M’lore: Yakshagana shows booked for 17 years

The Hindu

Mangalore, 29 November 2010: Booking travel tickets, flats in an apartment and vehicles is common. But have you come across the concept of booking Yakshagana shows years ahead.

 

Shows of Yakshagana troupes attached to two prominent temples in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts have been booked for the next 17 years.

 

Houseful: Devotees fund shows by Yakshagana ‘melas’ (troupes) of temples

 

Yakshagana has evolved not only as a form of entertainment but as a religious vow. People in the two districts are known to take a vow that they will host Yakshagana shows by Yakshagana ‘melas’ (troupes) of temples. The trend is catching up and to cope with the demand for such shows temple managements are forced to form new troupes. From this season onwards, the temples have added one more troupe each to the existing four.

 

Durgaparameshwari temple at Mandarti in Udupi district opened its fifth Yakshagana mela on November 17 while Durgaparameshwari temple at Kateel will open its fifth mela on December 1.

 

The troupes perform from mid-November to mid-May which is known to be season of the Yakshagana.

 

Mandarti mela

 

The demand for shows by Mandarti mela is such that its shows have been booked till 2027-28. “If any one wants to book a ‘harake aata’ (show to fulfil a religious vow) of our temple troupe they can do so only in 2028-29,” said H. Dhananjaya Shetty, managing trustee of the Mandarti temple.

 

Each troupe plays 180 shows every season. It means that 15,300 shows have been booked for the next 17 years.

 

Mr. Shetty said that each troupe comprises 50 people, including artistes and helpers. The temple started second mela in 1992-93, third one in 2000-01 and fourth one in 2001-02. People’s vows relate to marriage, court cases, children and so on.

 

Some of the artistes in the troupes have 22 years of experience.

 

The management has planned to offer Rs. 1 lakh to those artistes who retire in the melas without break in service, he said.

 

Kalladi Deviprasada Shetty, convener of five melas of Kateel temple, said the temple’s five troupes would perform 900 shows in a season at the rate of 180 shows each. In that, about 500 shows were harake aatas. The remaining 400 shows are other shows hosted by regular parties every year. He said that 8,500 harake aatas have been booked.

 

It means that the temple management would require 17 years to perform them at the rate of 500 shows a year.

 

Sri Harinarayanadasa Asranna, hereditary priest at Kateel temple, told that bookings had been increasing every day.

 

Mr. Asranna said preparations to open the fifth mela had begun in 2004. “It is difficult to get A-grade artistes these days. Our troupes have been sticking to tradition and Tenku Thittu school of Yakshagana,” he said.