Sankethi Koota

On February 14, we had the first Sankethi Koota of 2009. It was on Valentine’s Day. I had volunteered to help out and perform in to skits.

The first thing that happened was an invocation ceremony. Some people sung a song and there was a short speech. Very few people were there at that time. To me, it wasn’t the most interesting thing in the world. Plus, I was doing a skit and I was already all ready to perform. I was getting very restless.

Next came the interesting part. The first skit took place after the invocation. It was called Karnataka Vaibhava, or Karnataka’s Glory. It was about important people from the history of Karnataka. The oldest person lived some 1,400 years ago. The lines were organized from oldest time to youngest time. The first person was my friend, Sanjana K. She was acting as a sort of timeline. Between times, she would speak up.

The first person to go up was me. I was acting as a king called Pulikeshi. My lines were:” Pallavarana solisi, kanchi nagaravannu vasha padisi kondi dsayithu. Harsha Rajanannu solisi, idée dakshinapattaka arasa enisikondidyathu. Nama rajyada hirimay, yella deshaku hubide. Jay Kowshikambe!”

The next person to come up was a boy name Sudanva. He acted as Saint Basavanna. Basavanna was a great teacher and thought about many things. He was born in the year 1131 AD. Next, my other friend, Sanjana M. went up. She was acting as Saint MahadevI. Mahadevi was a great poet. She didn’t have a very long life and most of it is unknown. After Sanjana recited her lines and sat down, another boy named Gagan came up on the stage. He acted as Saint Purandaradasa. Purandaradasa was a famous Indian musician. He made many compositions. However, he was most known for making the system of beginner songs. He is still celebrated and his system is still used today. Gagan sang one of Purandaradasa’s compositions. Then he prayed and two very young children appeared as gods and stood in front of him. Then they went off - stage.

After Gagan sat down, my younger cousin Aditi came on – stage. She was Rani Shantala. Rani Shantala was a queen. She was also a very good Bharatnatyam dancer. She was also quite intelligent. Right after Aditi sat down, another girl named Prisha came up. She acted as Onake Obavva. She lived in the 18th century and fought the forces of Hyder Ali. She was the epitome of Karntaka women pride. The next person who came up was my sister. She acted as Kitturu Chennama. Kitturu Chennama was a queen. She opposed British rule in India and refused to pay taxes. Finally, last of all, an acquaintance named Aniketh went up. He was Sir M. Vishveshveraya. He was an eminent Indian engineer and statesman. He also received the most prestigious award in India, the Bharat Ratna, and was knighted by the British for his contributions to the public good.

After the skit, a guest speaker spoke. I didn’t catch many of the details because I was put on guard duty. I had to guard all the food. However, the other group made us move. After the move, I had to perform another skit.

The second skit was called the Valentine’s Day Skit. It was about some kids on Valentine’s Day. The setting was in a classroom. One girl had just come from India. Her name was Smitha. She didn’t know about Valentine’s Day. The other kids talked about Valentine’s Day. When the teacher came in, he talked about Valentine’s Day. At the end of the skit, Smitha finally knew what Valentine’s Day was all about. I was myself. My sister was herself. Sanjana M. was Sanjana. Sanjana K. was Smitha. Sanjana K.’s dad was the teacher, Mr. H.

I went back to guard duty in the new location until a dance was done. Then I played with my friends until dinner. I helped serve the food. After dinner, I talked with my friends and we left.

I thought all the children performed very well. Particularly my sister.

On a bitterer note, before the Sankethi Koota, one of our props broke. I lied about it. On a lighter note, I was excused and we got a new prop.