. These aredone by the Institute under the guidance of a

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group of competent child psychologists.Expenses of the Institute ~re met by generouscontributions of the publtc an? by.t~e b.atchof social workers who are helping this instituteto grow up.

Theatre Properties Exhibition

In the premises of the Delhi Art Theatre(Shankar Market) the Bharatiya N~tya Sanghheld an exhibition of traditional Indian Theatrecostumes and masks, collected on a researchtour by Shri Inder Razdan. He gave.a talk onthe subject, illustrated with coloure~ slides !ak~nin Manipur, Seraikella and Ganjam District(Orissa).

Piano Recital by Lili Kraus

Lili Kraus gave a piano recital on Dec. 11,1959, at New Empire, Calcutta. She began withBach's Capriccio on the Departure ofa BelovedBrother, which was followed by Mozart'sTen Variation on a Theme by Gluck, Adagioin B minor, Schubert's Improptu in E flat major,Brahms' Intermezzo in B flat minor and endedthe first half of the concert with his Rhapsodyin Eflat major. Bartok's Peasant Songs andDances opened the second half. The concertended with Beethoven's Piano Sonata Waldsteinin C major. To the continued calls for encoreLili Kraus played some Valses Nobles bySchubert and Mozart's Turkish March.

Village Show by VietnameseThe Song and Dance Ensemble from the

Democratic Republic ofViet-Nam, which cameto India on a fortnight's visit, gave a show tothe villagers of Delhi in a field near Mehrauli.The Butterfly dance by the girls was followedby the Bell dance by a group of men. Thenthe men and women dancers appeared togetherin the Harvest dance, the programme also inc­luded Bam~oo dance, Chande Mama Door Keand an Indian film tune. The party apart fromgiving a few shows at Delhi performed atseveral cities of India.

Visit of Czech Orchestra

On the invitation of the Government ofIndia the world renowned Czech PhilharmonicOrchestra of Prague made their first visit ofthis land in December 1959 and had been toa few cities of the country including New Delhiand Calcutta. The concert was conducted bythe European conductor Van Karcel Anced andincluded two great symphonies-one by Brahms

and the other by Dvorak. At ~ew Delhi theOrchestra gave its recital at Vigyan Bhawan,There Prime Minister Nehru, Vice-PresidentRadhakrishnan, Ministers of the CentralGovernment and diplomats were among thedistinguished audience. At Calcutta the per­formance was held at New Empire Theatrebefore the Governor of West Bengal, Smt,Padmaja Naidu, and Chi~f M.inister Dr. ~.C.Roy. The recitals were. In aid of· the Pn~.eMinister's National Reher Fund, and the VISitwas organised by the Ministry of CulturalAffairs.

Music Festival at ·Hyderabad

A Music Festival was organised by theSouth Indian Cultural Association at Hydera­bad in connection with its second anniversary.The programme included a clarionet r~cital byTiruchi A.K.C. Natarajan. The festival wasinaugurated by Shri N. Sanjiva Reddy, ChiefMinister.

Variety Entertainment by S. S. Sabba

Sree Shanmukhananda Sangeetha Sabhapresented on Dec. 6. 1959 a programme ofvariety. entertainment on the occasion of itsannual day celebrations at the ConstitutionHall. The highlight of the programme was aTamil skit, written and produced by PoornamVishwanathan for the South Indian Theatres.The programme included an item of Bhangradances by Sujata Puri, Rupa Puri and party. Mr.Justice Venkatarama Iyer gave away the prizesand certificates to the Sabha school students.

Reception to Uday Shankar Troupe

To meet Uday Shankar, his wife AmalaShankar and their troupe, the Bharatiya NatyaSangh and thirteen art and culture associationsof the capital gave a reception at the Chelms­ford Club on Dec. 6, 1959. Smt. KamaladeviChattopadhyay, President of the BharatiyaNatya Sangh, welcomed the guests.

Tamil Drama Festival

A seven-day drama and dance festivalorganised by the Bombay Tamil Sangham,was inaugurated by Shri J.C. Jain, President ofthe Natya Sangh, in Bombay on Dec. 5, 1959.The Seva Stage, a dramatic troupe headed byShri S.V. Sahasranamam, presented a senes ofsix plays in Tamil. The first play staged onthe occasion was Theretti Magan.

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Degree Course in Kathakali

A College of Kathakali should be startedin Kerala is a recommendation submitted to thesyndicate by the Kerala University Fine ArtsFaculty. The Faculty has also suggested to thesyndicate for the institution of a degree coursein Kathakali, Bharat Natyam and Dramaturgy.

January

English Drama Staged

The Little Theatre Group staged on Jan. 2Long Day's Journey Into Night, a play ofEugene O'Neill, at the I.E.N.S. Building Hall,New Delhi. The play was produced by InderDass. The participants, especially the follow­ing acquitted themselves well: Clyde Lee, SarvKathpalia, Ravi Kathpalia, Shailendra,Shankar and Gaynor Franklin.

Double Bill by Unity Theatre

The Unity Theatre of New Delhi celebratedNew Year's Day with a double bill by JohnMortimer at the Constantia Hall. The firstplay The Dock Brief was all about an agedbarrister appearing on behalf of a criminal.Mr. Alfred Hall as the criminal, and Mr. WalterGardener-Stanbridge as the barrister, made theplay a success.

The other drama, What Shall We TellCaroline,was enacted by Tony Griffiths, JaneMajor, Aruna Chatterji and Sandy Sundaram..The first named play was directed by MichaelStephens and the second one by VeronicaHilton-Brown.

Bharata Natyam Recital

Karnata SangeethaSabha, presented aprogramme of dance and songs at the VigyanBhavan in January 1960. The programmeorganised to collect funds for the musicschool of the Sabha, was called Kalai Virundhuand was produced by Salva Mangalyar Kazha­gam of Ceylon. The programme consisted oforchestral pieces, Karnatic music and BharatNatyam numbers.

