Udupi: The 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 artiste, who started his career aged 19, was ailing for sometime now, and leaves behind his wife Meera and Pradeep, son.
He hailed from a family of yakshagana artistes — his father Malpe Ramadasa Samaga, uncle Malpe Shankarnarayana Samaga and brother Ramadasa Samaga enriched the folk art with their mastery over the art form.
Vasudeva Samaga’s end came at a private hospital where he was undergoing treatment for Covid19. Well versed in both badaga thittu and thenku thittu schools of yakshagana, Samaga was an embodiment of professionalism. He toured with a number of yakshagana ‘melas’, including Dharmasthala Yakshagana Mela that has a history of over 100 years. He had also formed his own talamaddale troupe ‘Samyamam’.
His forte in a career spanning 50-years was essaying the role of women (stree vesha) that demands extra skill from a male artiste. Artiste S N Bhat Bayar recalled the oratory skills of Samaga, saying it was exceptional. “His involvement in roles that he essayed made the stage come alive,” Bhat said, adding: “The ease with which Vasudeva Samaga portrayed the ‘nava rasas’, especially ‘hasya rasa’, made him an exceptional artiste.”
Yakshagana teacher Mambady Subrahmanya Bhat said that the involvement of Samaga in all the roles was immense. “During Yakshagana Saptaha, held recently at Alangar in Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada district, he regaled his fans with his performance. The Samyamam troupe made him a household name in this temple town,” Bhat added.