Huli Vesha is one of the unique dance forms in towns of coastal Karnataka like Mangaluru, Udupi, Kundapura, Moodubidiri, and Karkala. Popularly known as tiger dance, this art form is popular across southern states and often performed on festive occasions. A team from Kulashekara, Mangaluru, recently performed this dance for three days to entertain the audiences on the occasion of Ganesh Visarjan.
A team of forty participants donned the costume of a tiger and entertained the audiences with their performances while 15 others accompanied with musical instruments. The dancers visited some of the houses and requested for donations. The performers initially entertained the viewers with their solo performances and then performed as a team. They donned costumes of mother tiger, cubs, and a black tiger.
Every year, the performers leave the crowd amused with their energetic dance moves. These antics include flipping upside down, picking up an object by mouth, breaking fruits with head, jumping and lifting cola bottles.
The Huli Vesha dance form is performed by local youth mostly during the Navratri Festival (the 9-day-long festival which falls in the month of October). Huli Vesha is performed to pay tribute to Goddess Durga, whose vahana is a tiger. Goddess Durga is known for her aggressive posture and capability of keeping evil forces away from her devotees. Huli Vesha performance often involves a group of people dressing up in the costume of a tiger. This costume includes tiger face masks or paintings, and tiger stripes on the body, accompanied by yellow or orange coloured shorts. The group moves on the main streets of the town, dancing, accompanied by drums and music, and entertaining the public on the way. They also, at times, collect donations from the ones who willingly offer it. During the dance, they make stops and perform various stunts and formations, to keep the crowd entertained.