London's Tulunadu Yakshagana Team Performs at Paris Parade
Media Release

Paris, Jan 5: Tulu Nadu tradition was upheld by coastal Karnataka based Yakashagana enthusiasts  who reside  in London, at Chantilly, Paris parade.

It was a snowy day on 31 December with  freezing temperatures at Chantilly.  A team of Yakshagna enthusiasts from London participated in the New Year's Eve parade on 31st December organized by the Mayor of Chantilly, Paris. The team upon the invitation of Chantilly mayor, travelled from London to Paris by car crossing the English Channel by Ferry .

Kuntikanamata Kumar as Yaksha The King, Arun Raghavendra with the King's costumes, Saritha Arun with Yaksha Prince costumes, Deepika Kuntikanamata with Yaksha- Lions costumes and Chetana Sharath with Yaksha tiger's costume.
Shasrath Kolar Ramachandra Iyer helped the  team in ideography . An eager and enthusiastic French audience gathered in thousands on both sides of the road to watch the  characters. Many news channels covered the event live.

Before commencement of the  parade , the Mayor of Chantilly, Paris , acknowledged and handed over mementos  to Kuntikanamata Kumar and Arun Raghavendra on behalf of the French government and Jerry gave away mementos on  behalf of the British Government.
 
This is the first time ever in the history of Yakshagana, five  yaksha characters with totally different costumes appeared at a public parade in France. It was totally a yakshavaibhava treat  for the eyes of the French People.
 
Kuntikanamata Kumar on 01 January 2009 again  participated at the  London parade on the  invitation of the Mayor of London  and the Government of UK.

Almost 5 million people watched the  London parade as the show was aired by about 700 TV stations. Major channels Like BBC, CNN, SKY aired the show live.  The Mayor of London again honored Kuntikanamata Kumar for taking part in the global event.
"Tulu Koota Qatar helped us by giving us the  yaksha King's Crown" says Kuntikana Kumar who is a die-hard enthusiast of Yakshagana.

"Yakshagana academy  of Karnataka, various Karnataka organizations should recognize our efforts and help us in popularizing yakshagana in western countries"  he said.