Of telling tales and singing songs

Karadi Rhymes — Once Upon A Bak-Bak Tree’, a musical based on Karadi Rhymes by Karadi Path, was held at Good Shepherd Auditorium recently.

Along with watching the character Karadi dance to groovy beats, the young fans of Karadi Rhymes also got a chance to hear playback singer Anooradha Sriram perform live as part of the musical.

 This theatrical presentation, which intended to celebrate childhood, included many songs where the audience had to join in and sing along. The musical included stories that many might have heard often, including the story of the ‘Monkey and The Crocodile’, and ‘The Lion and The Mouse’, which taught different valuable lessons to the children. 

The songs were strung together with a brilliant, interactive script and brought alive with a fun-filled soundtrack and a team of professional actors and singers, who knew how to get the audience immersed into the performance. Often Anooradha (Anu aunty) would stop to make the audience, consisting of parents and young children, to do some actions, so that the energy levels continued till the end. 

The ‘rhyme song’ where Anooradha walked into the audience asking children about which region they belonged to, and the language they spoke, got most applause. 

Anooradha addressing the audience expressed her joy about being in Bangalore, and said, “We’ve taken this musical to various places in the country, but it has never been as much fun as it was performing here. The standing ovation that we received for the performance speaks for itself.” 

Most of the audience was ecstatic and shared their joy on having witnessed the musical. Anuradha Jayaraman, an elderly citizen who came with her grandchildren to the show, said, “I wish there were such fun programmes, back when we were young. The joy of being with other youngsters of one’s own age, is something different compared to being stuck to computers and electronic games for entertainment.”

Mother of twin girls, Deepa Nagaraj shared that it’s often been hard to get the twosome to sit at one place. “It was nice to see the two enjoy themselves and be a part of  Anu aunty’s songs. Also, it was nice to see the importance given to folk tales and Indian tradition and values through the songs and stories shared,” she voiced.

Nikita and Joshna, sisters aged three and five, had convinced their parents to bring them to the show. “We were surprised to see our parents clap and sing with us,” they said together. Akhilesh, the duo’s father, said, “It was like we were kids all over again. The performance was a fun and relaxing experience.”