Yakshgana | The Rhythm of Coastal Karnataka - I

'Yakshagana' is a popular folk theatre form of Karnataka with a long history of nearly four hundred years. It is a unique harmony of musical tradition, eye-catching costumes, and authentic styles of dance, improvised gestures and acting with its extemporaneous dialogue appealing to a wide range of the community. In truth it is a vibrant, vigorous living form of theatre art.
Yashagana is the generic name of a common form of dance-drama characterizing the rural theatre of four South Indian states Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Karnataka. The Veethinatakamu of Andhra Pradesh, Kathakali of Keralam Terukuttu of Tamilnadu and Yakshagana of Karnataka have the same spirit of the theatre presentation of epic episodes in scenes of song, dance and costume through more secular themes can also be sometimes witnessed.
In Karnataka it assumes various titles and forms like Ata, Dashavathara Ata, Bayalata, Bayalunataka, Mela, Doddata, Sannata etdc. Kathakali is a form in Kerala where the function of the dialogue is taken over by standardized mudras.  In the Coastal districts of Karnataka – Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada – two distinctive styles of Yakshagana are prevalent, the Badaguthittu or Northern style of the Uttara Kannada and Udupi Districts and the Tenkuthittu or Southern style of the new Dakshina Kannada District. The musical style, the costumes, the musical style, the costumes, the musical instruments, the dance patterns are markedly different in the two forms, but all the elements of the theatre are present in them.