Yakshagana is a traditional folk dance of Karnataka districts and some parts of Kerala. This is a distinctive dance form representing mythological and historical stories of India.The dance form requires a lot of effort ,planning and practice before staging the performance. The troupe consists of two main parts : Mummela , the foreground actors and Himmela the singers and instrumentalists in the background .It is a theatrical art form of Karnataka, originally an all-night performance where the troupe travelled from one village to another.Yakshagana is performed in open-air theatres.It is usually performed in the village paddy fields after the winter crop has been harvested. Each performance typically focuses on a small sub-story known as ‘Prasanga’ from ancient Hindu epics of Ramayana or Mahabharata.The show consists of both stage performances by talented artists and commentary accompanied by traditional music.
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Yakshagana Dance Performance |
History of Yakshagana Dance :
The Yakshagana dance form came into existence during the 11th to 16th Century in coastal Karnataka and Kasargod district of Kerala.The word Yakshagana means the songs of the Demi-Gods meaning a ruler or any other person who is respected and worshipped like a god.The performance includes songs, dance, and dialogues that narrate the poems of Yakshagana. The Vaishnava Bhakti movement, which spread its roots in the 11th Century, is the inspiration of this narrative dance.
A sage named Narahari Thirtha started performing Dashavathara in the 13th Century in Udupi, which later developed into Yakshagana today. Yakshagana is generally presented in Kannada, but also performed in Malayalam and Tulu languages. The plot of the Yakshagana dance revolves around the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is a rare combination of dance, music, song, dialogues and colourful costumes.
A typical troupe consists of 15 to 20 actors and a Bhagavatha, who is the master of ceremonies and the main storyteller. Each performance typically focuses on a small sub-story. The show consists of both stage performances by talented artists and commentary accompanied by traditional music.
Musical instruments used in Yakshagana include Chande (drums), Harmonium, Maddale, Taala (mini metal clappers) and flute among others. Costumes used in Yakshagana are very unique and elaborate. Large size head gear, coloured faces, elaborate costumes all over the body and musical beads on the legs . Performers need great physique to perform with heavy costume for several hours and also strong voice , acting and dancing skills.Traditionally, men portray all roles now women too becomes part of Yakshagana troupes. The performances draw crowds from far and wide, with a fair-ground atmosphere pervading the venue till dawn.Yakshagana shows are sponsored by local donors , few are performed at government sponsored events while others could be ticketed events. There are several popular troupes or Melas performing Yakshagana throughout the year. Saligrama mela, Dharmasthala Mela, Mandarthi Mela, Perduru Mela are some of the leading names of troupes.
Types of Yakshagana Dance :
The
Yakshagana dance is mainly of two types Moodalapaya and Paduvalapaya.
Moodalapaya is the old form of the Yakshagana
dance, and this dance form is still prevalent in the village where the lead
singer lives. Unlike the famous folk dances, Moodalapaya is not a commercial
dance form. The primitive quality of the dance was achievable because of its
limitation within the village of the lead singers.
Paduvalapaya
is the more popular of the two types of dance forms. The Yakshagana dance shown
to tourists when they visit Karnataka is Paduvalapaya. This particular type of
dance form further has two groups
Badaguthittu
and Thenkuthittu. Badaguthittu is particular to the northern coast of
Karnataka. In Badaguthittu, the artists put more emphasis on their facial
expressions. Thenkuthittu is prevalent on the southern coast of Karnataka. In
Thenkuthittu, folk art and folk dance are more distinct.
Other Art Forms of Yakshagana :
Yakshagana was formerly known as Bayatala by some people in Karnataka. The sister art forms associated with Yakshagana are:
- Therukoothu of Tamil Nadu.
- Kutiyattam and Chakyarkoothu of
Kerala.
- Veedhinataka of Andhra Pradesh.