Variety Entertainment in Aid of ChildrenA special programme featuring, classical

songs, light tunes, Ghazals, Qawalis and dances,was presented at Sapru House on January 3.The concert was held under the auspices ofthe Society for the Protection and Rehabilita-

tion of Women and Children of India Theprogramme incIu~ed Rasoolan Bai's Tappa,Farhat J~han .~Iboo's Kheyals in Bihag;M~~htar Jindwali s Basant (Khe)'al), ShamshirBai s Ghazal, Qawali group sinning byMushtar Jindwali, Anno, Shanta, P~ntla andMushtar Rohtakwali, Tarana, by Panna Bai,Ghazal of Shakeel Badayuni by Zarina BaiQawali duet by Hamida and Mahmuda and ~Rajasthani Sahnai recital by Chand Khan andparty.

Indian Play Staged in Tashkent

The Spoilt Child, a play in Gujerati, byMr. Pragjee Dossa, an Indian playwright, hadits premiere at the Gorky Drama Theatre atTashkent, in Uzbekistan, on January 3. accord­ing to a Tass report received in Delhi. Mr.Vasily Kozlov directed the play and Mr.Alexander Ginsburg was the translator and theproducer.

Russian Theatre Inaugurated

The House ofCulture and Rest, the RussianTheatre in the Diplomatic Enclave, was in­augurated on Jan. 7 with a pleasant program­me presented by the Bashkir Folk Dance.The audience appreciated the dance items ofNaughty Girls, Bridegroom, and Indian Santhaldance and the song, beginning with the lineSare Jehan Se Achha.

Students Stage Humorous Drama

A group of Modern School old students,all of them below twenty, and, none of whomhas been on stage before, presented Moliere'sboisterous farce, L'Avare on Jan. 9 at NewDelhi in an adaptation in Urdu by Awara.Among the artists special mention should bemade of K. Anand, Mohanlal Verma, SyedaSaiydain and Geeta Kapur. The play was pro­duced by Ved Vyas.

Hungarian Musicia(Marries Student

Zoltan Kodaly, seventy seven year old"grand old man" of Hungarian music hasmarried Sari Pecell, a seventyone year-oldmusic student, the bride's mother revealed atBudapest. According to Mr. Lazzlo Pecell,the wife of a professor at Pees, South Hungary,Sari and Kodaly were married in the TownHall at Pees. Kodaly's first wife died lastApril. Kodaly is his country's most distin­guished living composer, music teacher andfolk lorist.

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Bombay State Drama Festival Awards

The results of the final competition forMarathi dramas held at Ahmednagar as partof the sixth Bombay State Natya Mahotsavawere announced by the Government of Bombayon January 5. The Goa Hindu Association,Bombay, gets the first prize of 2,000/- for thedrama Sharda. The Second prize of Rs. 1,000/­goes to Indian National Theatre, Bombay, rorits drama Kanchechi Kheini. The followinginstitutions have been awarded consolationprizes of Rs. 101/- each: (1) Karvir NatyaMandaI, Kolhapur, for its drama, ManusNawache Bet, (2) Ahmednagar Wachnalaya,Ahmednagar, for its drama Vedyache. GharUnhat and (3) Lokhitwadi Mandal, :Naslk, forits drama Sunder Mee Honar,

Prizes for good direction have been givento Shri Raghunath Kshirsagar, Ahmednagar,(first prize Rs. 500/-); (2) Shri Gopinath Saw­kar, Bombay, (second prize Rs 250/-); (3) ShriJayshankar Danwe, Kolhapur, (third prizeRs. 150/-); and (4) Shri Bhiku Pai Angle, Nasik,(fourth prize Rs. 100/-).

Author's first prize of Rs. 150/- has beenawarded to the successor of the late Shri G.D.Dewal for Sharda.

The foIlowing artists have been awardedindividual prizes of Rs. 101 and a SilverMedal each: (1) Shri Arvind Deshpande,Bombay, for playing the role of 'Raja' inKanchechi Kheini; (2) Shri Raghuvir Narwe­kar, Bombay, for playing the role of 'Bhujan­ganath' in Sharda ; (3) Shri Bharat Pange,Thana, for playing the role of 'Digu' in Duritan­che Timeer lawai (4) Shri Madhukar Torad­mal, Ahmednagar, for playing the role of'Dadasaheb' in Vedyache Ghar Unhat; (5)

. Kumari Ashalata Naik, Bombay, for playingthe role of 'Sharda' in Sharda; (6) KumariKanhopatra, Kolhapur, for playing the role of'Mahi' in Manus Nawche Bet; (7) KumariRajni Joshi Latur for playing the role of'Rambha' in Rambha and (8) Kumari SulbhaKarnerkar, Bombay, for playing the role of'Malan' in Kanchechi Kheini,

Shri Ramdas Kamath has been awardedthe prize of Rs. 101/- for music in Sharda.

Violin Recital by French LadySponsored by the Little Theatre Group

and organised under the patronage of theFrench Ambassador to India, Madame Brigitte

H. de Beaufond gave a delightful violin recitalat Sapru House, New Delhi, on January 5.Accompanied skilfuIly on the piano byMadame Edila Gaitonde, Beaufond was weIlin Beethoven and Weber Sonatas. She playeda pugnani prelude Malaguena by Albeniz,Danse de Negrillion, Tambourin Chinoise, aDisney world of exotics and Emanuel Falla's"Danse de al vie Breve". .

Bharatiya Sanskriti .Sammelan'sMusic Conference

The Udayan Club, Beliaghata, Calcutta,organised a music conference under the titleBharatiya Sanskriti Sammelan. The pro­gramme included Bismillah Khan's Sehnai,Tarapada Chakravarty's Kheyal vocal, AlIaRakha's Tabla Lahara, Sandhya Mukerjee'sKheyals, Thumri and Bhajan, Vilayat Khan'sSitar recital, Anil Mallick's Sarod recital andBade Ghulam Ali's Kheyals.

