Kaladarshini An art & culture repository for 25 years

25-yr-old art & culture repository

Kaladarshini, a movement for tapping the creative talent in the city has ushered in a cultural revolution. Emerging out of a dire need to fill the cultural void, it has crossed many significant milestones. The institution which celebrated its silver jubilee this year, has served as a springboard for many budding artistes who blossomed later and carved a niche for themselves in dance, music, painting and other arts. It also strives to spread human values through art and culture.

There is no other cultural institution in the city with infrastructure on par with Kaladarshini. Through a unique programme called Fine Arts New Model School, it has been encouraging rural talent for the past 15 years. As part of the programme, talented students interested in music are provided education and training to enable them carve a niche for themselves in the field. Many of its students are now working as fine arts teachers in reputed institutions.

Fr D Ravi Sekhar is the second director of the cultural institution after its founder left for States in 2000. Between 2007 and 2009, it was managed by Fr John. Fr Ravi Sekhar says, “Kaladarshini emerged out of a vision, dream, hope, struggle, sweat and toil of Fr Joe Sebastian who is endowed with profound artistic potential and a cultural and apostolic vision.

The institution is built on the foundation of a five-fold objective, namely cultural conscientisation, cultivation of cultural tastes and traditions, cultural formation of different levels, creative cultural production and an ongoing cultural research. It stands as a symbol of our rich cultural heritage. It is engaged in a powerful dialogue with the local cultures and religions by its very presence. The number of ballets and dance dramas we produce are a powerful way of engaging in a dialogue with the world we live in today.”

Drama, Dance and Music Troupes

Kaladarshini has become an indispensable part of every diocesan and parish level festivals in Andhra Pradesh. Its troupes have also given performances across the country. They performed at the Carmelaram Silver Jubilee celebrations, National Assembly of Christu Jayanti Jubilee in September 2000 in Bengaluru, Telugu Akademi celebrations in Pune in 2001, international conference on 'Faith Formation' in Mumbai in January and at the beatification function at Pune in October 2003.

Nandi Awards

Kaladarshini won four Nandi Awards at Nandi Natakotsavam 2000 organised by the Andhra Pradesh State Film, TV and Theatre Development Corporation. Incidentally, no drama until now has won four Nandi awards from Krishna district.

Summer Course

An experiment which began with hardly 25 participants 30 years ago is now attracting as many as 500 participants from all over the State. School and college students, catechists, teachers, social workers, Jesuit sisters, seminarians and priests are evincing interest in pursuing a crash course in music, dance and other art forms during its annual event.

Cultural Festival

To provide an opportunity for children and youth to showcase their talent in fine arts, Kaladarshini conducts a cultural festival every year. As many as 2,500 students from 125 schools and colleges participate in the prestigious event. It is considered a major city event for educational institutions and the public.

“We just seek some recognition from the State Government. In AP, there are less number of cultural colleges and institutions. The government should encourage and promote culture which we are proud of. If there is right encouragement from the government, we can contribute more to the society through arts,’’ adds Fr Ravi Sekhar.

By:Ch Sowmya Sruthi