Senior Yakshagana artist Shridara Bhandari Puttur passes away
Mangaluru, Feb 19: Veteran Yakshagana artiste Puttur Sridhar Bhandary, who has long been associated with the Dharmasthala Yakshagana Mela, died on Friday, family sources said.
He was 73.
He is survived by wife, two sons and two daughters.
Bhandary had learnt Yakshagana at the age of 12 and first made a stage appearance when he was 15.
He earned praise and recognition for the portrayal of young Yakshagana heroes and was known for his electrifying, youthful and soulful performances.
He was a resident of Bannur in Puttur taluk.
Bhandary had won several honours including Karnataka Rajyotsava award and Yakshaganga academy award.
Some of the immensely popular roles he portrayed were Babhruvahana, Ashwathama, Kusha and Bhargava.
He had served in Subramanya Mela, Balambetttu Mela and Puttur Mela before joining Dharmasthala Mela where he served for 45 years as the leading artiste.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