Justice in Name of MusicAn accused in New Delhi on January II,

appealed to the magistrate's sense of justice inthe "name of music".

Khadak Bahadur, a 35 year-old Nepaliwas arrested on January 10 for "creatingnuisance" with his Pahari flute in South.Avenue. The police said he acted like a "PiedPiper", attracting a large number of peopleas he walked along the "Silence Zone" playingon the flute.

Mr. A.C. .Aggrawal, a magistrate, repri­manded and released him with the warningthat he should not repeat the performance.

With both hands menacled the youngNepali told the magistrate that if "music is acrime" he would undergo any punishment. Herequested the magistrate to hear him play justonce before punishing him.

Manipuri Dance Recital

Miss Joan Klick', an American girl, and. Mr.Bihari Sharma gave a recital of Manipundancing at the Constantia, New Delhi, on theevening of Jan. 9, under the auspices of theTriveni Kala Sangam and the U. S. Education­al Foundation in India. They performe.d 3:duet number, entitled Khamba Thoibi. BihanSharma's solo item was Pung Cha/om, whereasMiss Klick's solo recital was the dance of theMaibi Priestess. They exhibited Raslila dancealso.

Street,festival

Tagore Centenary Celebrations

In aid of the Tagore Centenary Celebrationsa music concert by Mr. Pankaj Mullick anda dance performance by Smt. Priti Ghosh­Chakraborti were given on January 8 at theChildren's Theatre. The function was inaugu­rated by Mr. K. S. Ramaswami Sastri whopaid a tribute to Tagore's greatness'. Mr.Mullick gave a number of pieces from Tagoreand some popular songs. Smt. Priti Ghosh­Chakraborti's dancing comprised items in boththe Manipuri and Kathak Styles.

Folk Dance Performance

Jogira dance performance was held onJ~nuary 4 at village Lodipur near Dinapore,Bihar State. The Jogira folk dance is an olddance dating back from the time of Kabir,The performers belong to the backward com­munity, but they have kept alive the old dancetradition. The dances were followed by folksongs of a devotional nature.

Sharafat Hussein's Vocal Recital

. Sharafat Hussein, one of the prominentrepresentatives of the Agra School, made hisappearance in the city of New Delhi, when onJanuary 10 he sang under the auspices of theSuburban Music Circle at Santa Cruz. Hedemonstrated Raag Gouri, in Vi/ambit Kheyal,Shuddha Kalyan, in Kheyal and Kafi in Thumri.

Nastanir's Music Festival

Nastanir of 14, HemchandraCalcutta, organised a two-day musicat Kidderpore on January 7 and 8.

The two-days' programme included songsby Hemanta Mukherji, Sandhya Mukherji,Tabla by Ranen Ghosal, Sarod by KamalMullick, Tabla by Karamatullah Khan, Tablaby AlIa Rakha, vocal by Bade Ghulam AliKhan, Sitar by Abdul Halim Jaffar Khan, vocalby Bhimsen Joshi, and Shehnai by BismiIlahKhan and party.

Calcutta All-India Music Conference

The All-India Music Conference ofCalcutta was held this year in the month ofJanuary. Among the noted participants in itwere; Pt. Ravi Shankar (Sitar), Chatur Lal(Tabla), Shiam Ganguli (Sarod), KaramatullahKhan (Tabla), Pt. Vishnu Govind Jog(Violin), and Chidanand Nagarkar, Principal,Bharatiya Sangeet Siksha Pith of the Bharatiya

71

Sangeet Bhavan, Bombay, (Vocal), (an artistfrom Bangalore). The other items were vocalby Kesarbai Keskar, Sarod by Sharan RaniMathur, Kathak dance by Purnima Ghoshvocal by Chitrita Halder. Kathak dance byPadma Kumari of Banaras, Bharata Natyamdance by A. Kanan and Sitar bv Ustad VilayatHussein Khan. •

Demonstration of Tagore Music

Under the auspices of the All-India FineArts and Crafts Society, Shri Shantidev Ghoshof ~hantiniketan rendered some songs ofRahindranath Tagore at the Fine Arts Thea­tre, New Delhi, on January 18. A few itemswere presented by the members of the GeetaBitan of New Delhi also.

Violin and Vocal Recitals

At a music concert organised by SaraswatiSarnaj at the premises of the GandharvaMahavidyalaya, New Delhi, on the eveningof January 18, violinist D. K. Datar of'Bornbayand vocalist Dinkar Kaikini of Delhi gavedelightful performances. Datar played RagaBhimpalasi followed by a Thumri. Dinkarsang Raag Hemant.

Theatre Workshop's Drama

Theatre Workshop of New Delhi producedthe Anonilh play, The Waltz of the Toreadorsfor several days from January 8, directed byChris Rosenfeld. The play was staged atFine Arts Theatre. The play is a commentaryon life. Special mention should be made ofthe following artists; Chris Merillat, Jim Tytler,K. Maharaj Singh and Chris Rosenfeld. Thesets were designed, decorated and lighted byMichael Overman, Monique de Buzon andMartha Keehu. Costumers were under thecharge of Denise Lequiller.

Variet~' Entertainment by Bengali Artists

The dances and songs presented by theWest Bengal Entertainment Section at theRangmanch Theatre, New Delhi, on January19, were in the nature of a variety programme.There were choruses, seasonal songs based onTagore and a symphony of Indian dramas.The attractive items were San/hal dance andDan Leela based on the Padabali Kirtans ofBengal.

Dance-Drama in Bengali Staged

Mahua, a dance-drama in Bengali,

72

produced by Pankaj Mullick, was staged forthe Press by the West Bengal GovernmentEntertainment Section of the RangmanchTheatre, in the World Agriculture Fair, NewDelhi, on January 18 and the days following.Pankaj Mullick was the director of the produc­tion as well. Mahua is a tale from Mymen­singh and deals mainly with. a tribal clanknown as "Bede".

