Chipparu: his beats, his feats, his height.......

Reading obituaries of Chipparu Krishnayya Ballal in blogs and today's newspapers, I found many interesting things about him. That he belonged to the Vitla Royal family; that his entry into the Dharmasthala troupe marked the end of a long-standing disharmony between the Dharamasthala Heggades and the Vitla Royal family; that he was instrumental in getting Kadathoka Manjunatha Bhagavatha from badabadagutittu to Tenkutittu and he formed a great pair with this Bhagavatha to experiment with new styles of background music in Dharmasthala troupe; that he gave a great maddale support to the lilting tunes of the Late Damodarama Mandechcha; that he excelled in jodata (two simultaneous competitive performances); that he had highly independent views about the tradition of Yakshagana music; that his chende (drum) beats pleased a visiting Russian President in the 1950s; that he was one of the very few who had to their credit awards from both Kerala and Karnataka governments and so on.

I also heard from a friend that Chipparu's innovation, along with those of a few of his contemporaries, blurred the distinction between mrudangam and maddale beats. My friend sounded a bit unhappy about it. Of course, I am not an expert in understanding these tenchicalities of Yakshagana music but I kept wondering how all these interesting things about this artiste remained unknown to many of us when he was alive. I had been searching for a good profile of Chipparu for a long time but I found none - no festschrift, no book chapter; not even a comprehensive newspaper article. I think, however, Chipparu's is the most widely used picture in newspaper articles. I clearly remember when Udayavani carried a full page article on Yakshagana on its Sunday supplement a few years ago, Chipparu's full-size picture was positioned along the left side of the page, and it appeared so much like his posture on a rangasthala...

Of the various personal accounts written about him today, I found interesting Raj Kumar's discription of Chipparu in response to Subramahmanya Bhat's post in Ballirenayya. Raj Kumar describes the left rear corner (where chende player stands in Tenkutittu) of Dharamathala troupe's stage as 'Chipparu corner.' Yes, as long as Chipparu was in the troupe it was a great sight to see his towering personality occupying that corner with his hands deftly moving on chende. I distinctly remember how he sometimes used to play chende with his eyes closed.

As several people have mentioned, just as his tall figure Chipparu's stoic face was another distinct aspect of his personality. I have never seen emotions on his face change no matter what was happening on the stage. That was a great stage discipline and there is a lesson for some of the contemporary background musicians who keep chatting among themselves or gesturing to friends in the audience when a serious plot unfolds on the stage.

More than anything else, it was a great feat to be active on the stage till the ripe age of 81...

Listen to a very short audio clip in which Sheni Gopala Krishna Bhat describes Chipparu as a carrier of the legacy of some of the great himmela (background music) artistes of Tenkutittu Yakshagana


Read a profile of Chipparu by Dr Purushothama Bilimale

Read a touching obituary by Raj Kumar in his blog Yakshachintana

Read Subramanya Bhat's tribute to Chipparu in his blog Ballirenayya

In picture Chipparu gives his last performance on Sunday (April 26) in Bangalore. Thanks to Subrahmanya Bhat for sharing this picture

Chipparu Krishnayya Ballal no more

Rangasthala regrets to announce the death of Yakshagana artiste, chende/maddale player Chippaaru Krishnayya Ballal, at a performance in Bangalore today (April 27). He was 80. Ballal is the second yakshagana artiste to have breathed his last during a performance this year, after Keremane Shambhu Hegde. The show was subsequently cancelled in Ballal's honour.

Ballal, who came to Bangalore on April 24 as a member of the Edaneeru troupe for a week-long programme in various parts of the city, performed till yesterday. When today's performance (Jambavathi Kalyana-Veera Abhimanyu) was to begin this evening (at the time of chowki pooje to be precise) at Edneer Mutt, Koramangala, Ballal complained of chest pain, collapsed and breathed his last.

Ballal, who had been a prominent chende/maddale player for more than six decades, was active till the end. He worked for various troupes including Dharmasthala troupe. One of his sons is an artiste in Kateel troupe.

Maddale player Bhagavatha honoured

When it comes to felicitating achievers in Yakshagana, increasingly Bangalore is the venue. I had been to many such programmes, generally sandwiched between one or two Yakshagana shows, over the last decade.

