Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Mar 28: The base of Karnataka Yakshagana Academy which also includes Moodalapaya form of Yakshagana has been shifted to Mangaluru through a government order. There have been oppositions against this decision although there was demand for shifting of the academy in the past to the city.

Within Yakshagana circles, many say that the state government made the right choices when appointing office bearers to the academies, but the move to shift the academy to the city has the potential of limiting this art to coastal Karnataka. Janapada sholars have also sounded a warning that Moodlapaya, which is already on the edge of being extinct, may become weaker because of this shifting.

There has been increasing demand to treat Yakshagana as an art form of entire Karnataka rather than of the coastal region. In the recent past, this art has succeeded in getting large audience even in Bengaluru and other places like Davanagere, Mysuru and north Karnataka cities. There is an apprehension that at a time when this art form is on the verge of becoming an art form that represents the entire state, the government has tried to scuttle its progress.

Moodlapaya is an art form that is popular in Tumakuru, Mysuru, Hassan, etc. It is in need of government's support. Currently it functions under Yakshagana Academy. If it is shifted to the city, it might become orphaned as this art form is not popular in coastal districts of Karnataka, scholars point out. As the vocal support for Moodalapaya is an independent system that is unwritten, the academy needs to be at Bengaluru to help it get some footlhold and grow, many argue.