U. S. Folk Singers in India

Four U. S. artists, Marilyn Child, CiscoHouston, Sohny Terry and Brownie McGhee,all folk singers, toured India in the month ofJanuary. Their tour programme was sponso­red by President Eisenhower's special pro­gramme for cultural presentations. Theiritinerary included Aurangabad, Nagpur, Baroda,Ahmedabad, Poona, Bombay, Chandigarh,New Delhi and Calcutta.

Dover Lane Music Conference

The Dover Lane Music Conference startedfrom January 15, at Singhi Park, 48,Gariahat Road. Ballygunj, Calcutta. Theprogramme included dance by .Km. SumitaBhattacharjee, vocal by Ostad Nazakat andSalamat, Sitar by Nikhil Banerji, Tabla byOstad Alia Rakha and Sarangi by JanabSagiruddin.

S. R. C. A. Ministry's Scholarship Awards

The following persons have beenselectedby the Union Ministry of ScientificResearch and Cultural Affairs for the award ofscholarships under the "Scheme of Scholar­ships to young Artists in different CulturalFields" during the year 1959-60.

Bharat Natyam : Miss K. A. KrishnaKumari (Madras) and Miss R. Jeevarathuamala(Madras).

Kuchipudi: Korada Narasimha Rao (AndhraPradesh), Miss Vasundhara Mothey (AndhraPradesh) and Miss V. Sumathy (AndhraPradesh).

Kathakali: V. P. Dhananjayan (Kerala).Kathak: Tirath Ram Ajmani (New Delhi)

and Miss Bharati Gupta (Uttar Pradesh).

Folk Dance: Narayan Paramayya Hasyagar(Mysore),

Drama: Sunil Kumar Banerjee (West

Bengal),M.Nilamani Singh (Manipur). andVeeresh Kumar Modhukar (Uttar Pradesh).

Hindusthani Music (Vocal): Miss SulochanaKalelkar (Uttar Pradesh), Miss ShibaniChatterjee (West Bengal), Ghulam Sadiq Khan(Uttar Pradesh) and Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar(Rajasthan).

Hindusthani Music (Illstrumental): D.Dingoskar (Bombay) and Kiran Sadashivarao(Madhya Pradesh).

Karnatic Music (Vocal): Mrs. RajalakshmiJaganarayanan (Madras), Miss M. Balasaras­wathi (Madras), Miss Tripurasundari (Madras)and Miss C. Lalitha (Kerala).

Karnatic Music (Instrumental): MissDwaram Aliverju Mangathayar (AndhraPradesh) and Miss V. A. Mangalam (Madras).

Under the scheme the Union Governmentawarded scholarships to talented young personsof outstanding promise in varied fields ofcultural activity. The total scheme may notexceed 100 at any time. The value of eachscholarship is Rs, 250/- a month and is nor­mally tenable for two years.

Manipuri Dance.by Jbaveri Sisters

The Jhaveri sisters of Bombay gave aManipuridance performance at the Rang­manch Theatre of the World AgricultureExhibition, New Delhi, on January 15 andseveral days following. With their Guru, Bipin .Sinha, three of the four sisters gave samplesof their dancing. The programme includedKhandita by Ranjana Jhaveri, Dashavatar Swar­mala and Kalingmatham by Suverna Jhaveri,and Anganad by Virmangal Singh. .

Odissi Dance Performance

The Kala Vikas Kendra of Cuttack presen­ted a programme of Odissi dances for severalcays from Jan. 23 at the Rangmanch Theatreof the World Agriculture Fair. Two studentsof the Kendra, Krishnapriya Nanda andShantilata Roy, rendered four Odissi numbers.The programme included Batu Nritya, anAbhinaya piece from Gita Govinda, a solo dancebased on a piece from Krishna Gatha, a NaylkiBheda and a dance drama.

Two Plays by Bombay Theatre Unit

Theatre Unit, a well-known drama groupof Bombay, staged two plays of New Delhi

during the latter part of January under thesponsorship of the Delhi Art Theatre. Theplays were Christopher Fry's A Phoenix tooFrequent and Strindberg's Lady Julie. Mr.Alkazi was the director of the plays. Theperformances were accompanied by an exhibi­tion of stage design. The exhibition includedfifteen scale models of stage sets, and photo­graphs of the Unit's productions.

Song and Drama Seminars

The Song and Drama Divisional Seminarswere conducted at Eluru, Kovvur and Narasa­pur, among the College and High Schoolstudents in the district to make them Plan­minded and to make the best use of theunexploited histrionic talents hidden in themand also for enlisting public cooperation forthe successful implementation of the plans ..

In Eluru thirteen schools participated.Sir C.R. Reddy College of Eluru, whichenacted the drama Natakamu Lo Natakamu,was adjudged as the best for the Division.

In Kovvur Division five schools participa­ted and the Multi-Purpose High School,Tunuku, was adjudged as the best one. Itenacted Pranalika Vijayam. In NarasapurDivision four schools participated, amongwhich M.M.K.N. Municipal Higher SecondarySchool, Palacole, which enacted Purogamanamwas adjudged the best for that Division.

Exposition of Thyagaraja's Compositions

Karnatic music lovers in New Delhi had anopportunity in the third week of January tolisten to an authentic exposition on the lifeand works of Shri Thyagaraja, a saint-composerof the : South. The exponent MannargudiSambasivam gave the musical discourse underthe auspices of the Delhi Bhajan Samaj atKarolbagh. Among Thyagaraja's Kritis herendered Etavuna in Yadukula Kambodhi andKaruna Samudra in Devagandhari.

