Chapter XIII CULTURE - Government of Karnataka

A Handbook of Karnataka 510
of the drama was conveyed to the audience in prose which is dependent on the
textual content of the songs.
To an audience not conversant with the Kannada language, the range of
costumes and make-up seemed to capture the grandeur of a wonderland, which
was ably supported by a rich musical background. In totality, Yakshagana
theatre is one of the few rich theatre forms that has persisted even today.
The ethical and religious background provided by temples have yielded to
commercialism, bringing with it all the evils of popular entertainment.
Towards the beginning of this century, there were a number of Yakshagana
troupes, sponsored by prominent temples in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.
Saukur, Marnakatte, Mandarthi in the north, Mulki, Dharamasthala and
Koodlu in the south are prominent among them. The temples concerned used
to maintain them from their funds and some devotee of the temple used to
pay for each performance which was free to the audience. There were quite a
number of local patrons in the villages too. The plays were staged each night
on special request. The actors and dancers who were orginally agriculurists,
served in the plays more as service to the deity than as a profession.
From 1940’s things began to change very much in the institutional set up of
the troupes. Temples began to auction the rights of conducting the shows. By
then, the influence of the commercial drama troupes had attracted people very
much and Yakshagana artistes began to copy the stage costumes and slowly
discard traditional dance. Another feature, namely, the running of the troupes
on a commercial basis with tents and allowing spectators entry into the tent by
selling tickets, began to gain ground; with this the total attitude of Yakshagana
theatre changed.
A Yakshagana Performance