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Makkala Melas in Udupi are keeping Yakshagana alive
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A Yakshagana performance by a Makkala Mela troupe
CLICKING AWAY at a computer game or mindlessly watching TV. That's what more urban kids would do. But a little away from the hectic cities, in Udupi, you have to see a performance by the children's Yakshagana melas to believe the beauty and attraction of the art and the till-now hidden talent of the children.
As the children don colourful costumes, deliver dialogues of various mythological characters, and dance to the rendition of songs sung by the bhagavata, the epics come alive. It is of no surprise if one feels transported to the age of the Ramayana and Mahabarata.
The Makkala Melas (children's Yakshagana troupes) in Udupi district are trying to preserve and protect Yakshagana — the rich folk art of the coastal districts.
These Makkala Melas are training grounds for an entire future generation of artistes. The earliest Makkala Mela was the Saligrama Makkala Mela, which took wing in 1975. Saligrama Makkala Mela came into being due to the efforts of the two eminent Yakshagana teachers — H. Sridhar Hande, and Srinivasa Udupa. The Saligrama Makkala Mela, which has completed 27 years, has many national awards to its credit. The other well-known Makkala Mela, the Tantrady-Mandarti Makkala Mela, was founded in 1990 under the guidance of Hiriyanna Shettigar. About 30 children are being trained at this mela.
The artistes in training at the Saligrama Makala Mela are young adolescents, mostly below the age of 16. The teachers here train budding artistes either at the students' or their own homes. Classes are held during weekends, and vacations so that students can pursue their studies undisturbed. The Saligrama Makkala Mela has even performed Yakshagana abroad. As early as 1978, the Saligrama Makkala Mela was the only children's troupe from India, which represented the country at the World Children's Festival held in the U.S. and gave performances in Washington, New York, San Jose, Atlanta, Buffalo and other places.
Not everything is hunky-dory at these melas. They have to deal with problems of growing children. Like Sridhar Hande says, it is difficult to find students who will learn Yakshagana as they are inundated with homework, special classes, sports and now computer classes. Many a times, the boy who is trained for Lakshmana's role grows taller than the boy trained for Rama's role! Which means they both have to be re-trained. Their voices crack up as they step into adolescence, adding to the problem, he adds.
These melas are run on their own funds, without any support from the Government. Money earned from performances is distributed among its young artistes after deducting expenses. These melas give performances wherever they are invited to, but without disturbing the academic pursuits of the students.
The Tantrady-Mandarti Mela goes a step further and pays all the educational fees of its artistes upto the degree level.
Melas have have adapted to new-age thinking and have not shied away from taking up causes and creating public awareness. The Tantrady-Mandarti Makkala Mela has created special Yakshagana scripts to raise awareness on AIDS and malaria. It also performs programmes on promoting literacy. Such shows have a deep impact on the minds of audiences, especially in the rural areas.
GANESH PRABHU
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