Krishnamurthy Hanur: “Karaga, Tigulas, Cultural Life: Transformation of a Performance Tradition in a ‘New’ Socio-cultural context.”
This paper would like to examine the above ideas of migration, indigenous communities, and art practices with particular reference to karaga, whose beginnings are traceable to Tamilnadu. Though this performance continues to exist in Tamilnadu , it has also become popular in parts of South Karnataka where the performing groups migrated. In a dialogue with the local milieu, the performance has changed its form and content. For example, the famous annual karaga ritual at Dharmaraya temple in Bangalore has restructured itself around the mahabharata myth by making the chief ritual actor personify Draupadi. It has also introduced gender impersonation where a male performer plays a woman’s role. Further, in Karnataka, the karaga performers have become an independent caste called tigulas. By juxtaposing karaga performances in the two linguistic regions, the paper will examine how migration influences both the performance and the performing community.
Biological Statement:
Prof. Krishnamurthy Hanur (b.20.03.1950) teaches Kannada Folklore at Kannada Study Centre, University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka. He has been an avid collector and interpreter of Kannada folklore for decades. He has edited and published 20 books on different area of Kannada folklore including Kattale Dari Dura and Savirada Siribelagu. Apart from this, he is a celebrated short fiction writer in Kannada with 15 works to his credit. He has won several book prizes and awards for both his works in folklore and fiction. These include Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, Vardhamana Award and two book prizes from Karnataka Sahitya Akademi
