Government has entrusted me with a great responsibility, says Samaga

The government has entrusted him with a great responsibility by making him president of the Karnataka Yakshagana Byalata Academy, Malpe Laxminarayana Samaga said here on Friday.

Addressing a gathering after receiving felicitation by Yakshanandana, P.V. Aithal's English Yakshagana troupe, Mr. Samaga said that as president of the academy, the government had placed a great responsibility on him. Although, he accepted this responsibility, he had not expected it to come his way, he added.

The day he got a phone call asking him to take up the post, he said that he had stated that there were many others who were more qualified than him and who could do justice to the task.

Mr. Samaga is a senior artiste who is well-versed in Thenkuthittu and Badaguthittu schools of Yakshagana, a quality that is rare among artistes.

His fellow artiste at Yakshanandana, G.K. Bhat, said that when he was first asked to join the troupe, he was apprehensive. But the presence of Mr. Aithal and Mr. Samaga gave him confidence to take it up.

Mr. Bhat said that Mr. Samaga was one of the few artistes who could don any role. “Mr. Samaga is not branded. He can don any vesha,” Mr. Bhat said.

Another admirable quality that Mr. Samaga possessed was that he would pay attention to acting and performance of other actors on stage and respond to them, Mr. Bhat said, unlike others who looked elsewhere or chatted with the bhagwatha.

The programme was followed by the performance of Yakshangana Sairandhri-keechaka in English.