Bhagavata Mela: My Tryst with Tradition

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There is very little historical material published on Bhagavata Mela. This book is a compilation of research during the author’s ten-year association with the gurus, artistes, musicians and pandits of the Melattur Bhagavatha Mela Natya Vidya Sangam. This is the first step to document all aspects of the tradition in one book.

Bhagavata Mela – My Tryst with Tradition scans the history and evolution of the Bhagavata Mela tradition. The scholarly Nayaks and the Maratha kings of Thanjavur honoured the artistes and penned Bhagavata Mela natakams in Telugu, Sanskrit and Marathi.

The book also describes the privileged journey of the author who, with the cooperation of the Melattur artistes, helped to focus the limelight on Bhagavata Mela.

In 2002, Babasaheb Ekoji Bhonsle II’s (1736 – 1737) natakam Sakuntala was produced, directed and staged in Mumbai by Indumati Raman in collaboration with artistes from both Melattur and Mumbai. The effort received acclaim and appreciation from the Marathi theatre fraternity in Mumbai.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shanta Gokhale

Shanta Gokhale was formerly Arts Editor with the Times of India, Mumbai, and is currently a freelance writer. She has to her credit a Marathi novel and several translations of Marathi plays and novels into English. she published two novels in Marathi, Rita Welinkar and Tya Varshi. Both won the Maharashtra State award for the best novel of the year. The first novel was recently adapted as a film, Rita by the her daughter Renuka Shahane. She has written numerous scripts for documentary, corprate and feature films, some of which have won national awards.