Yakshagana builds children's speaking and memory skills, says academy chief at Mangaluru meet
At a children's Yakshagana conference at Mangalore University, experts called for stories adapted for young performers and for the art form to evolve without losing its core.
Learning Yakshagana helps children develop speaking skills, memory and self-expression while introducing them to the values in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Karnataka Yakshagana Academy president Tallur Shivarama Shetty said at the Makkala Yakshagana Sammelana in Mangaluru on Friday.
The conference was organised by the academy and the Dr P Dayananda Pai and P Sathish Pai Yakshagana Study Centre of Mangalore University. Vice-Chancellor Prof P L Dharma said more children are coming forward to learn the art, and that it must adapt in presentation and dialogue to stay popular for another century without compromising its values.
Expert Dr M Prabhakar Joshi said children should not simply perform episodes written for adults, and suggested adapting stories from the Panchatantra and Aesop's Fables for young performers.
Seminars on Yakshagana education and a student session on the art's past and future were held, with school students themselves handling the inauguration, sessions and presentations.
Source: Deccan Herald. Photo: Vandana bhat kaustubha / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
