(Courtesy: The Hindu)
Udupi: Karnataka Yakshagana Academy Chairman Kumble Sundar Rao said on Monday that the future of Yakshagana was bright.
He was speaking after inaugurating a three-week Yakshagana festival, Kishore Yaksha Sambhrama, here. Students from 43 high schools in Udupi Assembly constituency will display their Yakshagana talent during the festival.
The event has been organised by the Yaksha Shikshana Trust, in association with the Karnataka Yakshagana Academy, the Department of Public Instruction and the Paryaya Puttige Math.
Mr. Rao said that Yakshagana had ingredients such as gorgeous costumes, enchanting dance and powerful dialogues, which made it a wholesome cultural educator and entertainer. If there was shortage of artistes, Yakshagana gurus were ready to train them, he said.
However, the lifestyle of the people had changed. They were leading stressful lives. No one was ready to sit for a whole night to watch a Yakshagana performance. Hence, what Yakshagana lacked was an enlightened audience. But by training high school students in this art form, the Yaksha Shikshana Trust, headed by K. Raghupati Bhat, MLA, was not only promoting it but also creating an audience for it, he said.
Yakshagana should not be treated as a mere extracurricular activity. It should be made a part of the education of students, Mr. Rao said.
Mr. Bhat said that there was a fear in some quarters that if high school students started learning Yakshagana, their studies would be affected. But the examination results of the last three yearshad shown that there was no negative impact on their studies, he said.
President of Udupi Zilla Panchayat Gladys Almeida said that the zilla panchayat would donate Rs. 5 lakh from the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to the trust. Sugunendra Tirtha Swamiji of Puttige Math said that the headquarters of the Karnataka Yakshagana Academy should be in Udupi, as it was centrally located among the coastal districts.
Managing trustee of the Janardhan and Mahakali temples N.B. Vijay Ballal, president of Yakshagana Kalaranga Tallur Shivaram Shetty and professor at Indiana University, U.S., Rajendra Kedlaya were present.
The inauguration was followed by the Yakshagana performance “Shweta Kumara Charitre” by students of Sri Narayana Guru English Medium High School, Malpe.
ಯಕ್ಷಗಾನಂ ಗೆಲ್ಗೆ! ಯಕ್ಷಗಾನಂ ಬಾಳ್ಗೆ!
