Purushottam Karandak first round: 16 colleges in fray

NAGPUR: First round of inter-collegiate drama competition Purushottam Karandak will begin in the city from November 9. The Pune-based competition is open to all colleges affiliated to Nagpur University and those in other cities of Vidarbha. “This year 16 teams are taking part of which 12 are from Nagpur and other four from Wardha, Umred, Achalpur and Amravati,” said Sanjay Pendse, coordinator for the competition.
In its 55th year now, the competition was held in Nagpur after a gap of 10 years in 2012 and has seen a steady rise in number of participants since.First instituted by Maharashtra Kalaupasak Pune in 1963, the competition has earned the sobriquet of Manachi Sparda and has seen participants like Vikram Gokhale, Jabbar Patel, Mohan Agashe, Rohini Hattangadi, Mohan Joshi earn their initial laurels here.
Organized for amateur artistes to tests their acting skills the one-act play competition carries three prizes of nominal amounts of Rs3,000, Rs2,000 and Rs1,000. “There is an entry fee of Rs1,000 but then the participants do not have to pay for make-up artist, sound and light. The set are minimalistic and suggestive stage designs are preferred,” Pendse says. In 2015 Snehlata Tagde from Vitthalrao Khobragade College, Nagpur, won the top prize for best overall contestant in both male and female category and in 2016 Ketaki Kulkarni, also from Nagpur, won the best female actor award at the final rounds in Pune.
The competition has a strict set format which allows only 16 members per team and one hour to present their play. “Each team gets one hour to set up the stage, lights and sound equipment, perform and leave the stage after cleaning it up,” says Pendse. The competition has strict rules and clicking pictures during performances are prohibited. Audience are not allowed to enter after the second bell has been sounded.
A three member jury comprising of Meenakshi Bhave from Nagpur, Ajay Dhawane from Chandrapur and Vijay Dhundake from Pune will pick up four teams who will go to Pune to perform in the finals to be held from December 14 to 16. “At Nagpur the competition will be inaugurated by well-known sound recordist Charudatt Jichkar and results will be declared by Sandeep Joshi, leader of the ruling party in NMC,” Pendse said.