Yakshagana melas begin winding up the 2023-24 season’s daily performances

Over 40 Yakshagana melas in coastal Karnataka conclude performances, with some reverting to all-night shows next season.

With the rainy season in the offing, the Yakshagana “melas” (touring troupes) in the coastal belt have begun winding up their daily performances of the 2023-24 season.

A majority of over 40 melas wounded up their performances on Friday and Saturday (May 24 and 25). Some troupes will end their shows by next weekend.

The six troupes of more than a century old Durgaparameshwari Prasadita Dashavatara Yakshagana Mandali, Kateel wounded up its performance by performing an all night show at Kateel on Saturday. It is popularly called as Kateel mela.

According to Uppangala Shankaranarayana Bhat, a researcher on Yakshagana melas and author of Kannada book Tenkanada Yakshagana, as per a document, the Kateel mela was started in 1867.

Though an authority of Kateel Durgaparameshwari Temple, which managed Kateel mela, announced earlier this year that the mela will revert back to performing all night shows it did not happen.

The mela had switched over to performing from all night shows to short shows (from evening to midnight) from the 2022-23 touring season (from November 2022) after the State government issued a circular in May 2022, which did not allow use of loudspeakers, an integral part of Yakshagana performances, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. except in closed premises. Later, then Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada M.R. Ravi Kumar allowed the mela to perform till 12.30 a.m., considering the tradition of Yakshagana as a special case.

Later, a resident of Bengaluru and a devotee of the temple approached Karnataka High Court questioning the endorsement by the Deputy Commissioner, on November 15, 2022, restricting the timings till 12.30 a.m. The High Court allowed the mela to perform from dusk to dawn adhering to the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, after counsel for the petitioner gave an undertaking that they would adhere to the decibel norms. However, the court made it clear that if the undertaking was breached, then it was open to the Deputy Commissioner to initiate action as per law.