International Women’s Day: How women own the Yakshagana stage in Karnataka

It’s mode past 10 p.m., and the Kadri jaathre (mela) is connected successful Mangaluru, Karnataka. There’s a nip successful the January air, and radical locomotion into the more-than-1,000-year-old illuminated Manjunatha temple painted a vivid blue. Suddenly, there’s an echo of percussion sounds — the night’s Yakshagana has begun. People instrumentality their seats arsenic Shri Sai Kala Yaksha Balaga, Dr Shivarama Karantha Balavana Puthur, a chiefly women-led troupe headed by Prema Kishor, starts the four-hour-long Rati Kalyana performance.

The voices scope a crescendo, the dancers leap and spin, and radical ticker mesmerised. The adjacent morning, their elaborate costumes packed and oil-based make-up washed off, they get backmost to routine. They tin beryllium homemakers, teachers, students and dancers, each drawn to Yakshagana due to the fact that of its larger-than-life entreaty and taste connect.

This was not the lawsuit immoderate decades ago, erstwhile Yakshagana was a antheral bastion, with the men donning pistillate roles too. Women entered the tract sometime successful the mid-19th century, notes banker, Yakshagana exponent and writer Krishna Prakasha Ulithaya. “There’s not overmuch documentation, but there’s notation to a Kibbacchala Manjamma, from Sagar successful Shivamogga district, who lived from 1830 to 1900 and wrote 4 oregon 5 plays, including Sampoorna Mahitrya and Jeeva Paramara Kalyana. There’s besides a notation to a Mahalakshmi Hebbara Chavady, who wrote Kempasura Kalaga. But women entered the show abstraction precise recently,” helium says.

Narmada Shibarooraya was the archetypal pistillate bhagavatha (singer), but she remained an amateur artiste. Leelavathi Baipadittaya was the archetypal nonrecreational pistillate artiste, starting her vocation successful 1970. Her hubby Harinarayana Baipadittaya, a elder Yakshagana percussionist, student and teacher taught her Yakshagana singing, Ulithaya elaborates.

Among the emerging young performers is Sakshi Sheshadri, 20, a last twelvemonth pupil of concern astatine St. Aloysius, Mangaluru. She was hardly 3 erstwhile she watched a Yakshagana performance. In the evening, during the Yakshagana play (November-April), she dons dense costumes, paints her look successful myriad colours and performs Yakshagana. One day, she’s god, the different time an asura, and the third, a pistillate dancer.

“I retrieve artistes had arrived astatine our location successful Kateel for a performance. Everyone thought a kid would beryllium acrophobic of the exaggerated expressions. But I seemingly smiled. My begetter Sheshadri P Bhat decided I would larn the creation form,” she says.

She began learning erstwhile successful Class 3. Her archetypal show was successful beforehand of Goddess Durga Parameshwari successful Kateel. In people six, she moved to Urva, successful Mangaluru, to larn nether Sumangala Ratnakar Rao. “When I began learning, determination was a premix of excitement and fear. My Kannada was not precise beardown past and I did not person immoderate dialogues. I learnt with time.”

Arathi Patrame, 43, began learning during schoolhouse successful Nidle, adjacent Dharmasthala. “I deliberation I was attracted to the costume. Not galore women learnt the creation signifier then, and Venkatesh Tulupule, our schoolhouse teacher who was an amateur artiste, taught america the basics to hole america for the yearly day. I played Daksha.” Arathi aboriginal moved to Ujire and was mentored by artistes Ashok Bhat Ujire and Surikumeru Govinda Bhat K. Arathi balances her passionateness of Yakshagana with teaching English astatine Vidyanithi PU College successful Tumakuru. She trains students successful Yakshagana astatine Yakshadeevige, with her hubby Padmanabha K.V., an subordinate prof astatine Tumkur University. They went to Bhutan precocious connected a task granted by India Bhutan Foundation, for a comparative survey connected the disguise creation of Bhutan and India’s Yakshagana.

Poornima Yatheesha Rai, 51, has been performing Yakshagana since the property of 14. She began successful 1988 with a amusement of Punyakoti, the communicative of the honorable cattle that went backmost to connection herself to the bare tiger. “I had the enactment of my member Madhav Shetty Bana, and learnt from guru Shivram Panambur and Ramesh Shetty Bayaru.” Her troupe Shri Mahaganapathe Mahila Yakshangana Sangha successful Bala Katipalla, adjacent Mangaluru, has staged much than 1,500 performances crossed the state and successful Dubai, immoderate of them night-long.”

“Sridhara Aithal, a banker, was the archetypal to thatch Thenkutittu (southern style) Yakshangana to women”, says Sumangala, 49, a trained Bharatanatyam artiste. She began learning Yakshagana successful 2009 astatine the property of 32 from Rakesh Rai Adka, a Yakshagana artiste. Her archetypal show was Krishnarjuna Kalaga, wherever she played Arjuna.

What Sumangala has done is present the structured learning of Bharatanatyam to Yakshagana training. “Earlier, galore learnt for a programme oregon an event; present they larn it arsenic an creation signifier with its nuances. At Yaksharadhana Kala Kendra, which Sumangala launched successful 2009, she teaches astir 30 students the 8 basal steps, and balancing techniques to grip the dense costume and headgear.” She feels Bharatanatyam has added grace to her Yakshangana moves. Ironically, astir women artistes are known for their antheral roles. Poornima is known for her Kamsa, Mahisasura and Arjuna portrayals, portion Sumangala’s Krishna is hugely popular. Her Devi, Sathyabhama and Dakshayini besides gully successful the crowds. Sumangala imagines a time erstwhile antheral and pistillate Yakshagana artistes are treated with the aforesaid respect, and some assistance the different amended their craft. With much women entering the space, determination person been immoderate changes – chiefly abstracted changing rooms and restrooms.

The women successful Yakshagana accidental that they consciousness person to the onshore of their root erstwhile they ascend the stage. “Performing Yakshagana has fixed a intent to my life, arsenic I transportation guardant a legacy,” says Sumangala.