Prabhat Kalavidaru - History

History

Prabhat Kalavidaru was created in 1930 by a group of four brothers Gopinath Dasa, Karigiri Dasa, Jaisimha Dasa, and Dwarakanath who hailed from a traditional Brahmin family and were Harikatha exponents. The group was named Gururaja Orchestra and Nataka Mandali and was based in Tumkur. Later, financial trouble and the quest for a larger audience brought the family to Bangalore. Gopinath Dasa, regarded as the de facto leader of the group, incorporated new technologies in the performances and this helped draw large audiences. Rather than just being narrative, the plays incorporated themes from dances and folk traditions which was different than what was offered by the traditional drama troupes and this is considered an important reason for their success. The group was renamed Prabhat Kalavidaru in the year 1942. One of the first troupes to present Indian classical dance forms in the form of ballet, historians opine that the emergence of Prabhat Kalavidaru also heralded a cultural renaissance in the state of Karnataka. Some of the well-known artists of Kannada cinema like C. R. Simha, Srinath, Manjula and Lokesh started their careers with Prabhat Kalavidaru. Initially, many of the artists and technicians involved in the performances belonged to the founding family and at one point there were as many as 60 members of the family, spanning four generations who were actively involved. Now many people from outside the family are also involved in the affairs of the troupe.