Yakshagana outside India :
Yakshagana is finding new grounds on the costs of Califrnia, USA and Ontario Canada and amateur troupes have emerged. "Yakshagana Kalavrinda" and Yaksharanga in the USA and Yakshamitra in Canada are a few examples. A group of young Silicon Valley professionals are practicing this art for last 4 years in the name of Bay Area Yaksharanga. "Yakshagana Kalavrinda" performs on the east cost of USA. It started after the visit of Yakshagana artist Sri Chittani Ramachandra Hegde. His performance at the age of 74 was so inspiring that art lovers decided to continue this great art thousands of miles away from its home. Sri Kidayuru Ganesh who accompanied Sri Chittani stayed back for couple of months to train new generation of Yakshagana artists. Result was a performance of Yakshagana “Sudanvarjuna Kalaga” with participation from local enthusiasts. From there onwards Yaksharanga has performed many shows around California. Notable shows are “Kausa Vadhe” at Sacromento and Livermore temple, "Sri Krishna Sandana" and “Dharmagada Digvijaya” at Sanatana Dharma Kendra, Sunnyvale. Yakshagana friend circle in USA is involved in promoting art outside India and also in supporting betterment of art and artists back in India. These troupes usually use a recorded background Yakshagana music(Himmela) for their performances.Other amateur troop outside of India is "Yakshamitra" in Toronto, "Canada". Yakshamitra uses local live music(Himmela) for their performance.
Recent Development :
There are few training schools for Yakshagana in Coastal Karnataka. Most troupes are associated with temples, and the training has been confined to temple premises. The Govinda Pai Research Institute at MGM College, Udupi, runs a Yakshagana Kalakendra in Udupi that trains youngsters in this ancient dance form, and does research on language, rituals and dance art forms .
Gundabala Hanuman Temple, in the village of Gundabala, 13 kilometers east of Honavar, Karnataka state, is famous for performances of Yakashagana harakeyata. The temple premise has a permanent chowki (green room) and rangasthala (stage). The temple’s own troupe performs every day, and outside troupes are sometimes invited so that two simultaneous performances can be staged. Devotees take a vow to entertain the deity by sponsoring his favorite dance for a night, upon receipt of a favor such as a cure for infertility, request for marriage, or the recovery of a child from a life-threatening illness. The faithful are so enthusiastic that sponsorships must be reserved five years in advance. No admission is charged and performances continue whether or not an audience is present.
Famous Yakshagana artists –
There are various famous
artists of yakshagana who contributed their life towars yakshagana art . a very
few are listed below :
Well known Background Singers (Bhagawatike) :
Late Nalluru Mariyappa Achar, Late Agari Srinivasa Bhagavata, Maindappa Rai, Ira Gopala Krishna bhagavata, Balipa Narayana Bhagavatharu, Kadatoka Manjunath Bhagavataru, Late Damodara Mandechcha, Puttige Raghuram Holla, Tenkabail Thirumaleshwara Shastry, Dinesh Ammannaya, Padyana Ganapathi Bhat, Leelavati Baipadittaya, Polya Laxminarayana Shetty, Balipa Prasada bhagavata, Balipa shivashankara bhagavata, Late Kadatoka Krishna Bhagavatharu, late GR Kalinga Navuda, Nebbooru Narayana Hegde, Subramanya Dhareshwara, K P Hegade Golagodu, Heranjal Gopala Ganiga, Raghavendra Mayya, H Suresh Shetty, Narayanappa Uppur, Vidhwan Ganapathi Bhat, Gopal Bhat, Jogi, Raghavendra Achari, Nelluru Narayana, Kolagi Keshava hegde, Kolagi Madhava Bhat, Narayana Shabaraya, A T Yejneshwara Sagara, and others.