'Kagajer Phul' Staged

A social drama, Kagajer phul written byManotosh Kumar Dev, was staged on January8.in the local Town Hall, Chandpur (Tippera),The drama was produced by Mr. Dilip Sahaand Nannu Bhai and directed by Mr. Himang­shu Choudhury. Among the players whofeatured most prominently were HimangshuChoudhury, A.S. Ghosh, Tarun Dey, Dinesh

73

Saha, Himangshu Das, Monotosh, AnwarulHuq, Ashraf Hussain, Shyama Prasad, Tulaia!1d Mubarak. Background music was pro­vided by Manu Ghosh, and the direction insongs and dances was done by Amal Chou­dhuri and Miss Babli.

Indian Cultural Troupe at Nepal

The Government of India sent a party of twowriters and three musicians to Nepal for parti­cipation in the Indian Republic Day Celebra­tions which the Indian Embassy organisedin Kathmandu on January 26, 1960.

The cultural group was composed of Smt.Amrita Pritam and Shri Prabodh Sanyal(writers) and Smt. Sharan Rani, Shri Chaturlaland Shri Mani Prasad (musicians).

The troupe had been sent to Nepal as partof the Cultural Activities Programme of theUnion Government.

Dance Recital by Ritha Devi

The two-day session of the Middle ClassPeople's Convention came to an end withRitha Devi's dance recital on Jan. 24, at thePadar College Hall, Matunga, Bombay. It wasa balanced programme of Bharata Natyam,Manipuri and Kathakali items which Rithapresented. She presented Ananda NatanaPrakasem, picturising the Nataraja's dance,the Padam, Sarigakongu, depicting the fun andfrolic of Bal Krishna, the "butter-thief" andPutana Moksham (in Kathakali technique).

Bharat Natyam Dance Recital

Kumari Sudha Doraiswamy gave a soloBharat Natyam dance recital for the benefit ofthe Bharat Education Society at Kurla, NewDelhi, on Jan. 24. She is the pupil of ShriRaja Rajeswari Bharata Natya Kala Mandir,Matunga, Bombay. She exhibited A/arippu,Yethiswaram, Sabdam, Varnam, Yethai Kandu­nee and Nathar Mudimel, Her Gurus. ShriGovindraj Pillai and Mahalingarn Pillai, ledthe orchestra.

Drama Festival at Varanasi

There was a three-day drama festival atVaranasi in the last week of January under theauspices of the Nagari Natak Mandali. Therewere altogether four plays. Three of these

74

were one-act plays, while the fourth Jwar Bhataby Mr. Raj Kumar was a full-length drama.The three one-act plays staged were Abhineta(actor), by Mr. Bedhab Banarsi, Bachav byMr. Shivaji Arora and Patthar ya Insan byMr. Vijai Rai

Indrani's Performance in Pakistan

Karachi saw performances by an Indiandancing team which was sent to Pakistan for theopening of the new Indian Chancery Buildingon Republic Day. The team comprisedIndrani Rehman (dancer), Ishtiaq Ahmed(Sarod player) and Gajanan Rao Joshi(Vocalist). Three performances were given.

FebruaryDance Performance by Vaijayantimala

Vaijayantimala gave a Bharat Natyamdance recital on February 6, during the annualfestival of the Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Artsand Sangeetha Sabha at New Delhi. Herprogramme included Varnam, Pogadiralo inShankarabharanam, Dashavatar and Varuttamin Sa veri.

Variety Entertainment by Children

Screams of delight reverberated throughthe Fine Arts Theatre, New Delhi, on Feb. 6when the children's Little Theatre organisedits sixth annual festival. The cast of dancersand musicians consisted exclusively of youngs­ters , between three and fourteen. The perfor­mance opened with an orchestral piece by thestudents of the LA.F. School, under thedirection of a ten-year-old conductor. The

.programme included Scottish dance by girls.A Doll's Marriage by Lady Irwin School, TheProdigal's Son by S1. Thomas School, Vasun­dhara by Children's Little Theatre, Fantasiaby Bluebell's School, Vasant by Children'sLittle Theatre, Punjabi Folk Dance by HappySchool, The Mischievous Monkeys by LadyIrwin SChool (Defence Colony) and GoldenGoose by Delhi Public School.

Presentation of Dances from Andhra

Dances of Andhra were presented at Rang­manch on February 10 by Geetha Nritya KalaMandir of Vizianagaram. The programmeopened with Okka Deepam and was followedby Mathurai, a folk dance of Adilabad byGopal Raj Bhat and party. Then came the

fisherman's dance by Sampath Kumar. Thenext number was the ferocious Bonar dance.The programme also included Temptation ofthe Buddha and a few more representative dancenumbers.

Theatre Workshop's English Play

Theatre Workshop presented The Diary ofAnne Frank, narrating the story of a jewishgirl, who lived in hiding from the Nazis fromthe age of thirteen to fifteen. The play wasstaged at the All-India Fine Arts Society Hall,New Delhi, on Feb. 12. Mr. Michael Overmanproduced the play, and among the artistsspecial mention should be made of Miss EsmeSen, Mr. J. Tytler, Mrs. Anne Sharma, Mrs.Jan Joglekar and Mr. Eric Simeon.

Music Festival at PHani

The Birla Education Trust, Pilani, organiseda three day music festival in connection withthe inauguration of the Saraswati Templeduring the first week of February.

Well-known artists like Hirabai Barodkar,A. Kanan, Daggar Brothers, Rais Khan,Karamat Khan, Ram Narain Mishra andImrat .Khan participated. Some of the mem­bers of the Bharatiya Kala Kendra also tookpart in the festival.

AIl-Assam Music Conference

The Seventh Session of the All-AssamMusic Conference was held at Gauhati in thefirst week of February. Of the local artistswho took part in the demonstration were:Moniram Gayan and his party present­ing Chalinach, Kamini Das (Violin), Kuma~Nami Agarwala (Manipuri dance) and KumanNilima Das (Kathak dance).

Among the invited artists were: Ostad AliAkbar khan (Sarod), Shri Nikhil Banerjee(Sitar), Shri Nikhil Ghose (Tabla), ShriAshfaque Hussain (Tabla), Smt. GangubaiHangal (Vocal), Shri Chinmoy Lahiri (Vocal)and Smt. Kamla Laxman and her sister Smt.Radha (Bharat Natyam).

