Mangaluru: It was April 29, 1974. Pregnant, days away from delivering her baby, Prabhavathi Hegde, an 'Yakshagana,' aficionado had been to view 'Devi Mahatme,' of Kateel Mela (Kateel Yakshagana troop) at Sunkadakatte, about one and half kms from her home.
A fervent devotee of the goddess Durgaparmeshwari, who legend has it, attends every Yakshagana performance in Kateel after midnight, Prabhavati watched the Yakshagana perfrmance, all clashing cymbals and blood-curdling leaps and twirls, till dawn. As the dancers dispersed, she felt the first twinge.
Within hours, Prabhavati, rushed to hospital had delivered a baby boy. As the newborn had arrived in the world after his mother had watched 'Devi Mahatme,' Asranna (Archak) of Kateel temple, the family named the child Devi Prakash!
And the fortysomething advocate Devi Prakash hasn't skipped a single Yakshagana performance since he was a child.
Working in Mangaluru and living in Maryhill, he rarely misses Yakshagana performances in the vicinity, and if he has the time, will head out to Yakshagana shows every night, through the week.
"Devotion and novelty are the two qualities in Yakshagana that attract me. I never miss any Yakshagana especially in Kateel and the Hosanagara Mela," Adv Deviprakash said.
Deviprakash and his family are just one of the many hundreds of people whose passion for this traditional art keep it alive in the coastal belt. In an age where the movies and video games and other ever new forms of entertainment take centre-stage, the dancers who are drawn into keeping the ancient devotional art form alive are in it only because they realize that it’s a dying form.
Yakshagana lovers like Devi Prakash and their patronage feeds the traditional dance that is so familiar across Uttar Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts.
Despite the fact that the source of these plots – or 'prasangas ' - enacted by these troupes are drawn from the same pool of mythology and fable that have told and re-told through the ages, it never gets old or repetitive for those who come to watch the larger than life characters who storm the makeshift stage, in the clearing in these hallowed grounds.
"I have watched 'Devi Mahatme,' about 50 times. My mother too has watched it over 100 times and even today loves watching it. We love watching it again and again as the acting, dialogue delivery and singing changes everyday.
This is an art form where devotion blends with art," Deviprakash said. The artistes are equally committed to the devotional art form.
"This is probably the only form where there is novelty everyday. Though the plots are the same, unchanging over hundreds of years, the dialogue delivery and performance differs. Artists try to put something new. They change the dialogue delivery and make people feel it as new. The plot is just the outline and the artist has complete freedom within to show his talent. No other form of art has this freedom," says Yakshagana Academy former member Ashok Bhat.
Artistes point to the Devi Mahatme plot, which has been a major attraction for decades. Though the story and the plot stays essentially unchanged, nobody gets bored, as the artiste tweaks his performance, the song and the dialogue delivery a bit, and its in these small changes that brings the people back.
“For example we hear people saying 'let us go see today's Mahishasura performance,' which indicates that everyday there is something new and special. That art form which has innovation everyday naturally grows and attracts people," he says.
Adds Deviprakash : “Many artists have become famous due to the innovations they have made in singing or dialogue delivery.” For many, it’s a rite of passage, firmly believing that the ritual devotional offering before and after a Yakshagana is as sacred, as sacroscant as a visit to a temple. This is the Chowki Pooje where pooja is offered to the deity. As many people come to attend this pooja, as they do the performance, giving the entire event a major religious aura.
Deviprakash, the ardent devotee believes that Yakshagana will never die out. "The number of people watching Yakshagana is increasing despite new modes of entertainment. The booking for Yakshagana troupes, not months but years in advance proves this. This is an art that attracts even professionals. I have seen even doctors, and so many other educated people bitten by the Yakshagana bug.”
The tech world has only given it a further boost. “There are many whatsapp groups related to Yakshagana where members exchange songs, dialogues and informations related to Yakshagana.," says the advocate.
