: Tipu Nija Kanasugalu wins audiences hearts #IndiaNEWS #News Play staged inside packed auditorium; crowds give standing ovation after a three-hour performanceEntry to play under heavy Police security

Tipu Nija Kanasugalu wins audiences hearts #IndiaNEWS #News
Play staged inside packed auditorium; crowds give standing ovation after a three-hour performanceEntry to play under heavy Police security and frisking

Mysore/Mysuru: The play ‘Tipu Nija Kanasugalu’ (Real Dreams of Tipu) made its stage debut at Rangayana last evening and it won the hearts of the audience.

The Bhoomigeeta auditorium of Rangayana was jam-packed and the play, written and directed by Rangayana Director Addanda C. Cariappa, was staged amidst tight Police security.

The star attractions of the play were Sachin Mithra, who played the role of 18th century ruler Tipu Sultan, Sowmya, who played Tipu’s wife Ruqaiya Begum, Karthik who played the role of Dewan Purnaiah and Durga Paramesh, who played the role of Syed Hussain Kirmani, the Iranian scholar who migrated from Iran to Mysore and lived in Mysore at the court of both Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Overall, the play received a tremendous response on the first day and the auditorium reverberated with the sounds of a clapping audience.

Many in the audience spoke highly about the play direction, costumes and the excellent performance of various roles by the actors in the historical play. The stage was designed (Ranga Vinyasa) by Shashidhar Adapa, music was provided by R. C. Dhananjaya and Subramanya Mysuru, lightings by Mahesh Kallathi and sound by P. Shivakumar.

Tipu Sultan negotiating peace with Kodavas in the presence of Kodava leaders and the pretender to the Kodagu throne Lingaraja, brother of imprisoned Kodagu King Veerarajendra (extreme right), seeking help from Tipu.

Packed auditorium

The audience sat in rapt attention from the beginning of the play and watched it with the same attention till the end. They gave a standing ovation when the play concluded. Though the auditorium has the capacity to accommodate 250 people, there were more people who witnessed the play.

Audience started trooping into the Rangayana premises in groups after being frisked by Police as soon as the gates opened. After watching the play, they complimented Addanda Cariappa for the spectacular historical play.

Play adaptation

The play, based on letters of Tipu Sultan which are preserved in the British Library and has been translated into Kannada by Chidananda Murthy, begins with the scenes from the fourth and final Anglo-Mysore war. The three-hour play captures the imagination of the audience and has earned accolades.

Those among the audience included noted novelist and Saraswathi Samman Awardee Dr. S. L. Bhyrappa, RSS senior leader M. Venkataram, author Dr. Pradhan Gurudatta, Founder-Editor of Star of Mysore and Mysuru Mithra K. B. Ganapathy and several other noted personalities of Mysuru.