Well known background music instrumental (Himmela) artists :
Krishnayaji Idagunji, Keshav Bhandari Karki, Sathyanarayan Bhandari Karki, Prabhakar Bhandari Karki, Gajanana Bhandari Holegadde, Kinneer Narayan Hegde, Dharmashale Mahableshwar Bhat, Parmeshwar Bhandari Karki, Manjunath Bhandari Karki, Rama Bhandari Karki Late Nedle Narasimha Bhat, Divana Bheema Bhat, Kudrekkodlu Rama Bhat (allrounders of tenkutittu), chipparu krishnayya Ballal, Mambady Subrahmanya Bhat,Pundikkai Krishna Bhat,Peruvai Narayana Bhat, Padmanabha upadyaya,Harinarayana Baipadittaya, delantamajalu subrahmanya bhat, prabhakara gore, chandrashekhara konkanaaje, Adur Ganesh Rao, Kudrekodlu Ram Bhat, Shivananda Kota, Ananthapadmanabha Phatak, Late Chevaru Ramakrishna kamath, Late Chevaru Janardhana kamath and others.Gundabala Hanuman Temple is famous for Yakashagana Harakeyata. Almost all Badagutittu artists from North Kanara have learnt Yakshagana Art from this place. Here harakeyata is performed contineously for 150 days. Daily two devotees harake is served. All legends from Badagu tittu, such as Kondadakuli Ramachandra Hegade, Chittani Ramachandra Hegade, Anant Hegade Kolagi, Majunath Hegade, Murur Vishnu Bhat, to name a few who are product of this place.
Well known Yakshagana artists (Mummela Patradarigalu) :
Muroor Devaru Hegde, Keremane Shivaram Hegde, Keremane Mahabala Hegde, Keremane Shambhu Hegde, Alike Ramaya Rai, Chittani Ramachandra Hegde, Gode Narayan Hegde, Bhaskar Joshi, Balkur Krishna Yaji, Uppunda Nagendra Rao, Kondadakuli Ramachandra Hegade, Keremane Shivananda Hegde, Manki Eshwar Naik, Thombattu Vishwanath Achari, Kumble Sundar Rao, K. Govinda Bhat, Kolyuru Ramchandra Rao, Subramanya Hegade Chittani, Thirthahalli Gopala Achari, Hadinbal Sripad Hegde, Kappekere Mahadev Hegde, Prabhakar Chittani, Argodu Mohandas Shenoy, Sridhar Hegde Chapparmane, Halladi Jayaram Shetty, Nilkod Shankar Hegde, Mantapa Prabhakara Upadhyaya, Yalaguppa Subrahmanya, Narayan Hasyagar Kari, K P Hasyagar Karki, Chennappa Shetty Siddaktte, Vishwanath Shetty Sidakatte, Ubaradka Umesh Shetty, Muliyala Bheema Bhat, Patala Venkatramana Bhat,Late Padre Chandu, Sampaje Sheenappa Rai, Subraya Holla Kasaragod,Shivarama Jogi, k.krishna moorthy tunga and Others.
Taala Maddale artists :
Shankarnarayana Samaga Malpe, Sheni Gopalkrishna Bhat, Late Vidhwan Kerekai Krishna Bhat, Tekkatte Ananda Master, Deraje Deetaramayya,Moodambailu Gopalakrishna Shastry,Sunnambala Vishweshwara Bhat, Dr. Prabhkar Joshi, Kumble Sundar Rao, K Govinda Bhat, Jabbar Sumo,Subrahmanya Bhat Venur,Vasudeva Samaga, Ramadasa Samaga, Katte Parameshwar Bhat, Melukote Umakantha Bhat, Buchchan Shastri Karki, N S Bhat Baad, Mohan Hegde Kumta, MR Amachi, and Vitla Shambhu Sharma,Kondadakuli Ramachandra Hegade.
Now a days Dakshina Kannada District Sahitya Sammelan has urged the Karnataka government to declare Yakshagana as a representative art form of the State. As there are about 30 full-fledged professional troupes, and about 200 amateur troupes in Yakshagana. Professional troupes go on tour between November to May, giving about 180-200 shows. There are about one thousand professional artists and many more amateurs. Further there are off season shows during the wet season, the anniversary shows, school and college students Yakshagana and of course the Talamaddale performances. Yakshagana commercial shows witness 12,000 performances per year in Karnataka .
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