Yakshagana artiste-turned politician Kumble Sundar Rao, known for his dialogues full of alliteration, was felicitated in Magalore last week and conferred the title 'Yakshanugrahi.'
Kumble, as he is known among Yakshagana lovers, is unique for more reasons than his dialogue rendering skills. He was born into a Malayalam-speaking family but mastered the art of speaking Kannada so well that one should listen to him speak to appreciate his style. Kumble was the first professional Yakshagana artiste to become an MLA. Once when he spoke in the Legislative Assembly, the then speaker Ramesh Kumar asked other MLAs to learn from Kumble the right way of speaking in Kannada. It was Kumble's gift of the gab which earned him laurels on Yakshagana stage as well as the political stage. BJP capitalised on his skills during its Ramajanmabhoomi campaigns and then rewarded him with ticket to contest from Surathkal in 1994. By winning the elections Kumble did what only cinema artistes had been known to do - graduating from the world of arts to what Bismarck had called 'the art of possible.'
As a professional artiste, his longest inning was in Dhamasthala troupe. He is one of those artistes who has admittedly given priority to dialogues over dance on the stage. In this sense, he excels more in Talamaddale version of Yakshagana. In both, he has been known for his roles of Krishna, Bharata, Karna, Sudhanwa, Nala among others. What is remarkable about Kumble's penchant for using alliterations is that he weaves them spontaneously into his dialogues. In the process, he has created an inimitable style of his own. His dialogues are not in-depth as Sheni's but those looking for insights will not be totally disappointed. Sheni's dialogues demand a very high level of understanding from the audience as well whereas Kumble's dialogues are more appealing to the masses. A comparison of the substantive aspects of the dialogues that these two artistes have used when they played varous mythological roles is a subject of study by itself. Here are a few samples of Kumble's popular dialogues:
As Karna in Karnavasana he replies to Krishna when invited to share the seat on the chariot:
ನೀನು ಪರ್ವತ
ನಾನು ಪ್ರಪಾತ
ನೀನು ಸಿಂಧು
ನಾನು ಸಿಡಿದು ದೂರ ಬಿದ್ದ ಒಂದು ಬಿಂದು
ಓ ಈ ಜಗದ ಬಂಧು
ನಾನು ನೀನೂ ಹೇಗೆ ಒಂದು?
In the same prasanga, he tells Kunti that he will never spare the life of Arjuna but can gaurantee her five children since he will survive if Arjuna is killed. This is how the dialogue goes:
......ನಿನ್ನ ಹಳೆಯ ಐದು ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಲೆಕ್ಕ
ತಾಯೇ ಉಳಿದೀತು ಹಾಗೆ ಚೊಕ್ಕ
ಇನ್ನೇನು ನಿನ್ನ ದುಖ್ಖ?
It is not just on the stage that he uses this style. It comes to him naturally when speaks off stage as well. As he himself recounted at a function, when he met his ertswhile employer Sri Veerendra Heggade of Dharmastala to inform him about his decision to contest elections this was how he ended the converstation:
ಗೆದ್ದರೆ ಎಮ್ಮೆಲ್ಲೇ
ಸೋತರೆ ನಿಮ್ಮಲ್ಲೇ!
Here is a link to a youtube clip of Vishwamirta Menake in which Kumble plays Vishwamitra. Certainly not one of his best performances but you will get a taste of it neverthless...
