A full house at the VJT Hall in Thiruvananthapuram soaked in the intricate nuances of Yakshaganam (High School category) on Friday.
The hoary myths and legends coming alive through the music, dialogues, jumps and twirls and the din and dust of battle was a novel experience for many. This folk art with elements of dance, music, and dialogues is mostly performed in Karnataka and the northernmost districts of the State.
Traditionally performed in temple precincts from dusk till dawn, Yakshaganam also bears a resemblance to Kathakali. The colour of the costumes depends on the characters depicted.
The headgear, the armour, golden-coloured jewellery with mirror work all add to the vibrancy. The vocalist is backed by artistes on chenda, mridangam, and edathalam. Each team of seven performers had 30 minutes on stage.
There were 18 teams in all, and they chose the scriptures to tell their story. These included the tale of Sudarshana from the Vishnu Purana, Krishnacharitham, and the Ramayana.
One team depicted how Vishnu’s disc Sudarshanam took a human form and defeated the demon Shatruprasudhan, after Vishnu himself was defeated by the asura. Another showed how Krishna and Balarama fought Yaman to revive the dead son of the sage Sandeepani after his wife Sadbodhini sought it as guru dakshina.
M. Madhavan Mulleriya of Kasaragod who had trained nine of the teams said the art form was difficult to learn, and he had been travelling to various schools for the past three months to teach students. A Yakshaganam performer for the past 30 years, he said he had been training students for the arts festival for the past 10 years. Students’ expression, precision, and Kannada pronunciation are critical.
