Kerala - Kochi   

A cross section of drama of yesteryear

KOCHI: The book on Augustine Joseph Bhagavathar presented a cross-section of a particular period of a cultural era, Minister for Education and Cultural Affairs M.A. Baby said here on Saturday.

Mr. Baby was talking after releasing the book ‘Augustine Joseph Bhagavathar-Sangeethanadakathile Athulya Prathibha,’ authored by Kuthbudeen, at a function organised by the Centre for Heritage Environment and Development at the EMS Memorial Town Hall.

K. Narayana Kurup, chairman of the National Wage Boards for Working Journalists and Non-working Journalists, was the chief guest at the function.

Mr. Baby released the book by handing over a copy to Pappukkutty Bhagavathar.

Mr. Baby said that those who were familiar only with the dramas of the present time, would never be able to imagine the sheer lungpower it took for those performing dramas in the past. “Now-a-days audience are scarce for drama even when it is staged in air-conditioned halls. But in the past, thousands turned up for the dramas staged in paddy fields,” he recollected.

Mr. Baby said that men like Augustine Joseph overcame all limitations and spread the message of values through their dramas. He recollected punctuality as one of the greatest virtues of Augustine Joseph.

He said that there were only few maestros like Augustine Joseph who were able to maintain values both in their cultural and personal lives. Stating that Sangeetha Nataka Akademi should have published the book, Mr. Baby said that the Akademi was not performing many of its duties these days. He hoped that the Akademi would come forward to publish the second edition.

Mr. Baby said that the book was incomplete in two ways. It needs to be completed by incorporating more details and it should have a second part in the form of a book on singer K.J. Yesudas, the son of Augustine Joseph Bhagavathar, he said.

Earlier, while welcoming the gathering, Mr. Yesudas said that one of the lessons taught by his father was not to crave for publicity.

Mayor Mercy Williams, who presided over the function, recollected that Augustine Joseph was a household name during her youth. C.S. Jayaram introduced the book to the gathering.

MLAs C.M. Dinesh Mani and Jose Thettayil, Deputy Mayor C.K. Manisankar, former mayors E.K. Narayanan and A.K. Sheshadri were present.

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