Udupi: Yakshagana icon Balipa Narayana Bhagavata passes away at 85
Moodbidri: Balipa Narayana Bhagavata, legendary artiste of the Thenkuthittu (southern) style of Yakshagana, died at his residence in Nooyi near Maroor here on Thursday evening.
The artiste, who was aged 85 years, is survived by his three sons. The family has said that the funeral rites will be conducted at his residence at 1:30 am, late Thursday night.
Bhagavata was born on March 13, 1938 in Padre village of Kasaragod district as the son of Balipa Madhava Bhat and Saraswathi. He dropped out of school at the age of 13 years to become a Yakshagana artiste.
Having been active in the field of Yakshagana as a singer (bhagavata) for more than 60 years, Bhagavata worked with the troupe Kateel Durgaparameshwari Yakshagana Mela for about four and a half decades.
Equally famous as a playwright, he wrote several episodes (prasangas) and songs of Yakshagana. He had also penned the mega episode 'Devi Mahatme', the show of which continues for five days. He has written as many as 30 episodes that were published as well as 15 unpublished episodes.
His achievement and stature in Yakshagana earned Bhagavata the title of 'Bheeshma of Thenkuthittu' of Yakshagana, the 'grand old man' of the southern school. He was also popular in the stature of a grandfather, with the people calling him 'Balipajja', who was down-to-earth, approachable, polite and 'innocent as a child'.
Bhagavata was awarded the 'Karnataka Rajyotsava Prashasti', the 'Samaga Prashasti', 'Jnana Prashasti' of the Karnataka Folklore and Yakshagana Academy, the 'Doddamane Lingegowda Prashasti' of the Karnataka Janapada Parishat, the 'Karnatakashri Prashasti' at the 71st All India Kannada Literary Festival and the 'Agari Prashasti' among other awards, during the span of his long career.
On the occasion of Bhagavata's 75th birthday, Yakshagana fans got an 'Amruta Bhavana' constructed near his residence in his honour.
One of his sons, Prasad Balipa, who was a renowned bhagavata of Yakshagana, predeceased his father. Another son Shivashankar Balipa is also a famous bhagavata while a third son Madhava Balipa is a Yakshagana background artiste. Bhagavata's fourth son Shashidhar Balipa is an agriculturist.
With the passing away of Bhagavata, however, followers of Yakshagana are grieving the loss of a singer of the highest order, an artiste from the old school of the art form and a treasure house of knowledge.
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Explosive device kills 13, injures 38 on bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists
Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
