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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Extremely difficult for Modi to form next govt: Mallikarjun Kharge
Patna (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday claimed that it will be "extremely difficult" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to form the next government in the country.
Addressing a press conference here, along with Bihar allies Dipankar Bhattacharya, who heads the CPI (ML) L, and Manoj Kumar Jha of the RJD, Kharge also said the PM's speeches, of late, have been "devoid of the earlier spark".
"I was addressing rallies in Andhra Pradesh when Modi was in adjoining Telangana. The bluster (‘abhiman’) and pride (‘garv’) that characterised his speeches in the past were missing,” said Kharge.
"After three phases of Lok Sabha polls, I can safely say it is going to be extremely difficult for Modi to become the PM again - a reason why he has given up speaking about achievements of his 10 years in power and is trying to create a Hindu-Muslim divide,” the Congress chief alleged.
He also slammed the PM for holding out an olive branch to former BJP ally in Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray and NCP founder Sharad Pawar "in a language unbecoming of a prime minister".
