Dhaatu Navaratra Mahotsava
Founders of Dhaatu, Anupama and Vidyashankar Hoskere and family have been celebrating the Navaratra Utsava since 1995 in this manner where the display is open to public. The festival itself is being celebrated in the family from times immemorial. The beginnings of this festival, which is a garland of many events originates from the Vedic period. It can be traced to the Indra Dwajotsava of the rig vedic period. Later we have the Vijayadashami as the conquest of Rama over Ravana, Navami as the Kshatra habba from the Mahabharata where Arjuna regains his Male form and the Durga, Saraswathi Puja and Lakshmi puja from the Epic times. The concept of doll keeping has a historical background from the 1st century and stands for the concepts of Prakruti and Purusha which encompasses all of life.
At Dhaatu, a concentrated effort has been made to bring to the focus of children and adults alike to the richness and value of the Indian tradition and Mythology through the forms of Doll keeping and Puppetry . Hours,days and months pass by as the dolls of various kinds emerge to tell the glorious stories of our Land. Each year there is a main stage which has the large Gowri dolls telling fascinating tales of the Epics through a sound and light show.
This year the main stage has the story of Tripurantaka - of Shiva, Omkareshwara who does penance on the banks of river Narmada to gain strength to destroy the three evil worlds of Asuras. He is supported in this by Vishnu, Brahma, Bhumi Devi, Shakti, Ashwini Devas, Agni, Vayu, Varuna, Kubera, Indra, Chakrapani, Mandara Mountain and Vasuki who are all depicted doing their assigned tasks.
In addition there is a feature- Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum, which has Krishna's bala leela, Getopadesha, doll depiction of the essence of the 14th chapter of Bhagavad Geeta and the Mahabharata with Vyuhas.
The features of Traditional Steps, Ramayana, Shiva Purana, Temples of India, Astadikpalakas, Durga with her 9 forms being changed daily, The Dashavatara meery-go- round, Dussera Procession and Kashi are getting set up at Dhaatu.
There is also a cultural festival happening at the premises from the 17th through the 24th, daily at 6:30
Story - telling and shlokas for children would be from 3 pm on these days.
Doll viewing hours are 3pm to 8 pm from 16th Oct to 7th Nov.
ALL ARE WELCOME
WE invite schools to make an appointment and bring their students.
Contact- 65683396 for information.
Dhaatu is located in BSK II Stage, Bangalore.
Showcasing the revived Eachanoor Puppet Show
Eachanuru is a small town in Tiptur Taluk. The puppets of Bhagavatha emerged from here . A sample of these can be seen in the Mysore folk-lore museum. 4 years ago, I visited the museum with my Puppet Guru. Sri.M. R. Ranganatha Rao and my daughter Prakruti. He told me that he had seen one of the shows when he was a little boy. Never again said he who has seen 70 odd years of life. He showed me a few of the Eachanoor puppets in the museum on display. He filled my imagination with stories of the beauty and glory of these puppets. I made up my mind that I would revive this - come what may. I applied for a senior fellowship in Puppetry from the Ministry of Culture for this purpose. The fellowship was granted.
The revival is now complete. The puppets of splitting Jarasandha and the Pandavas are ready. . The puppet play is titled Rajasuya Yaga. It has the episodes of Rukmini Parinaya, Jarasandha Vadhe and Shishupala Vadhe. The premiere show of this will happen at the Dhaatu Navaratra Mahotsava- 2012, on Monday Oct 22nd 2012 at 6:30 pm. The puppets will be played by the well trained members of the Dhaatu team.
Puppets are of the string kind and stylised. They are carved out of wood and have elaborate jewellery made of wood. Language is Kannada . Duration is 70mins.
How was Dhaatu Navaratra Started
1995, the Navaratra Mahotsava was started to instill in our own children and their friends, values of life through the stories which were hidden behind the dolls. This was a time of bonding for us. The Navaratra has a lot of beneficial social aspects. Children relate to it as much as adults do. It is a very nice outlet for creative expressions and belonging and learning. This made us decide that we would dedicate these ten days to express life through dolls.
Its come a long way since.
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How many dolls are there at Dhaatu
How many dolls are there at Dhaatu
Thousands. we haven't counted. sized 2inch to 11 feet.
Do call 9886444593 if you need more info. ,
Dhanyavada,
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