24-Mar-2020: Over 900 Yakshagana scripts go digital
More than 900 Yakshagana scripts, including the ones printed in 1905 and 1907, have now been digitised and made available online for free, thanks to the voluntary community effort by some Yakshagana lovers who did it under Yakshavahini, a registered trust.
The teamwork by about 100 professionals, including software engineers, has resulted in conservation of 934 scripts in the digital form in less than a year of launching the project. The number of digitised scripts is expected to touch 1,000 by March-end.
The ‘Prahlada Charitre’ printed in 1905 and ‘Ramashwamedha’ printed of 1907, ‘Putrakamesti’ published of 1913, ‘Kanakangi Kalyana’ of 1929, Kumudhwati Kalyana of 1931 and Sampoorna Ramayana printed in 1938 are among the ones digitised.
The concept of digitisation conceived in August last took birth soon after a month and the first set of scripts scanned went online in October, 2019 through a blog by Nataraja Upadhya, a software engineer and a co-ordinator of the project. The scripts sourced from different sources have been scanned, preserved in PDF format in Google drive and made available on www.prasangaprathi sangraha.com and through the ‘Prasanga Prathi Sangraha’ app. The collection and digitisation of scripts, both in printed and manuscript forms, is one among the four projects being taken up by the Bengaluru based Yakshavahini.
Among those digitised now are 65 scripts scanned and digitised by the Sristi Foundation of film-maker and director Abhaya Simha and others. They have given links to those scripts. It is estimated that Karnataka had about 8,000 Yakshagana scripts. Of them, half might have disappeared due to various reasons. The Yakshavahini is making efforts to collect the remaining scripts and digitise at least 3,000 of them.
Ashwini Hodala, another co-ordinator and a pillar of the project, said that the scripts digitised included the ones written by Parthi Subba, considered as the pioneer of Yakshagana, Devidasa, Keerikkadu Vishu Master, Dwajapurada Nagappaiah and contemporary writer D.S. Sridhara. The collections included some different versions of same scripts published at different stages with some omissions and additions.
Lakshminarayana Bhat, a software engineer who developed the app for the project, said 1,045 users have installed it since it was released on December 15, 2019. A user can use the names of the author, the ‘prasanga’ (script) or the publisher in the ‘search’ option to look for a particular script.
M. Krishna, administrator of a Yakshagana WhatsApp group, said that the documentation is a good source for researchers and present generation artistes. The volunteers have preserved them for the future generation at their own cost. “Now a ‘bhagawatha’ (singer and director) needs to take only an iPad to the stage and not the printed book”.
25-Sep-2018: Ghumot – A dying art
Goa’s oldest percussion instrument, the Ghumot lends charm to classical and folk music. No ‘Mando’ or ‘Dulpod’ (Folksongs), Ghodde Modni, Fugdi, Dhalo or Dhekni (folk dances) are complete without it.
Ghumot – a membranophone type percussion instrument common to the western states of India, like Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra is used largely in traditional and folk music. It is a baked earthen pot with circular openings on either side of the cavity. Animal skin is stretched over the larger opening and tied with rope. Traditionally skin from the Monitor Lizard is used. Goatskin is used as an alternative. The instrument is played with one hand striking the membrane and the other hand opening and closing the hole at the other end. The other hand controls the size of the resonating column; opening the cavity lets it interact with the air on the outside.
This instrument has an endemic status on the verge of extinction with no scientific documentation available for posterity.
At the recently held ‘Patoienchem Fest’ (Pancake Fest) in August 2018, Goan historian Prajal Sakhardande was heard declaring the Ghumot the ‘State Instrument of Goa’. Many noted personalities like our ‘Goenche Festamkar’ Marius Fernandes, Felly Gomes, O’Luv etc. present on the dais, couldn’t have agreed more. Despite the fact that a decision from the Government is awaited.
Ghumtakars (Ghumot makers) are highly skilled artisans. Right from moulding the mud pots to fixing the moulded rims and attaching the skins to the mouth. All this to get the required acoustics and resonance. The pot and rims are moulded by two different artisans. While the skin is fixed by a third. Earlier, the skin of the Monitor Lizard was used to cover the mouth. Today, with a ban on poaching of wild animals, goat’s skin is used.
Why do they feel the need to declare the Ghumot as ‘State Instrument’ of Goa?
According to Marius Fernandes, there are only three ‘Ghumtakars’ (Ghumot makers) left in Goa. All three are quite advanced in age. Their offspring have shown no interest in the occupation. So the art if not preserved will be lost forever.
We hope the Government takes immediate steps to declare the Ghumot as the State Musical Instrument to preserve and promote the dying art for posterity.
The Raas is a popular dance form of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. It has many variations and is performed in different formats in each region of Gujarat. The Maniyaro Raas is the oldest and is performed by many communities. However, it is the Mehar community of the Saurashtra peninsula that has popularised the dance form.
The dancers use dandiya (sticks) and drums during the performance. The fast-paced dance is accompanied by pleasing songs. The songs begin with shehnai performance followed by the singing of verses like the chhands and dohas. The Maniyaro Raas is a martial dance performed by males and is meant to showcase the valour and bravery. The Mehars use swords and shields during the performance of the Maniyaro Raas to symbolize valour. The dance is performed to a musical taal or beat.