YAKSHAGANA

May 25, 2019

Fans of Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted an all-night Yakshagana show in Mangaluru for his second thumping victory in the Lok Sabha elections. It was sponsored by ‘TeaMModi’ group for fulfilling their ‘harake’ (wish) to get him re-elected.

About: 

  • What is it? Yakshagana is a traditional theatre form that combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form.

  • Name: Yakshagana literally means the song (gana) of the yaksha (nature spirits).

  • Region: It developed in Udupi, in the state of Karnataka. It is popular in the Karnataka districts of Dakshina Kannada, Kasaragod, Udupi, Uttara Kannada and Shimoga .

  • Background: This folk art is believed to have originated somewhere in between the 10th and 16th century.

  • Theme: Yakshagana is strongly influenced by the Vaishnava Bhakti movement. Its stories are mainly drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata and other Hindu epics.

  • Key Features:
    • A typical Yakshagana performance consists of background music played by a group of musicians (known as the himmela); and a dance and dialog group (known as the mummela), who together enact poetic epics on stage.

    • Yakshagana is traditionally presented from dusk to dawn.



  • Types:
    • The tenkutittu style: It is prevalent in Dakshina Kannada. Tenkutittu is noted for its incredible dance steps; its high flying dance moves; and its extravagant rakshasas (demons).

    • The Badagutittu style: It is prevalent in Uttara Kannada District and places more emphasis on facial expressions, matugarike (dialogues), and dances appropriate for the character depicted in the episode.



Source : The Hindu

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