Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Nov 8: “The real Gurudakshine (fee for education imparted by the teacher) rests in imparting the things learnt from a Guru to his own disciple by the Shishya. At the same time, the teacher, who also is the guide and mentor for his students, has to introspect when his students felicitate him, as to whether he actually deserves the honour,” said state Yakshagana Bayalata Academy president, Kumble Sundar Rao.
He was speaking after presiding over a programme organized at the Town Hall in the city by the disciples of renowned trainer in Yakshagana background skills, Mambady Subrahmanya Bhat, on Sunday November 7. While hailing Bhat for making invaluable contributions towards preserving the tradition of Guru-Shishya tradition, Rao highlighted the achievements of this great Yakshagana artiste, who he said, also had given a facelift to the background skills of Yakshagana.
Veteran Yakshagana critic, Dr Prabhakar Joshi, said that this programme had effectively rebutted a popular feeling that the Guru is not at all being looked upon with reverence in the modern days. At the same time, he warned that Tenkutittu style of Yakshagana, which has come under the external influence of various other forms of art, has been going astray from its set path. He felt that it is the responsibility of every Yakshagana artiste to ensure that this rich art form does not lose its richness and essence, and at the end, does not get distorted. He also profusely praised Bhat for being generous enough to teach everything he knew, to his disciples.
The disciples honoured Mambady Subrahmanya Bhat couple on the occasion. Deraje Seetaram Bhat, former state Kannada Sahitya Parishat president, Harikrishna Punaroor, and Kateel temple chief priest, Lakshminarayan Asranna, were present.
Later, the disciples of Bhat presented a Yakshagana performance, ‘Gurudakshine’, in which Puttige Raghuram Holla took over the role of Bhagavat. Padyana Shankaranarayan Bhat and Padmanabh Upadhyaya participated as Chende and Maddale artistes respectively.