Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Feb 25: The new academy building of 'Gombeyata Academy', which has come up beautifully under the guidance of Uppinakudru Bhaskar Kogga Kamath, is set to be inaugurated at Uppinakudru on March 7. It has the distinction of being the first puppet academy building in the whole of India.

Uppinakudru Bhaskar Kogga Kamath is the sixth generation inheritor in the family of puppetry artistes which has nurtured the art of puppetry for the last 350 years and devoted their entire lives for this art form.

Mention of Uppinakudru, an isle in the taluk, immediately brings to the mind of the people the art form associated with it, puppetry. The 'Sri Ganesha Yakshagana Gombeyata troupe', which is the only troupe in the state to perform Yakshagana episodes depicted through attractive puppets backed by mind-blogging costumes, skilled background artistes and powerful dialogues, gets the credit for enriching this folklore art form in various ways in India and other countries. The dream of the troupe to have its own academy building is coming true after several decades.

'Sri Ganesha Yakshagana Gombeyata' troupe, which has undertaken foreign trips a number of times, has won over the hearts of scores of people living in different countries through its awe-inspiring performances. The lovely puppets of this troupe have recently won a huge fan following in three countries in which it toured. The troupe led by Bhaskar Kogga Kamath undertook the tour of Japan thrice and also spread the fragrance of this art form by participating in 'Lida Festival' where it took part in a workshop on Asian puppetry there, and demonstrated how the puppetry shows are organized.

This troupe, which took birth in a small hamlet here, has also toured Russia, where it successfully presented its famous 'Choodamani - Lanka Dahana' episode in Moscow and other cities. The way the audiences there , who where mesmerized by the unique Yakshagana costumes of the puppeets, musical instruments used for the show, and the expertise shown by puppetry artistes in making the puppets dance in tune with the tradition of Yakshagana, expressed their jubilation at the fine performance of this troupe through sustained clapping at the end. This happens to be a memorable experience for the artistes of this troupe.

After covering Russia, the troupe went to Brussels, capital of Belgium, where it presented the 'Choodamani - Lanka Danaha' episode as part of 'Europalia' festival, where fire was also used during the performance as is customary, in the biggest hall of that city. The troupe also conducted a workshop for small children about puppetry and Yakshagana dance steps, duly bringing this art form closer to their hearts.

The biggest ever dream of Bhaskar Kogga Kamath, of having its own building for the academy, is being fulfilled in the form of a building at Uppinakudru under the sponsorship of philanthropist, P Dayanand Pai. Sudha Murthy of Infosys Foundation has also wholeheartedly supported the project. This facility will enable interested people to come to India and undertake in-depth study of this skillful art form.

Inaugural function of the building at 'Gombemane' Uppinakudru has been scheduled to be held at 10.30 am on March 7 under the presidentship of P Dayanand Pai. Former president of Kannada Sahitya Parishat, Harikrishna Punaroor, will inaugurate the building. An award instituted in the name of the late Kogga Devanna Kamath, who is the founder of this art form and troupe, will be handed over to veteran puppetry artiste, U Vaman Pai. A seminar being held on puppetry in the afternoon that day will be presided over by former president of Karnataka Yakshagana Bayalata Academy, M L Samaga. In the evening, Yakshagana Kendra Udupi will be presenting Yakshagana performance.