GOVERNMENT ARTS COLLEGE, RAJAHMUNDRY WHERE STUDENTS EXCEL IN PERFORMING ARTS
The Traditions of Performing Arts in Rajahmundry
Rajahmundry gets credit for being the home for great artists. The first drama in Telugu language was written by Kandukuri Veeresalingam, a native of Rajahmundry. During the few years I spent in Rajahmundry, I had witnessed several wonderful performances and all of them without paying an entrance fee or buying a ticket. The community supports these performances and they are staged for public enjoyment free of cost. I had earlier mentioned about a traditional art form known as ‘BURRA KATHA‘. There is another traditional form of story narration known as ‘HARI KATHA’ and it introduced to me several interesting stories from the Indian epic poems.
Apart from story narration, Rajahmundry is a great place to witness artists performing drama. The themes are selected from mythology, history, social satire and modern social life. We have several companies in Rajahmundry that provide costumes, makeup artists, and stage equipment. During the major festivals and summer school vacations, we very often get a chance to enjoy the performances on makeshift stages putup at road intersections during night time. At the Government Arts College, Rajahmundry, students always celebrate their annual functions with several drama performances.
Just in Time- A Little Performance for Little Kids:
There is a memorable performance that I witnessed at the Government Arts College, Rajahmundry, fully enacted by little kids. I remember some of the lines from this song drama :
A little girl sings,
“Found a peanut, Found a peanut, Found a peanut Just Now,”
The girl relishes eating the peanut,
Very soon, the girl is in trouble,
“Stomach aching, Stomach aching, Stomach aching Just Now,”
The girl can not bear the pain and asks for help,
“Call the Doctor, Call the Doctor, Call the Doctor Just Now”,
A young kid in doctor’s costume arrives, and the girl instructs the doctor,
“Cut it Open, Cut it Open, Cut it Open Just Now”,
The young doctor performs the mock surgery as the girl demands,
“Find the Peanut, Find the Peanut, Find the Peanut Just Now”,
The doctor successfully removes the offending Peanut, and the girl recovers,
“Thank You Doctor, Thank You Doctor, Thank You Doctor Just Now.”
My sister was the little girl in this performance and the audience received this brief show with a great sense of amusement and because of that pleasurable experience, I still happen to remember the lines.
This is my tribute to the great lovers of performing arts whose patronage makes Rajahmundry a wonderful place and I still cherish those pleasant memories of spending the evening hours watching very entertaining dramas.
Dr. R. Rudra Narasimham, B.Sc., M.B.B.S.,
DANAVAIPETA MUNICIPAL HIGH SCHOOL, RAJAHMUNDRY,
S.S.L.C. CLASS OF MARCH, 1961.
The Rudolf-Rudi doctrine of Spiritualism 