Nine-day youth festival kicks off at Manasagangothri Open Air Theatre

Mysore/Mysuru: The nine-day ‘Yuva Sambhrama’, a prelude to ‘Yuva Dasara’ targeting the youth population of Mysuru got off to a colourful start at the Open Air Theatre in Manasagangothri last evening.

‘Yuva Sambhrama’ and ‘Yuva Dasara’ are platforms for hundreds of college students to showcase their talents in various art forms during Dasara. Teams of youths will set the stage on fire with their high-performance dances, music and skills. Select teams that have excelled in ‘Yuva Sambhrama’ will get a chance to perform in the ‘Yuva Dasara’ programme.

The sort of mega youth festival was inaugurated by Kannada actor Dali Dhananjaya by beating native drums and the crowd cheered him from the nook and corner of the Open Air Theatre. Dali’s latest flick ‘Monsoon Raaga’ has hit the screens now.

The inauguration was done in the presence of Mysuru District Minister S.T. Somashekar, MLA L. Nagendra and Mayor Shivakumar.

Preparations for the ‘Yuva Sambhrama’ began two days back and only yesterday morning, the posters, welcome arches and welcome hangings were laid all over the sprawling Manasagangothri campus, to welcome the young crowd.

Dhananjaya recalls his college days

In fact, Dali Dhananjaya was the main attraction for the event and he was clad in a white full-sleeve shirt and dhoti, bringing a traditional flavour to the event.  As the actor walked toward the stage, crowds cheered him and called out his name aloud and the actor responded by waving at the crowd.

In his address, Dhananjaya recalled his student days in Manasagangothri. “Yuva Dasara was being organised here and I still remember enjoying the evenings,” he recalled. “Such youth festivals help independent thinking and boost creativity. Such events must be a daily affair on campuses,” he added.

Responding to public demand, Dhananjaya entertained his fans with famous dialogues from his movies such as ‘Tagaru’, ‘Badava Rascal’ and ‘Monsoon Raaga.’

In his speech, Minister Somashekar said that Dasara is being celebrated in a grand manner this year with the steep drop in COVID-19 cases. Students from more than 100 colleges are participating in the ‘Yuva Sambhrama’, he said.

Students elated

Speaking to Star of Mysore, J. Rakesh, a student of Maharaja’s College and a participant in the event said, “I love Dali and the reason I am here today is because of my favourite actor.”

M. Lakshmi from St. Aloysius College, Mangaluru, said, “I really love these artistic performances. I came from Mangaluru to this event as I missed them in the last two years. Also, I like Dali as he is one of the best actors in Karnataka.”

Honouring the late Dr. Puneeth Raj Kumar, the organisers displayed his photo in the background of the stage. “I wish my favourite actor Appu was here and I really miss him, I still cannot believe that he is no more,” J. Pavithra, one among  the crowd said.

Different teams of dancers wearing their special outfits filled the campus. ‘Yuva Sambhrama’ is organised every year by the Government in collaboration with University of Mysore to attract students from different colleges.

[Report: Asmatullah Daneshjo]