Uttar Kalikata Sangeet Sammelan

The Uttar Kalikata Sangeet Samme1an washeld during the third week of February atUpper Circular Road, Calcutta. Ostad Nazakatand Salamat Ali Khans, Pakistani singers ofSamchurasi Gharana of Multan, gave vocal

demonstrations of Eman Kalyan Kheyal inVi/ambit and Druta Laya, (Jhumra, Jhaptal andTritaly, and also a Tarana followed by a PahariThumri. Ostad Alladitta Khan played TablaLahara in Trital with Sarengl by Shri BachhaLal Misra.

Dance-Drama'Moomal' Staged

The dance-drama Moomal was presentedby Udaipur Bharatiya Lok Kala MandaI onFebruary 20 at the A.I.F.A.C.S., New Delhi,sponsored by the Little Theatre Group. Thedance drama was directed by Devi Lal Samar.

Tansen Festival at Gwalior

The National Festival of Hindustani musicin memory of Tansen, renowned musician ofEmperor Akbar's Court, was held at Gwaliorin the third week of February. Dr. B.V. Keskar,Union Minister for Information and Brodcast­ing, inaugurated the function.

The three-day festival included five sittingsof musical recitals by the side of Tansen'sSamadhi at Gwalior, and one sitting at Behat,a village about twentyeight miles fromGwalior, where Tansen was born.

Delhi Unlverslty to Start Music Courses

Delhi University has finalised details tostart music courses under its newly createdFaculty of Music and Fine Arts.

A three-year honours course in Hindustanimusic will be started at the beginning of thenext academic year. A two-year diploma(Sangeet Shiromani) course in Hindustani andKarnatak music will be started at the sametime.

The honours course in Karnatak music islikely to be started in a year or two.

Facilities will also be provided from thebeginning of the new academic yea~ to st.udentsto offer music as one of the subjects m theB. A. (Pass) Course.

Winners of Sanskrit Drama Festival

The Sanskrit Samvardhakam Manda] ofThana has been awarded the first prize ofRs, 500 in Bombay State Sanskrit NatyaMahotsava, held in Bombay, on February 11,12 and 13. The MandaI had enacted Act III ofVenisamharam.

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The panel of judges decided to award thesecond prize of Rs. 300 to the BhousalaVedshastra Mahavidyalaya Dramatic Society ofNagpur for staging Acts IV and V of S....apnava­savadattam and the third prize of Rs.200 to theSanskrit Sahitya Mandal, D.G. Rupard College,Bombay, which enacted Act II and IV ofMalatimadhav,

Ballet Show for ChildrenRichard Maitland and his Children's Inter­

national Dance Theatre presented a balletperformance at the Fine Arts Theatre, NewDelhi, on February 24, in the presence of acosmopolitan audience, including the PrimeMinister.

Mrs. Ellsworth Bunker, wife of the U.S.Ambassador in New Delhi, inaugurated theprogramme, which was in aid of floodvictims of West Bengal.

The programme was essentially meant forchildren. Special mention should be madeof the following artists: Leelee Woodman,Manucia Albuquerque, Efipania Nanas, BirgitLarsen, Charlene Chitamber and WalterGardner Stanbridge.

The performance was sponsored by theBengali Association of New Delhi,

Symposium on Theatre ArchitectureA symposium on theatre architecture

organised by the Bharatiya Natya Sangh, anaffiliate of the International Theatre Institute,was held on February 28 and 29 at the VigyanBhavan, New Delhi.

The symposium was attended by some ofthe Government architects from all the States,playwrights, prod~cers and. directors of t~estage, a few .pnvate ar~hltects~.experts In

acoustics lighting and air-conditioning andobserver; from the Union Ministries ofScientific Research and Cultural Affairs andCommunity Development, National School ofDrama and U.N. Organisations.

The Bharatiya Natya Sangh also organ.isedat the All-India Fine Arts and Crafts Society,New Delhi, in conjunction wj~h the symposium,an exhibition on theatre architecture.

Bhimsen Joshi's Vocal RecitalBhimsen Joshi gave a delightful vocal music

recital on February 15 in the third annualgathering of the Nagpur Sahitya Sabha atDhanwatey Nagar Vidyalaya, Nagpur. He

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began with Shuddha Kalyan and followed itwith a Thumri, r Iadu Bhareli", Then. he sangthe popular song Ugich ka kanta, which wasfollowed by a song in Malkauns vPag LaganDe", and the pad "Chan1rfka Hi. Ja~u::. Heconcluded with a Thumri m Bhairavi, Lagatkalejawa pe Teer".

"Malati Madhav". Staged

Bhavabhooti's Sanskrit classic, MalatiMadhav, adapted in Hindi, was ~taged at t~eInformation Pavilion (World Agriculture Fair)on February 25. Col. H. V. Gupte produc~dthe play. In the main roles appeared LalitaChatterji as Malati and Gopal Kaul asMadhav.

Kumari Vasantha's Dance Recital

Kumari C. V. S. Vasantha gave a BharatNatyam dance recital on February 28, at theRangmanch Theatre of the World AgricultureFair, New Delhi. In a programme of tenitems she demonstrated Swarajati, Bhavayani,Edathu Padam and Thillana.

Uday Shankar's Equipments Gutted

A pandal in South-east Calcutta erected inconnection with the three-day jubilee celebra­tions of Tarunbrinda (Young Men's Organi­sation) was gutted on February 27 in adevastating fire.

Valuable electrical, musical and otherinstruments belonging to Uday Shankar'stroupe, which was to have given a danceperformance at the pandal were destroyed inthe fire.

