Yes, I was back to Mangalore once again in January, not to capture Buffalo races but to witnessYakshagana.
Yaksha-gana literally means the song (gana) of Yaksha. Yakshas were an exotic tribe mentioned in the Sanskrit literature of ancient India. Read More on Yakshagana on
Wikipedia.
Sindhur not taking any risk after his experiences with Danny and myself, made sure the tickets were booked. Well Sindhur, we really did miss you when you had to drop off at the last moment...
So it sure was a bigger group this time -
Ashit, Vinod C Gowda a.k.a.
Danny,
Vic,
Sunil & Myself reached Mangalore in the cool and comfortable KSRTC Volvo bus.
Somnath and Pratheush (due to non availability of chuttis) decided to ride to Mangalore. Little did Pratheush know about the experience he is going to go through.
So Ashit was silent on his trip (traveling in a bus after a long time), Vic - the gadget man had Slumdog millionaire for entertainment with a 2.1 speaker system and Sunil after drinking some battery coolant (Aristocrat and Leher soda) that burned danny's throat slept like a baby till we reached Mangalore.
Sunil - thanks to stop the bus when we really needed. Peeing under the stars in open fields is really an experience
Somnath and Pratheush were already at the hotel and for Pratheush, he understood the importance of A** for the first time in his life.
We had to wait for the evening to have a go at Yakshagana, so it was Kambala once again in the morning, Chicken Gassi for lunch and a dizzy ride in an Innova all around Mangalore.
For entertainment, Vic suggested to replace “dil” with “a**” in whatever song that was playing in the car.
On the way back to the hotel, we captured moments at a Kushti competition. The boat ride to the place was good where danny nearly drowned himself in the small little boat that we shared. Danny, next time don’t yell, don’t move and if you feel the boat is going to trip, throw your gear in the water.
Dinner at Kudla made the day complete. Chicken Ghee Roast, Chickn Gassi, Fish Fry, Neer Dosas and a lot of food… Mangalorean food is something that all of us relished. Pratheush, how was the vegetarian food?
It took us about an hour to find a place where Yakshagana was going on. It was amazing to witness, very colorful, full of energy and absolute passion. The two hours that we spent clicking the artists, were one of the best moments of the day.
Festivals form an indelible part of the people of Mangalore that are celebrated with extreme enthusiasm. The festivals of Mangalore provide a deep insight into the socio-cultural pattern of Mangalore.
Aati, Dussehra, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Puja, Tiger dance, Bhuta Kola, Fishing festival, Kambala and Yakshagana are some of the events that brings out the passion and enthusiasm that people of Mangalore celebrate. The culture and ritual for all these festivals are still alive and have been carried out from the past 500 years or more.
With so much to witness and with so little that I have experienced; it’s a long way to go to really feel the passion, fun, enthusiasm, entertainment the city of Mangalore has.
This is my culture, my religion, my ritual! And I love being part of it!
I experimented shooting with transparencies on my Film SLR for the first time on this trip. Will upload the photographs once I get them processed.
