ಗಮಕ: Bringing Alive Kannada Epics
Gangamma Keshavamurthy with Shantha Nagamangala
Gangamma Keshavamurthy
Bio
Gamaka Vidushi Smt. Gangamma Keshavamurthy is the President of the Karnataka Gamaka Kala Parishath. Originally from Konanur in Hassan District, she learnt traditional songs from her mother, Somanayakamma, and she studied classical music and gamaka from her father, Venkataramaiah. Later, she studied with many well- known teachers. From a very young age, she began teaching music and giving recitals of gamaka. She has evolved her own unique style referred to as the ‘Gangamma Gharana’ which depicts all the nava rasas, and she has given around 12,000 gamaka programmes.
She presided over the 9th Gamaka Kala Sammelana in 2013, and she was the President of the Karnataka Sangeetha Nritya Academy in 2014. Since 2017, she has been the President of the Karnataka Gamaka Kala Parishath. She is an artist of Akashvani and Doordarshan. For the last 60 years, she has been running the Lakshmisha Gamaka Pathashale. Thousands of students have learnt gamaka and music from this school and have made their names in the field.
The awards she has received include the Karnataka Kalashree, Kempegowda Prashasti, Kumaravyasa Prashasti, Muliya Thimmappaiah Prashasti, Gamaka Ratnakara, Kavya Vachana Bhaghirathi, Gamaka Kogile and many others.
Her gamaka performances have been accompanied by vyakhyana (commentary) from many eminent scholars, including Mathur Krishnamurthy, Lakshmi Keshava Shastri, Prof. Radhakrishna, Shatavadhani R. Ganesh and others.
Shantha Nagamangala
Bio
Shantha Nagamangala has done her MA in Kannada, MA in Hindi, MA in Sanskrit, and MPhil in Hindi.
She has been actively involved in the Gamaka field for the last ten years, interpreting Kannada and Sanskrit Gamaka vaachanas. This has been her main interest along with Carnatic music. She has worked as the Secretary of the Karnataka State Gamaka Kala Parishath.
She also has literary interests and has published stories and articles in magazines like “Mallige”, “Tushara” and “Mayura”. She has published essays, lalita prabhanda, in “Nasuku”, “Sangaati” and other internet papers and magazines.
Her comparative study “Kirtana kale and Gamaka kale”, an essay written for the fellowship she was awarded, has been published in book form by the Karnataka Sangeeta Nritya Academy. Her debut publication, “Mahabharatada RasaghattagaLu”, was published by Pushya Prakashana, Bengaluru (2022). Notably, it is now in its second print edition. Her Kannada translation of Bihari dohas is being published by Kuvempu Bhasha Bharati shortly.
She shared the Shantharam Endowment Award instituted by Bhandarkars’ College, Kundapura with the famous Vaachanakara, Sri Chandrashekar
Kedilaya.