mangalore today

‘Yakshamangala’ awards announced


Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Sep 24, 2014 : Mangalore University Dr P Dayanand Pai and P Sathish Pai Yakshagana Study Centre has chosen scholar Prof Amruth Someshwar and senior Yakshagana teacher and artiste Bannanje Sanjeeva Suvarna for its annual “Yakshamangala” award.  ‘Yakshamangala Krithi’, the award for the best work on Yakshagana, will be awarded to Raghava Nambiar.


bannaje According to a press release, the work ‘Himmela’, authored by Raghava Nambiar has been selected for “Yakshamangala krithi award.” The Yakshamangala award will carry a cash prize of Rs 25,000, citation, memento and felicitation. The Yakshamangala Krithi award will comprise of Rs 10,000 cash and citation. The committee headed by Prof M L Samaga comprising of M Prabhakar Joshi, Prof Padekallu Vishnu Bhat and Yakshagana Study Centre Director Prof K Chinnappa Gowda has finalised the names of the awardees.

About awardees  :

** Scholar Prof Amruth Someshwara has immensely contributed to the field of Yakshagana as a researcher, organiser and Yakshagana play writer, for the last six decades. His Yakshagana plays like ‘Kayakalpa’, ‘Chalukya Chakreshwara’, ‘Sahasrakavacha Moksha’ and others have given a new direction to the performing art. Many of his plays have been performed by the artistes including the troupe of Dharmasthala Shri Manjunatheshwara Temple.  He has also served as a folklore scholar, translator, story writer, novelist and poet.

**Bannanje Sanjeeva Suvarna has gained wide accolades for his Yakshagana teaching. He initially performed as an artiste in Dr Shivaram Karanth’s Yakshagana troupe in India and abroad. He has served as the Yakshagana teacher in M GM College, Udupi for 25 years. He has also directed many Yakshagana plays. He has taught Yakshagana plays to visually challenged children as well. He has also taught Yakshagana in the USA, Germany, Japan and other countries.

** ‘Himmela’ work is a research carried out by Raghava Nambiar for his doctoral thesis. It contains a comprehensive study of ‘himmela’ or the background music in Yakshagana.