MANGALURU: When the pandemic-induced lockdown was announced in March last year, many Yakshagana artistes, for whom stage was everything, suddenly had nothing to do. Realising that most of the artists were getting into depression, Karnataka Yakshagana Academy (KYA) decided to give them a platform to keep them engaged.
Yakshagana artiste and KYA member Arathi Patrame told TOI: “After realising that almost everything had gone online during the lockdown, my husband Sibanthi Padanabha (assistant professor at Tumkur University) and myself thought of interacting with scholars through ‘Matina Mantapa’, a Facebook Live programme. However, KYA chairman MA Hegde suggested that we interact with artistes. This way, we could keep them engaged during the pandemic,” she said.
Getting artistes to an online platform was indeed a challenge. “Many of them are not tech-savvy as most of them hail from remote villages. Artiste Vasantha Gowda Kayarthadka had to travel for about 30km to get online access. Initially, many were hesitant, but we went ahead with our plans. We feel gratified as those interviewed call us the day after the show, saying they were happy. These artistes are also paid remuneration for participating in the show,” she said.
Ever since its launch in September, ‘Matina Mantapa’ had gone live at 6.30pm everyday, after which another programme ‘Nenapina Butti’ took over.
‘Matina Mantapa’ has 100 episodes, each of which has an interview with an artiste. “No specific topic was given to them. Artistes from across the state and those performing Tenkutittu, Badagutittu and Moodalapaya-style of the art form have been featured. Later, the interview is uploaded on YouTube too. The programme has a huge fan following, and this includes Yakshagana affiniadoes settled abroad. Some even suggest names who deserve to be featured. One such most sought-after interview was of celebrated Yakshagana Bhagavatha Patla Sathish Shetty. His interview has crossed one lakh views. The academy is planning to document these interviews,” she said.
Buoyed by the success of ‘Matina Mantapa’, KYA launched an online series of Yakshagana talkshows called ‘Nenapina Butti’ in January.