The much awaited full night Yakshagana, a theatre form that combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up and stage techniques with a unique style and form which is popular in South Kanara and adjacent areas of coastal Karnataka, came to an end on Sunday morning at Delhi's Karnataka Sangha Auditorium.
Yakshagana lovers came and watched the performance whole night despite the continuous rain.
The performance, which began at 9 p.m. yesterday, concluded at 6 a.m. today. This nine-hour long performance was witnessed by jam packed audience. 36 eminent professional artists selected from various troupes made this event a grand success.
The episode began with creation of three supreme gods 'Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara' by supreme goddess. After that the story narrates the victory of demons over gods including supreme vedic god Indra, but finally the goddess Durga wins over all demons, including Chanda, Munda, Mahishasura Rakthabija and Shumbha Nishumba.
This narrative is seen as an attempt to unify the vedic male pantheon with the pre-existing mother goddess cult possibly dating to the 9th century BC and an attempt to define divinity as a female principle.
The performance synthesized a number of pre-existing mother goddess (Chamundi, Kali, Durga, Sapta Matrikas, Raktheswari etc) myths into a single narrative which has been crystalized and beautifully presented by the artists. Various colors, headgears, costumes and dancing styles made this episode very unique. Especially, the entry of Mahishasura with fireworks and burning torches made this event memorable.
More From This Section
Array
The young kids watched this performance with scary eyes, holding their mother's hands.
"I don't think, I will watch this episode again during my remaining life time, hence decided to watch till morning," said the oldest spectator, a woman nearing her 90s.
Free tea and eatables were distributed during the performance.
Delhi-based two organizations, South Canara Club and Academy of Tenku Tittu Yakshagana, in association with Delhi Karnataka Sangha organized this grand event. Many banks and local organizations supported this event.