Yakshagana troupe to perform in London
In a field that is dominated by male artistes, Vidya Kolyur , a Yakshagana exponent, is working hard to promote Yakshagana in its purest form at the international level. A team of 10 members from the school Yaksha Manjusha - founded by her, will be performing two episodes at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan , London .
Yakshagana, a form of theatre, has two sub-genres: Badagu Thittu (Northern style prevalent in North Kanara and Thenku Thittu (practised in South Kanara). Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, she said, “This is the first Thenku Thittu team of Yakshagana to perform in London. The team will perform two episodes “Sri Krishna Parijatha Narakasura Moksha”- a two-hour episode in Kannada where I play the role of Satyabhama, and Panchavati in Hindi, where I play the role of Maya Shurpanaka. All performances will have sub-titles in English displayed on an LCD screen. The tour is sponsored by Sudha Murty’s Infosys Foundation.”
While the first show will be on February 28, the second show organised by Tulu Koota, London, will be held on March 1. The 10-member team comprises Patla Sateesh Shetty - (Bhagavatha singer), Padmanabha Upadhya (maddale or Horizontal drum), Devananda Bhat Beluvai (Chende or vertical drum) and artistes including Chandrashekar Dharmastala, Mohana Belipady, Prashanth Shetty, Arun, Rakesh Rai and team coordinator Saravu Krishna Bhat.
Vidya, along with Saravu Krishna Bhat, has been instrumental in setting up the Academy of Thenku Thittu Yakshagana (ATTY) in New Delhi where the focus is on documenting the art form. Every year, senior artistes are awarded with the “Yakshagana Kalanidhi”. The team is also enrolled with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). Since 2012, for two-and-a-half months, children of the Chinmaya Mission in Maryland, North Virginia, are trained in the art form. Nearly 150 students in the US are trained and so far they have given six shows. Last year, she gave a performance before the Indian embassy in Washington as well as to an audience of 1,400 from all over the world at the University of Carolina. So far they have given 16 performances in the US. The team also participates in the AKKA- World Kannada conference.
Yakshagana, a form of theatre, has two sub-genres: Badagu Thittu (Northern style prevalent in North Kanara and Thenku Thittu (practised in South Kanara). Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, she said, “This is the first Thenku Thittu team of Yakshagana to perform in London. The team will perform two episodes “Sri Krishna Parijatha Narakasura Moksha”- a two-hour episode in Kannada where I play the role of Satyabhama, and Panchavati in Hindi, where I play the role of Maya Shurpanaka. All performances will have sub-titles in English displayed on an LCD screen. The tour is sponsored by Sudha Murty’s Infosys Foundation.”
While the first show will be on February 28, the second show organised by Tulu Koota, London, will be held on March 1. The 10-member team comprises Patla Sateesh Shetty - (Bhagavatha singer), Padmanabha Upadhya (maddale or Horizontal drum), Devananda Bhat Beluvai (Chende or vertical drum) and artistes including Chandrashekar Dharmastala, Mohana Belipady, Prashanth Shetty, Arun, Rakesh Rai and team coordinator Saravu Krishna Bhat.
Vidya is the daughter of Yakshagana virtuoso Dr Kolyur Ramachandra Rao and Yashoda Kolyuru. She acquired mastery in Yakshagana under the tutelage of her father. She started performing at the age of seven. However, her family was against her taking up Yakshagana as a profession. Despite opposition, she went on to form an all-women team, but as the members got married, the team crumbled. With the support of her husband HN Bhaskar, a violinist, she decided to re-establish herself in the field.
Vidya, along with Saravu Krishna Bhat, has been instrumental in setting up the Academy of Thenku Thittu Yakshagana (ATTY) in New Delhi where the focus is on documenting the art form. Every year, senior artistes are awarded with the “Yakshagana Kalanidhi”. The team is also enrolled with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). Since 2012, for two-and-a-half months, children of the Chinmaya Mission in Maryland, North Virginia, are trained in the art form. Nearly 150 students in the US are trained and so far they have given six shows. Last year, she gave a performance before the Indian embassy in Washington as well as to an audience of 1,400 from all over the world at the University of Carolina. So far they have given 16 performances in the US. The team also participates in the AKKA- World Kannada conference.
