An incomer to the city of Bangalore, Begar Shivakumar knew only his art -- Yakshagana. A young artiste hailing from Dharmasthala, he had been a part of various melas (troupes) for over 20 years. He sat on the stairs of ADA Rangamandira 15 years ago lost in thought: how would he go about his dreams in an unfamiliar city that had no tradition of Yakshagana?At that moment, a stranger who walked past him asked him of his occupation. ‘Yakshaganam,’ he said spontaneously. ‘Vishwaganam,’ the stranger replied.
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A myriad of possibilities opened up for Shivakumar when he combined the words, Yakshaganam and Vishwaganam. The statement ‘Yakshagana is for the whole world’ instilled hope in him that his art would be accepted anywhere on the globe. “It still guides my institute in principle,” says the artiste who is now the director of Gana Sourabha Yakshagana Shale, Byraveshwaranagar, Nagarabavi, Bangalore.
Yakshagana, practised mainly in the Western ghats and coastal regions of Karnataka, is a recent entrant to Bangalore. According to Maddale artiste A.P. Phatak, it is only about 40 years ago that one Akkanniyamma from Kundapur first started teaching Yakshagana in the city. With many from Western Karnataka settling down in the capital, Yakshagana performances and classes slowly commenced.
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Proliferation of
the art
Yaksha Degula, under the direction of K. Mohan, is one of the initial schools that began in Thyagarajanagar, Bangalore. “It provided opportunities to many Yakshagana performers and teachers in the city at that point in time,” states Phatak, who has been a part of the himmela (music band) for most troupes in the city. Srinivas Sasthan set up Karnataka Kaladarshini in Vijaynagar which has now moved to J.P. Nagar. The 25-year old troupe is also known for its women’s Yakshagana team.
Other major centres include Yaksha Kala Academy by Krishnamurthy Thunga in Nagarabavi, Kala Kadamba Art Centre, Ullal by Radhakrishna Urala and Siri Kala Balaga on Begur Road. Apart from these, there are several other centres that teach Yakshagana in Bangalore. Certainly, there has been a rise in the number of people learning the art form. But who are these learners? “About 80 per cent of the children who learn have roots in Western Karnataka,” the teachers say. “People belonging to other regions also learn, but their percentage is limited to only 20,” claims Krishnamurthy Thunga, who currently teaches on Bull Temple Road.
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Has the interest to learn Yakshagana strengthened over the years? “There is certainly immense interest, but children are divided between so many activities, from karate to skating to swimming. Parents want their children to be involved in so many things simultaneously. So their attention span is too short to learn anything substantially,” observes Thunga. For Mohan, children lack physical strength required for the exacting art form.
- The decision of Ministry of Kannada and Culture to shift Karnataka Yakshagana Academy to Mangalore has not gone down well with scholars and practitioners. “It makes no sense as it would primarily hinder administrative processes of the academy. Secondly, though this art form is practised by many in a certain region, it is not limited to that part alone,” says M.A. Hegde. Earlier, Bayalata Academy was moved to Bagalkot, “but the transfer has made it more tedious to work. Currently, the Registrar works from Dharwad. Transferring staff comes with its own problems,” he adds.
- “The Department of Kannada and Culture works for the welfare of artistes, and the function of the Yakshagana Academy, like other academies, is to recognise and promote the art form. Therefore, the academy need not go where the artistes are but work in proximity and association with the Department of Kannada and Culture, which is in Bangalore,” states Hegde.
- In the good old days, the art form was practised all over the State and beyond. Only after the decline of the Vijayanagara empire, artistes took refuge in different parts, with the form assuming various styles and names such as Yakshagana, Modalapaya, Bayalata, Doddata, Sannata etc. To think of it therefore as an art belonging to Mangalore alone is detrimental,” he says sharply.
There is great enthusiasm for the grand attire, makeup and the dramatic presentation that Yakshagana involves, than for learning it for the sake of joy and perfection, feels Thunga. “Yet there have been students like Rohith Gowda of Yaksha Degula who not only learnt the basics of performance but learnt techniques of himmela as well. He can now competently play the chande ,” mentions Mohan.
Yakshagana, a performing art involving all four kinds of abhinaya – vachika, angika, aharya and sattvika, Thunga asserts, “can only be mastered through experience. Its nuances will be understood while performing and teaching.”
Radhakrishna Urala who mainly works with school children, conducts free Yakshagana classes at his residence on Sundays. “It is my bit of contribution to the art. I teach in schools so that children when they grow up would have imbibed a taste to appreciate the art form. Raising up a generation that is sensitive to art is an effective way to conserve it,” feels Urala, who conducts classes in Chikkalasandra and Kommaghatta. He has even introduced Yakshagana as a subject in Jain Heritage School, Hebbal where two hours a week is dedicated to its teaching. Shivakumar remarks, “I do not expect every student of mine to become an artiste, but if she will be able to recognise the worth of a performing art, that would suffice my tutoring.”
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“Yakshagana might have gained a larger platform but it has not truly expanded as an art form. Its learners, audience, admirers and critics, all necessarily have had a link with the coast, with a few exceptions of course,” comments M.A. Hedge, President, Karnataka Yakshagana Academy. In his opinion, the spread of Yakshagana in Bangalore is largely because of the migration from the coastal and Western Ghats region to the capital. “Strangely even after decades, somehow Yakshagana has not reached everyone as other traditional art forms from various states have,” laments Thunga. For him, it has to do with both practitioners and the audience. He observes, “performers need to look out for ways to make Yakshagana touch people’s hearts so that they can accept it as their own. On the other hand, I wish the audience too develop patience to watch and appreciate these performances.”
While it is rewarding for an art form to spread to new places and people, decentralisation of art has its own problems and concerns. As the number expands, the quality should also be under careful supervision, alerts Thunga. He feels quality depends on the outlook of the teachers towards their art form. “In a fast-moving city like Bangalore where fame and money is the mantra, even amateurs teach to make a fast buck. Putting on the costume, posing before the camera, is not Yakshagana,” he adds emphatically.
