Media Release
 
Muscat, Oct 22: After the roaring  success  of  the hilarious Tulu social dramas  ‘Bolli’, ‘Telekeda Barasolu’, ‘Anchilath Inchilath’, ‘Vaivat Vasanthe’ and ‘Namma Kaveri’, NPA Events in association with  Al Falaj Hotel , will present Yakshagana episodes, “Gejjeda  Pooje” in Tulu and ‘Akshyambara Vilasa” in Kannada at Le Grand Hall of the hotel here on Friday October 30. 

Yakshagana lovers in Oman will have the opportunity to savour traditional feast of theatrical art form. Both these performances are composed and directed by D Manohar Kumar. The cast comprises highly talented artistes including Karnataka State Award Winner Aruva Koragappa Shetty, Puttur Shridhar Bhandary, D Manohar Kumar, Jayaprakash Shetty, Permude, Sadashiv Kulal,Venoor, Divakar Rai, Sampaje, Sadashiv Acharya,Venoor with Kadri Navaneeth Shetty. To add a slice of humour to the play, Bantwal Jayaram Acharya will play the role of a comedian. 

Traditionally, men enact female characters in Yakshagana. Sanjay Kumar Shetty Gonibeedu, Shashikanth Shetty, Karkala and Vamankumar Venoor will don the female roles. The beautiful background score with live rendition of songs that elevates and enhances Yakshagana performance is played on percussion instruments - Mridanga and Chende with a vocal support. The famous Bhagavat for the  Ballets in Oman is ‘Gana Gandharva’ Padyana Ganapathi Bhat, ably supported by Padyana Shankaranarayan Bhat on the Chende and Adur Ganesh Rao on the Mridanga. 

Yakshagana – Old Theatrical Form

One of the oldest forms of theatre, the folk theatre Yakshagana is extremely popular in Karnataka. It is renowned in north Karnataka and Dakshina Kannada districts of South Karnataka. This form of dance drama literally translates to the "celebration of celestials in Kannada language. It is simply called “Aata”in both Tulu and Kannada, which means 'a  play'. 

It can be considered a form of opera which combines dance and music, actor, created dialogues and colourful costumes and make-up. The resplendent costumes and stunning make-up are striking highlights of Yakshagana performances. The artistes transform into great entertainers on the stage. A Yakshagana performance takes the form of a full-fledged stage theatre encapsulating elements such as the melodic framework (raga) in the song  as sung by the musician, rhythmic (tala) supplement by the percussionist supporting the artiste, and the main Yakshagana prasanga - musical drama. 

This treat for the Tulu and Kannada speaking audience is brought to Oman by Dinakar Bhat, P B Alke, Ramesh Shettigar, S K Poojary and Ashok Suvarna. The show is free for all and are available on a first-come-first-serve basis.