A 2014 Inlaks scholarship to study the Yakshagana folk theatre form took Bangalore-based theatre practitioner SharanyaRamprakash to the esteemed Guru BannanjeSanjeevaSuvarna of the famed Yakshagana Kendra in Udupi. “I wanted to have a residential experience in a traditional framework, and acquaint myself with not just the form, but the culture as well,” says Ramprakash. Although women have made inroads in recent times, Yakshagana remains an enduring male-only bastion. Being accepted into the fold was in part due to her mentor’s pluralist vision. Ramprakash’s urban privilege opened doors closed to most women. For two years, she was the only woman in the repertory, graduating from budding student to bona fide performer, her decade-long experience in theatre coming in handy. Ramprakash toured with the centre’s professional troupe, the YakshaRanga, performing in makeshift tents, playing female stock characters, as well as standing in for male actors on occasion. The ‘collisions’ that she experienced, as a lone woman and female artiste amidst men borne looking to transcend the trappings of gender happened even as her innately urban sensibilities negotiated for space in such bucolic settings. This ultimately led to her play Akshayambara , which will play in Mumbai this week. Funding from the India Foundation for the Arts helped to mount a contemporary piece that is an intriguing introspection of a traditional form.

Read More at www.thehindu.com