Nammamma Andre Nanagishta (Kathaabhinaya, an interactive theater by Puneeth Kabbur)

A little about Kathaabhinaya …
Back in the village, when the power decided to call it a day, grandparents used to narrate stories, their voices rising and falling, the light from the kerosene lamp forming their backdrop. Those memories hold a charm that has not faded with time and this is our attempt to recreate that memory in our modern context amidst all of our modernities. Being theatre artistes, we have created a theatrical backdrop for our storytelling and music. We have chosen the essay "Nammamma Andre Nanagishta", by the famous Kannada writer Vasudendra.

It is the poignant story of a young IT engineer and his mother who migrate from North Karnataka and build their lives in Bangalore. While one actor is narrating the story, the other provides music in the background. The interactive theatre style of storytelling is used where the storyteller engages with the audience in his storytelling. This is why we have created a little theater. The music forms an important medium to convey the emotions in the story.