Bali meets B'luru through Ramayana

The ‘Ramayana’ takes centre stage at ‘Bali in Bengaluru’, a 16-day cultural festival bringing Balinese and Indian performance traditions together through 16 events across 14 venues. Led by Padma Shri awardee I Wayan Dibia, one of Indonesia’s cultural icons, the festival features 25 artistes from Bali, alongside Indian artistes, including well-known puppeteer Anupama Hoskere and Yakshagana artiste and teacher K Krishnamoorthy Thunga.The festival will explore the shared roots of Balinese and Indian traditions and how familiar stories such as the ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’ take different forms through movement, music, puppetry and oral traditions.’It’s a huge responsibility’: Ranbir Kapoor on playing Lord Rama in ‘Ramayana’The programme opens on October 3 with a showcase at Orion Mall Lakeside in Rajajinagar, featuring Balinese folk art forms, Kecak and Gamelan. The following days feature Balinese shadow puppetry, Kecak workshops, and a lecture-demonstration on Balinese art and culture at Indian Music Experience Museum in J P Nagar. The Mandala Cultural Centre, on Kanakapura Main Road, will host workshops and a performance on Balinese puppetry.Musician and curator Praveen D Rao, who has worked with Dibia previously, says, “Our art forms may be different, but the stories they tell are similar.” ‘Bali in Bengaluru’ aims to explore that common ground.October 1-18. Visit bali-in-blr.paramfoundation.org or call 90350 34725.

Source: Deccan Herald