With the monsoon knocking on our doors, more than 40 Yakshagana melas (touring troupes) in the coastal belt — from Uttara Kannada to Kasaragod — will wind up their tours this weekend, bringing to a close the six-month-long journey. In fact, a majority of them will pack up on Wednesday, the Tulu Patttanaje day.
What has been most encouraging this season is the enduring popularity of two of these melas — Saligrama and Perdoor, both conducted in tents. The rest of the melas were ‘bayalaatas’ (open theatre dramas), which are free shows with a stage and ‘chowki’ (green room) set up on open ground.
The Saligrama mela will enter its golden jubilee year when it sets out on its next season this November, while the Perdoor mela has completed more than 25 years.
Rubbishing the view that people were drifting away from attending Yakshagana performances, P. Kishen Hegde, who owns five melas — Saligrama, Soukuru, Hiriyadka, Madamakki, and Halady — told The Hindu that weekend shows of his Saligrama mela attracted at least a thousand people. On weekdays, there were 600 to 700 viewers.
Mr. Hegde, who is also a member of the Karnataka Yakshagana and Bayalaata Academy, said the melas have their own fans and can survive on gate collection. Expatriates and people who work in other parts of the country keep aside a day or two just to watch Yakshagana in their villages.
As the performance art is conducted all along the coastal and Malnad districts, there is a wide audience, he said. “Childhood memories draw people to come and watch. Electronic gadgets cannot provide this live experience,” he said, adding that nothing can beat munching on ‘churmuri’ and groundnuts, with tea or coffee, and watching a performance in the open.
Thandimane Sripada Bhat, a senior artiste of the Perdoor mela who has 34 years of experience in the trade, agreed that there was a vast difference between enjoying Yakshagana in a tent and in a hall. At a tent mela, one always expects a good audience that sits upfront and encourages the artistes. Disturbances in a ‘bayalaata’ distract artistes, and so is the case in halls. People looking for quality shows still prefer tent melas, he said.
