Karnataka - Mangalore   

‘Poorva ranga'performance awaits connoisseurs of Yakshagana

NEW APPROACH:Prakash Cherkadi poses as Satyabhama in a new constume designed by Theatre Yaksha of Udupi.

MANGALORE: Come Saturday. It will be a rare opportunity for Yakshagana lovers to see poorva ranga characters of Tenku Thittu school of Yakshagana at a performance by artistes of Theatre Yaksha, Udupi, in the city.

Poorva ranga performance in Yakshagana is on the wane.

Saturday will also be an occasion to see a new approach to the costume design of women characters designed by Theatre Yaksha. The costumes have been designed without compromising on the tradition. They are usually not seen in conventional Yakshagana shows.

“This is a new approach,” said Mahalinga, a columnist, playwright and critic.

A day in advance, on Friday, two senior artistes of Yakshagana, Kondadakuli Ramachandra Hegde from Badagu Thittu school and Siddakatte Sadashiva Shettigar from Tenku Thittu school will perform together at a show.

Both will perform in styles of their respective schools of Yakshagana. Mr. Hegde will play the character of Hanumantha and Mr. Shettigar will the don the role of Lankini in Lanka Dahana prasanga. It is for the first time the two artistes are performing together in their respective roles, he said. The venue is Ramakrishna Ashrama near Mangaladevi temple. Vibhinna, a group of like-minded people having taste for quality Yakshagana, is hosting five Yakshagana shows on two days.

Artistes drawn from Sri Poornachandra Yakshagana Prathisthana, Kondadakuli; Theatre Yaksha of Udupi and dedicated young amateur guest artistes will present the shows.

Lanka Dahana and Ramanjaneya shows in Badagu Thittu style will be on Friday. The shows will be at 2 p.m. and 5.30 p.m., respectively.

The shows will feature amateur guest artistes and artistes from Kondadakuli mela, Sathyanarayana Nooji, a doctor who is a member of Vibhinna, said in a release.

After poorva ranga performance at 2 p.m. on Friday, artistes of Theatre Yaksha and guest artistes will present Narakasura Vadhe – Garuda Garvabhanga and Krishnarjuna shows.

Yakshagana teachers Kargallu Vishveshwara Bhat and Bannanje Sanjeeva Suvarna will grace the occasion.

There will be no routine stage functions. Performances will commence directly, he said.

The shows will provide a rare opportunity to see “oddolaga” of Sri Krishna and Hanumantha characters, traditional vesha of Garuda character, he said.

Theatre Yaksha, with A. Narayana and Pruthviraja Kavathar of Udupi serving as its backbone, has involved itself in reviving Tenku Thittu school of Yakshgana, Mr. Mahalinga said.

In addition to senior “bhagawathas” (singer) Kolagi Keshava Hegde and Prasanna Bhat Bhalkal, there will be other noted artistes like Thotimane Ganapathi Hegde, Neelkodu Shankara Hegde, Chapparamane Sridhara Hegde, Harinarayana Edneer, Subraya Sampaje and so on.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

‘Poorva ranga'performance awaits connoisseurs of Yakshagana
Kadri comes alive with ‘Kambala', fair
Hiriyadka school model wins top prize
Dearth of teachers
Commuters win case against bus operator
Children have a whale of a time at ‘Olympics'
Interesting nuggets for children
‘Ready to investigate Kumaraswamy'

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu