Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Oct 28: Veteran Yakshagana artiste, Navunda Mahabala Ganiga (82), who had been carrying on with the family’s legacy of presentation and portrayal style, breathed his last in Manipal Hospital on Wednesday October 27. He is survived by wife, three sons, and three daughters.

Ganiga, who showed his skills among towering artistes of his time like Haradi Rama Ganiga and Kushta Ganiga, had worked in Mandarti, Saligrama, Amruteshwari and Maranakatte Melas for six decades. The roles which required valour and those which demanded in-depth knowledge, vocabulary and magnificence, were donned by him with finesse. He was exemplary in portraying the roles demanding wearing of ‘Kore Mundasina Kirata’, a unique style only seen in Badagu Tittu. Through Dr Karant’s Yakshagana troupe, he also had earned a name for himself in foreign countries.

Mahabala Ganiga had been bestowed with several awards including Yakshagana Kalaranga Silver Jubilee Award and Udupi district Rajyotsava Award.

Trustee of Mandarti temple, Dhananjay Shetty, Saligrama Yakshagana Troupe manager, P Kishen Hegde, Perdoor Mela manager, Karunakar Shetty, Yakshagana critic, S V Uday Kumar Shetty, members of Yakshagana Kalaranga and Yakshagana Kendra, and various Yakshagana artistes have grieved the death of this great artiste, and offered condolences to the bereaved family.