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Picture Courtesy:

https://www.karnatakatourism.org/destinations/yakshagana/

Context:

Recently a 5-year-old girl, Tulasi Raghavendra Hegde, has been in the news for being an exponent of the traditional dance-drama Yakshagana.

About Yakshagana:

Yakshagana is a traditional Indian dance-drama that features music, dialogue, and elaborate costumes. With origins in the 16th Century, it is popular in Karnataka.

Usually recited in Kannada, it is also performed in Malayalam as well as Tulu.

Its stories are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata and other epics from both Hindu and Jain and other ancient Indic traditions.

Instruments used: chenda, maddalam, jagatta or chengila (cymbals) and chakratala or elathalam (small cymbals), badaga thittu, dhavatara, aata bayalaata, jakkula varu, moodalopaya, paduvlopaya

Towards the south from Dakshina Kannada to Kasaragod of Tulu Nadu region, the form of Yakshagana is called as ‘Thenku thittu’ and towards north from Udupi up to Uttara Kannada it’s called as ‘Badaga Thittu‘.

The word Yakshagana is derived from the names Aata Bayalaata, Kelike, and Dashavatara.

It was performed by a special community known as Jakkula Varu in the royal courts of the Vijayanagar dynasty.

Geographical division:

Moodalopaya: Includes the eastern parts of Karnataka. It represents a specific style and influence unique to the areas it covers.
Paduvlopaya: Includes the western parts of Karnataka. Further divided into Tenkutittu (reflects the specific flavor of its geographical and cultural context), Badagutittu (reflects its own nuances, adding to the diversity within Yakshagana), Badabadagutittu (reflects a distinct expression of Yakshagana in this particular region).

Source:

THE HINDU