Karnatic Music Seminar

The Andhra Pradesh Sangeeta NatakaAkademi held a Karnatic Music Seminar fromFebruary 25 to February 28 at the SarojiniDevi Hall, Ramkote, Hyderabad, Theprogramme included Mangala Vadyam by D.Picha Hari and party, violin by PadmasriDwaram Venkataswamy Naidu, vocal musicby Chitoor Subrahmanya PilIai, flute byVinjamuri Srinivasachari, Veena by EmaniShankara Sastry and music concerts by M.Balamurali Krishna, Koka Satyavati, MalathiPadmanabha Rao and M. S. SubramanyaSarma.

MarchMaya Rao's Kathak Recital

Bharatiya Kala Kendra of New Delhi gavea two-day festival of dance and music at SapruHouse on March 1 and 2, 1960. On the firstday Rahmat Ali Khan and Amjad Ali Khanplayed on Sarod. Gauhar Ali Khan playedon violin and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan sangaBageshwari.

The second day featured mainly in danceitems. Miss Maya Rao was the star dancer.She gave a series of dances one a~ter the other,in Kathak style, most of them being her own

Kumari Maya Roo in 0 Kathak dance pose

innovations. She started with SaraswatiVandana, followed by Rangamanch Puja, anddealing with Gat depicting Holi and the pranksof Krishna with Radhika and Gopinis, a~ddemonstrating Tatkar, culminated into a Shiva

Parvati Chaturang, Miss Rao's performancewas followed by a ballet, Kathak Through theAges, in Kathak technique, performed mainlyby the students of the Kala Kendra. Theballet was directed by Sbarrbhu Maharaj andthe musical scores were rendered by DaggarBrothers. The night session was given overto Qawwalis.

Dance and Music Festival at Bombay

The three-day dance and music festival ofthe Bombay Sangeetha Samajam was heldduring the second week of March at the PodarCollege Hall, Matunga, Bombay. Amongother items the programme includedNadaswaram by K. R. Subbiah and Party andBharat Natyam dances by Kumaris Anuradhaand Seetha. They exhibited Alarippu, Jethi­swaram, Sabdam, Varnam, Thillana, Padamsand Kanthar Kuravanji.

Hindi Drama by Little Theatre

The Little Theatre Group presented ShriBhola Nath based on an English play, TheWhole Town's Talking, at the Y.W.C.A. Con­stantia Hall, New Delhi, on March 12. Theplay was produced by Inder Dass. Ram~

Khurana played the role of Veena, and HanKrishna Ghei and Lakshmi Chandra Mathurthose of Bhola Nath and Seth Chunni Lalrespectively.

Marathi Play Staged

The Delhi Natya Kendra presented Vedyan­cha Choukon a humorous-cum-satirical farcein .Marathi, 'by Prof. Gangadhar Gadgil ofBombay, at Sapru House on March 15. Theplay was directed by Lt. Col. H.V. Gupte.Among the artists special mention should bemade of Shrikant Mogha, Ram Dabadghav,Hem Gupte, Anjali Joshi and Shalan Patil.

A Feast of Jazz

Red Nichols and his-Five Pennies, JoeRushton on the bass Saxophone, Pete Beilmannon the Trombone,Rollie Gulver on drums, SuHon on the piano and Bill Wood, the youngestof the group, provided a feast of jazz to thejazz lovers on March 14, at the A.I.F.A.C.auditorium New Delhi. The programmeconsisted ~f varied selections from the Dixie­land Jazz repertoire.

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Piano Recital

On Marc~ 14. the Delhi Music Societypresented MISS Eileen Joyce, Australian-bornconcert pianist in her piano recital in aid of theIndian Cancer Society, at Sapru House NewDelhi. The programme comprised of M~ndeI­ssohn's Prelude and Fugue in E. minorBeethoven's Appassionata Sonata, Chopin'~Fantasia in F. minor and Waltz in E. minor,Debussy's La Cathedrale Englontie, Fenx d'artifice and Granados' Allegro di Concierto,

Rumanian Ballet and Opera

The Rumanian classical ballet and operatroupe, which, toured round India during themonth of March, and exhibited their art in theimportant cities of the country, like NewDelhi, Bombay and Calcutta, consisted ofValentine Massini, Livia Liscanu, Gelu Barbu,Traian Popescu and Alexander Smuski, theoutstanding representatives of the Opera andBallet Theatre, Bucharest, the State OperaHouse, Cluj, and the Rumanian Broadcastingand Television.

Their programme included well-knownpieces from the works of famous composers,such as a duet from Don Juan by Mozart,Moonlight by Debussy, Barber of Seville byRossini, excerpts from The Rhapsody in Blueby Gershwin, a duet from Priculiciul by VenoVencea, an aria from Ernani by Verdi etc.

American Singer Dies on Stage

Mr. Leonard Warren (48), a leading Bari­tone of New York Metropolitan Opera House,fell down dead on the stage before an audienceat New York on March 6.

Mr. Warren, who was considered one ofAmerica's foremost singers, made his debutwith the company in 1939. He had sung inLa Scala, Milan, in South America and in theSoviet Union.

Bengali Drama Included in Degree Course

A resolution exhorting the University ofCalcutta to include Bengali Dramas in theUniversity syllabus for Degree Course andM.A. Examinations was passed by the BangaNatya Sahitya Sammelan, sponsore~ by theVishwaroopa Natya Unnayan ParikalpanaCommittee.

The details of the syllabus of the threeyear's Degree Course of the University ofCalcutta has been announced and it has beendeclared that Bengali drama has been adoptedby the Syndicate and the Senate.

Karnatic Music Recital

Mrs. Lakshmi Jagannathan and Mr~.Lakshmi Venketaraman gave a KarnaticMusic recital on March 6 at Lucknow underthe auspices of the Lucknow Tamil Sangam.

The recial which began with a Krlti in theHamsadhwan/raga, set in Aditala, include? anumber of pieces of great composer~ likeThyagaraja, Dikshitar, Shyama Sastri andSubramanya Bharati.

