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.