Benaka to celebrate their 50th anniversay on Jan 29 and 30

Theatre troupe Benaka (short for Bengaluru Nagara Kalavidaru), started by threatre great B.V. Karnath in 1974, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Theatre troupe Benaka (short for Bengaluru Nagara Kalavidaru), started by threatre great B.V. Karnath in 1974, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Benaka, which has remained active through these years, has been performing across the country with major productions such as Sattavara Neralu, Hayavadana, Jokumaraswamy, Tabarana Kathe, to name a few.

To mark the 50th anniversary, Benka is hosting a two-day programme featuring seminars and dramas. The inaugural day’s programme on January 29 will commence from 10.30 a.m., while the formal inauguration will be held at 6.30 p.m. the same day in which Dr. Chandrasekhara Kambar, Srinivas G. Kappanna and I.M. Vittalamurthy will participate. There will be a book release on theatre and digital audio release of the play Kindara Jogi, followed by staging of the Kannada play Jokumaraswamy at 7 p.m.  

On January 30, there will be a seminar at 3 p.m., followed by Ranga geethe and other programmes at 6 p.m, in which H.S. Venkatesh Murthy, B.R. Lakshman Rao and Arundhati Nag will participate. The event will conclude with Kannada play Kindarajogi at 7 p.m. The two-day programme will be held at Ravindra Kalakshetra on J.C. Road. 

“Among several achievements of Benaka is 600 shows of critically acclaimed plays Sattavara Neralu, Hayavadana and Jokumara Swamy which an amateur theatre can be proud of. The fifth generation artists are carrying forward the legacy of Benaka,” said film director T.S. Nagabharana, who now heads Benaka.