With its elaborate costumes and striking make-up, Yakshagana, or the music of the yaksha, is a form of theatre that brings stories from epics and legends to the stage. Popular in coastal Karnataka and northern Keralam, it combines elements of dance, music, drama, and humour, with the performers often improvising their dialogues during a performance.
It also shares some similarities with some of Keralam’s art forms, like the elaborate make-up and costumes that can remind one of Kathakali, while its connection to the Bhuta worship traditions of South Karnataka and Kasaragod also links it to Theyyam. Yakshagana, however, has its own distinct style, with spoken dialogue being an important aspect.
It was this colourful and energetic world that 16-year-old Tulasi Hegde brought to Kochi recently. She presented ‘Viswabhigamanam’ at YNP Trust Hall, in Mattancherry as part of Nrithya Sangeetha Ulsavam 2026 organised by the Gosri Gana Sabha.
Tulasi was excited to bring her artform to a new audience that day. However, she was actually not feeling well, with a high fever keeping her energy low. But once she started putting on her make-up, something began to change. “This has happened before as well. Once I start putting on the make-up, I feel better and become a new person,” she says.
That transformation is difficult for her to explain. But she knows the feeling well. Yakshagana, after all, has been part of her life since she was a little girl.
‘Viswabhigamanam’ traces the life of Krishna, a character Tulasi performs often. It begins with Yashoda singing a lullaby and moves through Krishna’s childhood, his playful leelas and episodes of stealing butter, to him showing the ‘Vishwaroopa’, his rasa leela with the gopis and Radha, and later the events of the Mahabharata. The performance ends with Krishna leaving Gokula behind for a greater cause, the pursuit of peace.
Before the performance, Tulasi was a little doubtful whether her audience would understand her Kannada dialogues and the story.
“I was a little scared, but when the host asked whether they could follow, a person from the audience commented that what they could not understand in the dialogue, they understood from my expressions. That made me feel really happy. Language did not become a barrier,” she smiles.
Tulasi feels Yakshagana has always been her calling and credits her mother for planting that seed. Her mother, Kannada poet Gayatri Hegde, has been a lifelong aficionado of Yakshagana.
“She loved listening to Yakshagana songs, and would sing them to me while she bathed and fed me. She would even use these songs to calm me down when I cried,” Tulasi laughs.
“And as I grew older, I also became fascinated by the artform, especially its costumes.”
She was three when she first wanted to learn Yakshagana. The gurus the mother and daughter duo approached felt she was too young and asked her to return at six. Gayatri then decided to learn the art herself so she could teach her daughter. She learnt by watching videos and performances and became Tulasi’s first guru.
Tulasi’s first stage performance came when she was four. “I played the role of Bala Abhimanyu in a Yakshagana competition, and lost. I was so upset and threw tantrums, like any child would do, but my mother vowed to not let me give up,” Tulasi fondly recalls.
When Tulasi was around five, she began formal training with other gurus. She credits G S Bhat Panchalinga for teaching her talas and Vinayak Hegde Kalgadde for guidance in dance and fine-tuning. Gayatri continues to work with her on new concepts.
“The journey has not always been easy,” she says. Yakshagana is still largely male-dominated, though she feels things are changing.
Now a student of the Karnataka 2nd PUC Science, which is a two-year pre-university higher secondary course, she does not see her dedication to her artform as a distraction from her studies.
In fact, she says that her practice has helped her with concentration and grasping power.
When asked if she would continue this when her studies are over, she says, “Yakshagana is my everything. Whatever I achieved in life has come through the art. I have travelled across the country for performances, built an identity, and even got an opportunity to meet the Prime Minister”.
“I didn’t have to make any separate efforts for the achievements. They are all part of what Yakshagana has given me,” she says.
And clearly, she wants to continue performing for as long as she can. “I want to perform till my last breath,” she says.
There is one place she still hopes to perform at someday: Mathura. “Right in front of Lord Krishna,” she beams. “Since Krishna is the character I play most often, performing at the Mathura temple remains a dream.”
Yakshagana’s origins
Yakshagana is believed to have developed between the 11th and 16th centuries. The term is derived from ‘Yaksha’ meaning forest or divine spirits and ‘gana’ meaning song. The art form was known as as ‘Bhagavata Ata’, ‘Dashavatara Ata’ and ‘Bayalata’, earlier.
There are two broad forms: ‘Moodalapaya’, the eastern style, and ‘Paduvalapaya’, the western or coastal style. The coastal form has two major traditions, ‘Tenkutittu’ (southern) and ‘Badagutittu’ (northern).
The make-up: Colours help identify characters and their qualities. Red can suggest heroism, war or anger; green is associated with peace; black with death, cruelty and tragedy.
In the ‘Tenkutittu’ style, three sets of colours are used: ‘raajabanna’ (red and green) is for heroic roles, ‘kaatubanna’ (black) is for demons, and ‘sthreebanna (often green, red or golden) is for female roles.
The ornaments are made from light wood, mirror and gems, usually covered in golden foil. Costumes include colourful tunics, headgear, ‘kavacha’ (covers the chest), ‘bujakeerthi’ (armlets) and ‘daabu’ (belts).
No two performances are exactly alike, as improvised dialogues are an important part of Yakshagana and dialogues are not memorised. Performers often respond to the audience and the situation on stage.
The ‘bhagavata’ is the lead singer/storyteller, while the ‘chende’ and ‘maddale’ provide the main percussion.