The singers were assisted by C.S.P.. Sastryon Mridanga and Gopalaknshna on Kinjira.

Veteran Musicians' Concert

The Bharatiya Kala Kendra of New Delhipresented on March 1 a fare of vocal andinstrumental music at Sapru House. Theartists presented were two veteran musicians,named Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan andBismillah and party.

The programme began with a vocal reci­tal by Irene Roy Choudhary, who sang aKheyal in Gorakh kalyan and a Thumri in Pilu.Bismillah and party played Purbi Dhun onShehnai. Thereafter Dev Shankar sang Alap,Dhrupad and Bihag, fhe programme term}­nated with Bade Ghulam Ali's Kheyal inBageshri.

Inter-Ministry Drama Competitions

The Inter-Ministry Drama Competitions,organised by the Central Secretariat DramaticBoard, were held during the month of Marchat the Community Hall. New Delhi.

In all eighteen plays were presented in thecompetitions. The judges chose the followingfor mention. Production: (1) Bharate Chai(Lok Sabha Secretariat), (2) Attache Case(Armed Forces Head Quarters) and (3) HisabBarabar (Cabinet Secretariat).

Direction: (1) Carbon Copy (Works, Hous­ing and Supply), (2) Casual Leave (Food andAgriculture, and (3) Safar ke Sathi (ArmedForces Headquarters).

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Actresses: (1) Ruth Scott in HisabBarabar, (2) Asha Brown in Carbon Copy,(3) Chand Wig in Casua.! Leave, (4) SarojChopra in Safar Ke Sathi and (5) SurendraBala Chaddha in Kalpana.

Actors: (1) Tirath Ram in Ghunghat, (2)S.C. Banerjee in Bharate Chai, (3) D.R. Mehtain Afsar, (4) B.B. Bhalla in Carbon Copy ana(5) D.V. Nanda in Hisab Barabar,

Playwrights: (1) R.K. Sharma (AttacheCase), (2) B.S. Puri (Carbon Copy), and(3) K.R. Bhatnagar (Safar Ke Sathi).

Sarat Chandra's Novel Staged

Chaturanga presented Sarat Chandra'sBijoya-a stage version of Datta by the sameauthor-in Bengali, at the Fine Arts Theatre,New Delhi, on March 27. The play wasdirected by Phulkumar Sen, and specialmention should be made of the followingartists: Nilima Sanyal (Malhotra), RanjanRoy. Sabyasachi, Debi Mukherji and SanatLahiri.

Opera Performance at Madras

The Madras Musical Association gave thefirst of three scheduled performances ofGilbert and Sullivan's well-known comic operaThe Mikado on March 24 at the Rajah An­namalai Hall Madras. The opera was pro­duced by D~vid Green and directed byHandel Manuel.

Czech Trio

The Czech Trio-Josef Palenicek (Piano),Alexander Piocek (Violin) and AlexanderVectomor (cello)-gave a fine recital atthe New Empire Theatre, Calcutta on March25. The programme included Mozart's Trio,Schubert's Trio Beethoven's Trio and Dvorak'sDumky Trio.

Music Recital on Pakistan Day

A recital of classical Indian music washeld at the residence of the Pakistan HighCommissioner in New Delhi on March 24 inconnection with Pakistan Day celebrations.Ustad Latafat Ali sang Ilahia. He was follo­wed by Ustads Fateh Ali and Amanat AlI,who sang Darbari. Nazakat Ali and SalamatAli came next and Ustad Allah Ditta Khanplayed on Tabla.

r

Silver Jubilee of "Sangeet" Magazine

On March 25, 26 and 27, 1960, the musicpublishers of North India, Sangeet Karyalaya,Hathras, Dist. Aligarh, celebrated thesilver jubilee of "Sangeet" music monthlyperiodical.

On 25th March the function was inaugura­ted by Dr. RV. Keskar, Minister for Informa­tion and Broadcasting. Acharya Brihaspatipresided and Padma Bhushan Ustad MushtaqHussain Khan was the chief guest of thatday.

The renowned artists of India who parti­cipated in this three-day Jubilee Functionwere:-Pt. Ravi Shanker, Ustad MushtaqHussein Khan, Pi. Jairang Rishi, Swami D.R.Parvatikar, Balji Chowbey, Gulam MustafaKhan, Jotin Bhattacharya, Ashutosh Bhatta­charya, G. N. Goswami, Niranjan PrashadKaushal, Banwari Lal Bharatendu, Ram­shanker Pagaldas, Nand Kumar, SatyaNarayan Vashishtha, Jumman Khan, BrajeshRanjan Goswami, Harish Dube, ChetanSwarup, Shridhar Sharma, Sitaram, Ballokhan,Purushottam Das Jalota, Nasir Ahmad Khan,

Shri P. L. Garg,director 0/ "Sangeet," showing somerare manuscripts on Indian music to Shri Talat

Mahmood.

. S . (,IJ? / \ .~-/\~?v . ~ / Q ... ( <£~ / )

79 ~~ %~" \ v~Wahld Hus;~an, Padmashri MaharajSunder Prashad, Charan Girdhar, Tej Prakash.Aruna Sharma, Dinesh, C. H. Atma, TalatMahmood, Urmil Kumari, Surjit Singh,Sitara, Shanti Mathur, Karuna Abrol,Chaubey-Maharaj and Nandlal and Party.

A music seminar and a music exhibitionalso took place on these dates.

"Soma Gaan" at the silver jubilee of "Sangeet"

International Youth Meet

Organised every year under the patronageof the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of theMinistry of Education and of the MunicipalCommittee of Avignon, France, the Inter­national Youth Festival will be held for thesixth time in 1960, and will receive young boysand girls of between 18 and 25 years belon­ging to all nationalities and careers.

This International Meet will take placeon the occasion of the XIVth Festival ofDramatic Art, which is organized at Avignonby the National Popular Theatre, the well­known dramatic institution directed by JeanVilar.