On Sunday last week at Town Hall it was felicitation for Shankara Bhagavatha, who according to some commentators, is one of the four all-time great maddale players of Badagutittu (the other three being the Late Bellanje Thimmappa Naik; the Late Durgappa Gudigara and Hiriyadaka Gopala Rao). The felicitation programme was held in between two prasangas: Thaamradwaja Kaalaga and Ugrasena Prathapa.

In a curtain raiser to the event, Bhavya Bolar writes in Deccan Herald:
Choosing your destiny at a very young age can be quite challenging. But this maddale artiste did it at a young age of 12; worked hard to achieve what he aspired to with perseverance, and what’s more, he excelled at it. Shankar Bhagawat, 55, a native of Sirsi, is the only artiste at present to play seven maddales at a time.....

Read here the full article in Deccan Herald
Read here a profile of Shankara Bhagavatha in Nagaraj Mattigar's blog Oddolaga

Tenkabailu in Bengaluru

Tenkabailu Thirumaleshwara Shashtry, one of my favourite Tenkutittu Bhagavatas was in Bangalore last evening singing for an amateur Talamaddale - Jambavathi Kalyana - at Ramashrama, Girinagar. I had heard him in cassettes but had no occasion earlier to attend his performance. So I did not want to miss this one although this meant making a choice as there was another Yakshagana at Town Hall (see the next post)

In the three-hour programme, organised by Shree Durgamba Kalasangama, as expected Shashtry was the centre of attraction as he sang with total involvement. I am a fan of his songs in dukka and karuna rasas (From an earlier programme here is the one I liked the most). But last evening there were many more which still linger in my ears...


I should also say something about the artistes. While all the four did very well, making it difficult to say that it was an amateur performance at all, Sudhanva Deraje as Krishna and Shashank Arnady as Jambavantha displayed a lot promise as young artistes. Both, I am sure, would emerge much sought-after performers in the field and fill the vacuum being created by the gradual exit of some of the established great artistes....


View a Youtube clip of the programme here

Pics: second from the top - Shashank (left) and Sudhanva
bottom: - Mujur Narayana Bhat (left) as Balarama and Venugopala Bhat Mambadi as Narada

A full night of Yakshagana: A first timer's account

I have always been curious to know how those who are new to Yakshagana perceive it and write about it. Those of us who have been brought up seeing it in its various forms and styles tend overlook things which others find distinct. Things which we find ordinary attract others as something unusually interesting. Recently, I came across an article posted on ghumakkar.com. It is one of the very well written pieces on Yakshagana that i have ever come across on the net and it was by someone who watched it at Kateel temple for the first time out of sheer curiosity and interest.

The author, Arvind Padmanabhan says:

The main purpose of my visit was to sample a traditional folk art form of song, dance and drama in these parts of Karnataka, known as yakshagana. At Moodbidri yesterday, I made enquiries about yakshagana performances in the region. I was told to check out the listings in a local newspaper. So I got the hotel receptionist to check these out in Udayavani....I was surprised to find more than 20 performances for last night alone....

What I found extremely interesting in the article is the way he describes the scene in chowki. He observes the process of make-up in all its details:

Facial makeup is usually done first before the costume is worn. Dhotis are divested for pyjamas. A tight undershirt is worn next. This is tightened and knotted with strings. Next, form is given at waist level by tying empty folded sacks or layers of cloth. This gives the fullness needed when the main costume is worn over another inner vest. The main costume is tucked in. Below the waist is a skirt that hangs to knee level and frills out when the waist belt is tightened. Costume is never complete without arm bands, head bands, a crown, a belt and anklets with bells (gunghroo). Two important decorations are the crown and the hanging chest ornament - these are elaborate for the main characters, be it the good guys or the bad. Every piece of ornament is only imitation jewellery but they all look resplendent as befits the characters of gods, warriors or kings that they portray. When all these are accomplished, the common actor has lost his real self and has become the character...

For a first timer, the author has really been able to appreciate Yakshagana too well (of course, he knew Kannada)...Read this:

So when Indra in the form of a brahmin comes to Karna to ask his protective shield, we all know how it ends; yet we are full of interest in the dialogue and how one argument leads to another.

And finally, does not the following description leave those of us who have watched hundreds of such shows with a sense of deja vu?

When the first light of dawn breaks out, shops start to open. Newpapers and milk arrive. Early birds leave home for work. The first buses pass by. The performance draws to its climax and comes to an energetic end. There is no applause, no single acknowledgement of the efforts of cast or crew. The whole performance is like a prayer or a dedication to the gods.....I was among the last to leave, having survived a wonderful night of non-stop entertainment, village style