The stage is set for a first-of-its-kind mega Yakshagana competition which starts in Mangalore on Tuesday and ends in London in October. The competition titled ‘The London Yakshagana Competition 2014’, organised by Kuntikanamata Ltd., a private company would begin at the Town Hall here at 11 a.m. The estimated cost for the event is Rs. 3.5 crore.
According to Ganesh N. Bhat Bayar, operations director of the company, the competition has a selection round for amateur troupes, followed by a first round competition for professional and amateur teams, a second round, a quarter-final, a semi-final and a final competition.
In the final competition, two teams each from ‘tenku thittu’ and ‘badagu thittu’ schools of Yakshagana, would be selected. These two teams would totally present 10 shows in London in October. The competition would be conducted in Mangalore, Udupi, Kundapur, Mysore and Bangalore.
First stepHe said that the selection round for 26 amateur troupes of ‘tenku thittu’ school of Yakshagana would be conducted for four days at the Town Hall here from July 15. The selection round competition for 17 amateur troupes of ‘badagu thittu’ school would be conducted at Poornaprajna College in Udupi for three days from July 21. Each of these teams would be given Rs. 15,000.
The first round of competition for ‘tenku thittu’ would be conducted for a week from August 1 at Nehru Maidan here and for ‘badagu thittu’ from August 9 to August 15 at Kundapur.
In this round, 36 teams, including 26 professional and 10 amateur ones, would make a direct entry. About 55 troupes would step in for the real competition from August. The proceeds from these shows will go to a cancer foundation. The teams participating in the competition will be given Rs. 25,000 cash. The winning team will take away Rs. 10 lakh and the runner-up Rs. 5 lakh.
