Newly appointed chairman of Karnataka Yakshagana Academy G. L. Hegde from Manaki near Kumta, Uttara Kannada, has said that the State Government should allow Yakshagana performances to go on without hindering the plans already made by troupes, in view of the COVID-19 situation.
If troupes are asked to stop their performances, it will hit the livelihood of hundreds of artistes and others who are indirectly dependent on Yakshagana, he said.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Hegde, who will take charge on Friday, said that the government can impose restrictions on the number of people to be allowed at performances to prevent crowding. But a blanket ban on performances during the season is not welcome. “The show must go on,” he said.
Mr. Hegde said that he will take forward the initiative of the immediate past chairman of the academy, M. A. Hegde, who passed away on April 18, 2021, to bring out an encyclopaedia on Yakshagana.
“Yakshagana deserves an encyclopaedia,” he added.
He said that the academy intends to publish a book to introduce the life, achievements and contributions of artistes who have passed away. The future generation should know the contributions of such artistes and their achievements should not be pushed to the annals, he said.
Mr. Hegde said that the academy in Bengaluru does not have its own library which is an urgent requirement. In addition, he intends to set up a Yakshagana museum in Bengaluru.
“Plans are many. But I am not sure whether all can be realised within the remaining short period of my office,” Mr. Hegde, who retired as a professor of Kannada from AV Baliga College in Kumta on May 31, 2019, said.
