Udupi district administration trains sexual minorities in performing Yakshagana

Sexual minorities trained by Udupi district administration and the Department of Women and Child Welfare performing Yakshagana ‘Shweta Kumara Charitre’ at Mahaveera Bhavan in Karkala in Udupi district recently. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Sexual minorities trained by Udupi district administration and the Department of Women and Child Welfare performing Yakshagana ‘Shweta Kumara Charitre’ at Mahaveera Bhavan in Karkala in Udupi district recently. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

In a rare initiative, the Udupi district administration and the Department of Women and Child Welfare in Udupi have trained 19 sexual minorities in performing Yakshagana, to prompt them to lead a self-reliant life by pursuing a career in the performing arts.

The training which lasted one month from June 5 was offered at the Stree Shakthi Bhavan in Karkala. Each of the trainees was offered ₹10,000 as stipend on completing the training. The stipend amount was drawn from District Mines Fund. They were trained in nritya, abhinaya and dialogue delivery at the ‘Badagu Thittu’ school of Yakshagana.

Testing their skills, the trainees staged ‘Shweta Kumara Charitre’ episode at Mahaveera Bhavan in Karkala on July 4.

The minorities were trained by professional Yakshagana artistes and teachers Sudhir Uppuru and Vijaya Ganiga Beejamakki.

The teachers were accompanied in the music by Sudipchandra Shetty on the ‘bhagavathike’ (singing), Naveen Kumar on the ‘maddale’ and Shashi Kumar on the ‘chande’.

One of the teachers, Mr. Uppuru, told The Hindu that those who underwent training had the experience of acting in dramas. But they were exposed to Yakshagana training for the first time.

“They practised with utter devotion and involvement without missing any of the classes. They were not taught ‘bannagarike’ (facial make-up) during the training. But their level of grasping of Yakshagana in one month deserves kudos,” he said.

An official from the Department of Women and Child Welfare said that the district had 283 sexual minorities.

One of the trainees on the condition of anonymity said that the teachers trained them to an extent that they were now confident of performing. The trainees have plans to further fine tune their skills and form their own performing troupe but needed financial support either from the government or others. Some persons who watched their performance on July 4 offered them an opportunity to perform in routine functions organised by them.

The official said that the objective of offering the training is to motivate the sexual minorities to lead an independent life, earn throughYakshagana as a career. The onus is also on the Yakshagana fans and organisers to support the sexual minorities by providing them opportunities to perform.