Yakshagana should be recognised as the Karnataka art form: Moily

New Delhi, Aug.5 (ANI): Inaugurating a four-day Yakshagana festival here on Thursday evening, the Union Minister for Corporate Affairs, Veerappa Moily, said that Yakshagana should be recognised as the art form of Karnataka, both in the country and internationally.

Moily asked the Karnataka Yakshagana Academy and the Delhi Academy of Thenkuthittu Yakshagana to formally take up the issue with the Government of India to accord recognition to the Yakshagana art form and also suggest to the UNESCO to give this dance form recognition.

Addressing the gathering at the Karnataka Sangha here, Moily said Yakshgana has played a notable role in spreading basic social values and in popularising the Kannada language. He said his mother tongue was Tulu, but added that as a young child, he leart Kannada by watching Yakshagana plays in his home district in South Kanara. He assured that he would extend full support to the demand both at the national and inernational levels.

The Director of the Academy of Thenku Tittu Yakshagana, Vidya Kolyur, said there were thousands of artistes who are engaged in presenting Yakshagana plays and they deserved support from the Government in the form of scholarships and financial assistance when they retired .

The demand was supported by the President of the Karnataka Yakshagana Academy, Kumble Sundar Rao. He suggested that all Kanadigas should have the tunes played in Yakshagana played in their moble telephones.

Even though Yakshagana has emerged as a unique art form today, it has multiple existences in Karnataka. Doddata, Sannata, Moodalapaya and Paduvalapaya are its regional variations. Moodalapaaya is performed in northern parts of Karnataka and Paduvalapaya is popular in coastal Karnataka which includes the districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Shimoga, Chikkamagalur, Coorg and in the adjoining areas like Kasaragodu of Kerala State.

Coastal Yakshagana again has two main variations called Tenku Tittu ( ie Southern style) and Badagu Tittu ( Northern style). Both styles have a night long stage performances with music, dance, costumes and dialogues. Talamaddale is another form, which has only spoken world. However after Dr. Shivaram Karanth, nobody has tried to popularize this art form at the national or international level.

The Karnataka Yakshagana Academy, Bangalore and Academy of Tenkutittu Yakshagana Delhi are organizing a four day festival at Delhi from August 4-7 to popularize few variants of Yakshagana at the national level.

Demonstrations have been arranged at various places at Delhi as part of the festival. There will be performances at Delhi Karnataka Sangha on 4,6th and 7th evening which includes A talamaddale (Oral performance), a musical Shrikrishna Parijata and mythical episodes performed in both Northern and Southern styles.

The artistes who gave a lecture demonstration on Thursday,have been arranged at National School of Drama at Mandi House, and later at the Department of Modern Indian Languages, Delhi University .

Noted artists of Yakshagana, Mr. Chittani Ramachandra Hegade, Keshva Kolagi, Puttige Raghuram Holla, Padyana Shankaranarayana Bhat, Dr. Kolyur Ramachandra Rao, Surikumer Govinda Bhat and many others are participating in the four days festival.

The festival concludes on Sunday evening. (ANI)