Abhinaya Bharati conferred on Shripad Bhat

The theatre personality was honoured with the annual award for 2022 at the World Theatre Day programme

Theatre personality Shripad Bhat was honoured with the annual Abhinaya Bharati Award for 2022 at the World Theatre Day programme held at Suvarna Cultural Complex in Dharwad on Tuesday.

Abhinaya Bharati had organised 24-hour non-stop theatre-related activities online in which theatre enthusiasts and personalities from across the globe took part by presenting dance, drama, songs and other activities.

The award ceremony was held offline in which local theatre activists, most of them senior theatre personalities, took part. They also took a stroll down memory lane during the programme.

Responding to the honour, Mr. Shripad Bhat recalled the guidance and inspiration he received from drama and Yakshagana artistes in his formative years. He remembered the guidance he received from Jnanpith award winner Da Ra Bendre, critic Keertinath Kurtakoti and amateur theatre group Abhinaya Bharati in the later years.

Theatre activist Vijaya Nalini Ramesh, Girish Gadigeppagoudar, Bandu Kulkarni, V.M. Koliwad, Arvind Kulkarni, Director of Dharwad Rangayana Ramesh Parvinaikar, V.T. Nayak and others spoke on how theatre influenced society and how it became a part of various movements, including freedom struggle, and how theatre had changed during the recent years. They recalled the contribution of various theatre artistes to the field of Kannada theatre.