A Diminishing Line: Richa Bhavanam
© Richa Bhavanam
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Artist Statement: Mahila Yakshagana – Where Women Become Heroes
I travelled to Coastal Karnataka, the home of Yakshagana, to photograph and learn about changing gender representation in Yakshagana. I was curious to see the form that this young practice is taking, as women are participating as equals in this performing art space that solely belonged to men for hundreds of years.
‘We don’t remain ourselves, we completely drown in the character we are playing,’ Sai Suma, a Yakshagana artist, who often plays male roles, tells me. She goes on, ‘The more we perform, the more Yakshagana changes our personalities—our voice becomes louder, our walk more masculine—people say why are you walking like that!’
The first all-women’s troupe was put together in 1989 by Poornima Rai, one of the pioneers of Mahila (women's) Yakshagana. who currently teaches 200 students at her home in Surathkal. By the early 2000s, more women, some of whom were dancers from other traditions like Bharatanatyam, were involving themselves with Yakshagana.
Bringing together costume design, make-up, theatre, dance and music, Yakshagana is one of the richest art forms in India. As it stands today, Yakshagana is progressively becoming more inclusive—not merely with regard to its content, form or audience but also in terms of who the performers are.
Vasundhara explains, ‘The inclusion of women and children has led to renewed interest in Yakshagana. They say that Yakshagana is seeing a growth curve now because of the number of women and young children who practice and learn the art with heartening enthusiasm. If we continue to develop the form while keeping in mind its roots, we can say that the future holds promise.’
As I learnt about Yakshagana, I was of course struck by the drama of the painted faces, the frills and colours on their costumes and the towering headgear. But beyond the performances onstage, I was particularly fascinated by the world of the Yakshagana backstage. Unlike most other green rooms that are inaccessible to non-performers, the Yakshagana green room is a space that welcomes friends and family, children and curious onlookers.
Owing to the improvisational nature of Yakshagana, there is much conversation and camaraderie between artists in the green room. There is a sense of comfort and ease that nestles the atmosphere, as if it is simply an extension of their homes.
I was most mesmerised by the transformation of the women I met into mythical, larger-than-life characters. Many women have embraced Yakshagana for the sense of physical freedom that it has allowed them to experience: the exaggerated, big, broad and open movements, which are otherwise atypical attributes of a ‘feminine’ body, are found to be liberating. The women and young girls I met in the green rooms shared their stories with me with bare honesty and allowed me a peek into their world of Yakshagana like I was never an outsider. The following series of photographs hopes to show this world of Mahila Yakshagana—the performances, the festivity in the green room, and the quieter, more personal, magical narrative of the artist transforming from the person they are into the heroic characters they perform.
(above image: © Richa Bhavanam)
>>Exhibition link : Richa Bhavanam
Artist Biography:
Richa was schooled in Centre for Learning – Bangalore (2011), where her interest in art, humanities, and nature formed. She went on to study Philosophy at St.Stephen’s College – New Delhi (2014), and is now a freelance photographer based in Bangalore.
Her learning in Photography began in 2010, with the medium of black and white film, under the mentorship of photographer Diba Siddiqi.
This, along with her background in the social sciences continue to inform her work. She is most interested in documenting women-centric narratives.
In 2014, she received the Neel Dongre awards/grants for excellence in photography. In 2018, she received the Sahapedia Frames Photography Grant.
In 2019 she was long-listed for the Toto Photography Award and in 2020 she was shortlisted for the Alkazi Theatre Photography Grant.
Her work has been exhibited at The India International Centre, Delhi (2015), Alliance Francaise du Bengale, Calcutta (2016), Contemporary Arts Week, Delhi (2016), Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore (2017)
Her photographs have been published in leading newspapers and online portals. She most enjoys working on themes connected to the humanities and nature. Her series somewhat lost received awards fromThe Chennai Photo Biennial and POY Asia in 2022.
>>Exhibition link : Richa Bhavanam