The ongoing row between the management of the Kateel Durgaparmeshwari Yakshagana Mela and a section of artistes of the mela took a new turn, with bhagawatha [singer] Patla Satish Shetty claiming on Monday that his abrupt removal from the mela on November 22 was akin to the harassment that artistes face in the six melas.
“The act of mela’s convener Kalladi Deviprasad Shetty to ask me to come off the stage on November 22 [when the first of this year’s shows of the six melas was held] is akin to harassment that artistes face in the melas. I have been humiliated in public. I am contemplating filing a defamation case. I will stand by the artistes who are fighting for their rights,” he told reporters here on Monday.
His response came a day after Mr. Deviprasad Shetty and hereditary trustee of Kateel Durgaparameshwari Temple Vasudeva Asranna defended the action to remove Mr. Satish Shetty as bhagawatha from the six Kateel Yakshagana melas [troupes].
In a press conference, Mr. Deviprasad Shetty on Sunday said the action was taken after the bhagawatha’s reported series of violations of the mela’s norms and customs.
While accusing Mr. Satish Shetty of supporting artistes who have rebelled against the mela, the two also accused him of going to the stage on November 22 despite being told that he was not a part of the mela anymore.
While claiming that he had no prior intimation of his removal from the mela, Mr. Satish Shetty said on Monday that he went to the stage on November 22 after taking permission from the main bhagawatha Purushottam Pujari. “When I was told I cannot proceed with Bhagavatike, I just came off the stage,” he said, and further claimed that he never violated the mela’s norms and customs in his 19-year-long career. Supporting the cause of better remuneration for artistes cannot be considered as an act of defying mela’s norms, he said.
Mr. Satish Shetty said that he was in favour of the district administration taking over the administration of all the six Kateel Yakshagana melas. A section of Yakshagana lovers and Mr. Satish Shetty’s fans on Monday carried out a protest at Nehru Maidan condemning the action.
Petitions filed by Kateel Yakshagana administrators and artistes are pending before the High Court of Karnataka.
