Surabhi keeps drama alive in TS

A scene from Maya Bazar played by Surabhi artists

Sri Venkateshwara Natya Mandali, popularly known as ‘Surabhi’, which has a long history of 131 years in the field of drama, is bringing life to drama with regular performances in Telangana.

The Surabhi was on the verge of disappearance for few years. With the encouragement of government and individuals by providing shows for the survival of the Surabhi artist families and their ancient art it is keeping its tradition.     

Surabhi’s is famous for mythological plays- Srikrishna Leelalu, Jai Paathala Bhairavi, Maya Bazar- and also folk plays.

A many as 60 members of a single family are performing mythological and social drams under the banner of Surabhi and Padma Shri Awardee R. Nageswara Rao popularly known as Surabhi Babji is monitoring the team.

The Surabhi team of artists also performed the mythological plays at Basar during the Godavari pushkarlu and enthralled the thousands of devotees.

Nageswara Rao said, “ Gradually the Surabhi is getting revived with the admiration showing towards their mythological plays by the people and art lovers and added that they were using technology, big settings, fireworks and trick scenes in the play on par with the movies to attract the audience”.     

District public relations officer B. Satyanarayana said, government institutions came forward to encourage the Surabhi artists by giving them opportunity to perform the shows and paying them some amount.

He said audience were spell bound those were watching mythological play Maya Bazar performed by the Surabhi artists at Nirmal and the Surabhi artists used technology to make the scenes more effective and attractive. 

For example, eating hundreds of Laddus by Ghatothkachudu and also using firing crackers to create fire like situation by Ghathokachudu and pouring water to put off that fire by Abhimanyu in the war.

Adilabad collector M.Jagan Mohan took the initiative to give life to the Surabhi drama by giving them programmes to perform. Cultural Advisor to the state government K. V. Ramana Chary is also encouraging the Surabhi artists and their families by providing programmes.