Shriyank Mukherjee (Class VI)

SHRIYANK MUKHERJEE (CLASS VI)

THE FUTURE FOUNDATION SCHOOL

Yakshagana India, is a country of many ethnic groups, diverse religions, culture and traditions. Each state in India has a distinct culture of its own. The culture is manifested in its costume, festivals, music, dance forms , literature, theatre etc. One such rich theatre form is Yakshagana. 

Some interesting facts about Yakshagana- 

● ‘Yaksha’ means Nature spirits and ‘Gana’ means people, thereby, referring to the people who are the nature spirits. 

● Yakshagana is a traditional Indian theatre form, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form. 

● It is believed to have evolved from pre-classical music and theatre during the period of the Bhakti movement. 

● Yakshagana is traditionally presented from dusk to dawn. Its stories are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata and other epics from both Hindu and Jain and other ancient Indic traditions 

● .A typical Yakshagana performance consists of background music played by a group of musicians (known as the himmela); and a dance and dialogue group (known as the mummela), who together enact poetic epics on stage 

● .A Yakshagana performance typically begins in the twilight hours, with an initial beating of the drums of several fixed compositions, called abbara or peetike. This may last for up to an hour before the actors finally arrive on the stage. The actors wear resplendent costumes, head-dresses, and face paints. 

● King Kanteerava Narasaraja Wodeyar II (1704–1714) authored 14 Yakshaganas in various languages in the Kannada script. 

● The artists pray to lord Ganesha before their performance. Yakshagana also ends with a prayer to Ganesha. 

● Yakshagana is finding new popularity outside India. Amateur troupes have emerged in California, USA and Ontario, Canada. Yakshamitra in Canada, Yakshagana Kalavrinda, Yaksharanga in the U.S. "Yakshaloka Boston" are a few examples of these international troupes. Our effort should be to promote these rich art forms so that the rich cultural heritage of india never dies.