UDUPI: World of yakshagana woke up to the sad news of demise of one of its leading names – M R Vasudeva Samaga, 72 on Saturday. The septuagenarian artist ailing for some time now leaves behind his wife and son.
Hailing from a family of yakshagana artists, his father Malpe Ramadasa Samaga, Malpe Shankarnarayana Samaga, uncle and brother Ramadasa Samaga enriched this folk art with their mastery over its various facets.
Vasudeva Samaga’s end came at his house in Koteshwara near Kundapura. Well versed in both badaga thittu and thenku thittu schools of yakshagana, Vasudeva Samaga was an embodiment of professionalism. He toured with a number of yakshagana ‘melas’ and this includes the famed Dharmasthala yakshagana mela that has a history of 100 plus years. Vasudeva Samaga also formed his own talamaddale troupe – Samyamam.
His forte was essaying the role of women – stree vesha that demands extra skill from a male artist. S N Bhat Bayar, yakshagana artiste recalled the oratory skills of Vasudeva Samaga which he said was exceptional. “His involvement in the roles that he essayed made the stage come alive,” Bhat said. The ease with which Vasudeva Samaga portrayed the ‘nava rasas’, especially the ‘hasya rasa’ made him an exceptional artist, Bhat said.
Yakshagana teacher Mambady Subrahmanya Bhat said that the involvement of Vasudeva Samaga in all the roles which he used to perform was an exceptional quality with him. He had participated in the yakshagana saptaha at Alangar in Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada district recently, where he regaled his fans with his yakshagana skills. The Samyamam troupe made him a household name in this temple town, Bhat added.