Entertainment in Dharwad |
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Entertainment in Dharwad |
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Entertainment is something which everybody needs to relax
their mind, laugh a bit and spend time with their family and friends and basically have a
good time. Now we have a whole range of gadgets available at home from video games to home
entertainment centers, movie theaters, grand concerts etc. Sometimes I wonder, what did I
have in a small town like Dharwad for my entertainment where I have spent more than twenty
years of my life. Have you ever wondered what were days like when Television had not yet
arrived in Dharwad. What was entertainment like before that? Did we just listen to radio
or heard some music on an old cassette player or simply sat in front of our house chatting
with one another? What did we do from 8 PM to 10 PM everyday? (The so called prime time on
TV). I feel even without the television we always had a good time. A few would disagree
with me if I say quality of entertainment was better during those times than now. The best
part of not having the television was we had so much time to do things which were
interesting and kept our creative instincts alive. Sports obviously had the highest
priority. The moment I returned from school , I threw the school bag at some corner of the
room ,ate whatever snacks mom prepared and ran towards the play ground. Many of us
spared time to learn some musical instrument or learn singing, dancing or participate in
any other extra curricular activity. Now the only thing that kids do after returning from
school is watch some stupid cartoons on TV. Whenever relatives came for summer holidays , we had picnic outings to various picnic spots of Dharwad. More prominent ones were Kittur Chennamma Park, Azad Park,Kelgeri,University Botanical garden etc. Sometimes If we had more time the picnics turned out to be one day excursions to Neer Sagar, Jog Falls or Gokak Falls or any other scenic place around Dharwad. I remember having attended a summer camp near Dandeli Forest where we learnt trekking, walked for miles in the dense forest of Dandeli collecting plant specimens and occasionally had a glimpse of wild animals in their natural habitat. Those were the best times we had during holidays. When schools reopened the first thing the teachers asked us to do was to write an essay on how we spent the holidays. Everyone of us definitely had lot content to write and everybody had different experience to narrate. I am not sure of the same for the present kids. Children's movies were craze at that time. Whenever a new movie got released all the schools in Dharwad would arrange for a special show just for the school children and we all would have a great time. Its fun sitting with all the classmates and watching a movie in the theater. When I was in one of the primary schools in Dharwad, we had a very creative teacher who drew all the mythological story comics on tracing paper and made rolls of them and would show them as a movie using a special projector that he had made himself. Many students got inspired by that and attempted to do something similar. I remember having attempted to create a movie projector using 'Bata' chappal box and rolling those film negatives and get the picture over a white washed wall. We were unsuccessful in the venture but still managed to collect couple of bucks (15 paise per ticket !) for the ticket from kids who were smaller than us. At least we had the satisfaction of doing something which fascinated us. Circus was major attraction that time. 'Grand circus','Apollo Circus' were some of them. They were put in huge tents either on 'Savdatti Road' or the ground opposite 'Kala Bhavan'. Even circuses had special shows for school children. We used to have kind of Mini circuses called 'Dombarata' in our school. These were street side performers who would come to schools and set up a small instant arena and do tricks like walking on a steel wire, jumping through fire, passing through a small steel hula-hoop etc. Everybody would have to pay 25 paise or 50 paise and that was enough for them. Once the show was over they would move to the next school. Some of the stunts they performed were really amazing. I don't know whether these groups still exist or not. For those who were interested in Music there were musical concerts (Mostly Hindustani ) almost every other day in some part of the city. Very often big shots in music field would come to Dharwad and perform. Now there are many organizations for music enthusiasts and they conduct musical concerts in different areas. There were also dramas , yakshaganas held couple of times in a month. I remember having seen some cultural activities at an open air theater long back. I guess now its used for some private functions, school or college gatherings. Then there are 'Jatris' (Fairs) held once a year at 'Ulavi Basappana Gudda' and ' Satyanarayan temple' near market. Not only people from Dharwad but also from surrounding villages come to these fairs. When we were in school these were the major events for us in a calendar year. We were eagerly awaiting just to get a day (or half) off and go to the 'Jatri' and have fun. They are nothing compared to the kind of fairs we have now in big cities but they had and still have their own charm. Its unfortunate that the movie theaters are not so good in Dharwad. Couple of them may have been renovated but out of seven theaters in Dharwad at least 5 are in a bad condition. Once upon a time 'Modern Talkies' was considered best and was highly patronized by the student community of Dharwad (Even now it runs courtesy SDM college). After the arrival of television in Dharwad, I'm sure theaters got badly hit due to lack of business. Some theater owners tried to attract movie goers by getting good movies and rejuvenating existing facilities but that didn't help much either. I guess it's a dying industry now. Last Note: If you are terribly bored and nothing to do and need free entertainment then I would suggest to get in to a bus from CBT to Navalur via Hosayellapur. Its normally crowded so you have to bear with these rough people from Navalur. The way they interact with the conductor and the driver of the bus is a scene to watch. The communication that happens among themselves itself is pure fun. Similarly the scenes in the vegetable market next to Subhash Road are worth watching. Evenings are crowded here and thus is the ideal time to go. Enjoy the beauty of Dharwad..! Other articles
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| -Dharwadadavan |