No country in the world is blessed with a greater variety of forms in music, dance and theatre than ours. One of the theatre forms generally described as folk but possessing a strong classical connection is the Yaksagana. Although the name signifies the music of celestial beings, Yaksagana is an amalgam of the sky with the earth. There is both mystery and robustness about this form in which singing and drumming merge with dancing and words with gestural interpretation, and players clad in costumes of striking colour and contours. It is the cherished cultural possession of the coastal districts of Karnataka.

Dr. K. S. Karanath is the foremost living authority on Yaksagana and has been working on all its aspects, namely- dance, music, and literature, since 1930. He has led the way to a deep and systematic study of this art form. He has spent decades traveling to remote villages within Karnataka to inspect and study every Yaksagana manuscript, the earliest going back to A.D. 1651. With his fine literary judgement and aesthetic sensibility, he has traced the changing trends in the performance of Yakshagana. He has interacted with hundreds of Yokshagana artistes to find out what customs in training and interpretation had prevailed earlier and had fallen into disuse and deserved to be resuscitated. He has put together his findings in the shape of two standard books Yakshagana- Bayalata(1958) in Kannada, and Yakshagana in Kannada and English (1975). The present volume is a revised edition of the earlier book, with additional material and illustrations.

It is hoped that the book will provide valuable insights into one of the most attractive and dynamic art forms of our land, as well as into a penetrative mind.

About the Author

DR. KOTA SHIVARAMA KARANTH (b. 1902) is one of the most arresting personalities in the literary and theatre world of India. His interests have been vast and varied; he is a novelist, playwright, essayist, encyclopaedist, cultural anthropologist, art historian, lexicographer, populariser of science, and environmentalist. Besides honorary doctorates from several Indian universities and fellowships from two national academies- the Sahitya Akademi, he has received the Jnanpith award in 1978, Dadabhai Nauroji award and Tulsi Samman in 1990. He has over 150 publications to his credit. His works have been widely translated into several Indian languages and filmed as well.

Dr. Karanth has made a singular contribution to the preservation of Yakshagana. While a votary of tradition, he is not averse to innovation in the traditional theatres. His Yakshagana ballets have been performed in sixty. Centers all over India. That Yakshagana has come to stay on the Indian national stage is due largely to Dr. Karanth.

Now in his ninety-fifth year, Dr. Karanth continues to radiate his restless energy, writing, directing plays, and functioning as an unelected tribune of the people and their freedoms.