Yakshagana big in Bengaluru, students transcend ages

The colourful, vigorous operatic art, once taught only in coastal Karnataka districts, is now taught across Bengaluru to enthusiastic students

Often considered a coastal Karnataka art form, Yakshagana now has a huge presence in Bengaluru. Many schools and teachers are teaching this operatic form to enthusiastic students and hardly a weekend goes by without the city witnessing a performance at some venue. Metrolife finds out about the trend.

‘Most students are techies’

Arpitha Hegde has been running a school named Yaksharatha in Begur for two years. A Yakshagana artiste herself, she offers classes along with another guru, A P Pathak.

“There is no age bar but we mostly see young working professionals such as software engineers coming. Our classes are held on weekends and we teach them for free,” she says. Arpitha, who hails from Honnavar in Uttara Kannada district, is the daughter of veteran artiste Suresh Hegde who has a team named Sirikala Mela. The money earned from its numerous performances is invested in the school since it does not depend on fees.

“Sometimes we don’t have money. We put in money from our pockets. We conduct an annual show and sometimes our students pitch in for the lights and sound and so on,” she adds. The group also takes up corporate performances.

Arpitha notes that most students still hail from the coastal areas (“few are from proper Bengaluru”) and don’t want to give up on this art. While in class, she teaches the traditional style but while performing herself, she has introduced a few modifications and made it slightly more contemporary. “Every Yakshagana artiste does that. It contributes to their signature style,” she explains.

She notes that from the time she started out, the challenges faced by female artistes have reduced considerably. “Earlier, for example, performing during menstruation and availability of green rooms was an issue. The latter is not a challenge anymore. But most practitioners of this art form are still male,” she notes.

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‘Bengaluru’s response is always great’

Srinivas Sasthan, who hails from Udupi, set up Karnataka Kala Darshini in 2000. He conducts workshops and classes at various schools in the city including Mahila Seva Samaj, Bishop Cottons and Sri Sri Ravishankar’s ‘Art of Living’ centres.

“We have 10 centres across Bengaluru with 25-30 students in every centre. We used to conduct free classes before but now charge Rs 400 a month for classes of two to two-and-a-half hours a week; we end every month by conducting a show,” he says.

The classes are open to anyone with an interest in the form. “We perform throughout the state and within the city. The response to our shows in Bengaluru has always been great,” he says.

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‘Students are from five to 70’

Gana Sourabha Yakshagana Shale was started in 2004 under the tutelage of professional artiste Begar Shivakumar, who has 38 years of experience in this dance form. Begar is a hamlet between Sringeri and Agumbe.

“After travelling places for more than 20 years as a performer, I opened this place in Bengaluru to teach, promote, and popularise Yakshagana among more people in the city,” says Shivakumar.

He notes that there are many people interested in the traditional dance form. “We have students from five to 70. The only requirement is that students should be five years or older,” he says.

The group has been performing in and around the city from 15 years, at venues such as Ravindra Kalakshetra and Kala Grama, and for festivals such as Ganapati Chaturthi, Navratri and Shivaratri.

“We are next performing in Bhadravathi, and last week we were in Tumkur,” he says.

Shivakumar has never charged a fixed fee till now. “We have about 250-300 regular students. Some pay whatever they wish to at the end of the month while there are many learning for free,” he says.

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Theatre form found in coastal Karnataka

Yakshagana is a traditional Indian theatre form, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts in Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala.

The performance, typically lasting all night, combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques. It is believed to have evolved from pre-classical music and theatre.

Its stories are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata and other epics from both Hindu and Jain and other ancient Indic traditions.

Some schools that teach Yakshagana

Yakshadegula, Basavanagudi

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Kannada Kalalaya, Dasarahalli

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Vajrika Art Fountain, Chandapura

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Karnataka Mahila Yakshagana, Arekere

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National School Of Drama, Millers Stand

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Some public schools in the city also conduct Yakshagana classes as part of their curriculum.