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 He has written as many as 30 episodes that were published as well as 15 unpublished episodes.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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Metro services begin in Bhopal; excited residents flock to take rides, selfies
Bhopal (PTI): On the first day of the commercial run of the Metro services in Bhopal on Sunday, hundreds of residents enthusiastically took rides, expressing confidence that it will save time and provide relief from traffic jams.
An official said that the Metro’s first service began at 9 am from the AIIMS station, and by 6 pm, 5,731 people had travelled on the new mass-transit corridor.
He said that people, along with their family members, had been lining up for tickets since early morning. Several users were seen taking selfies and photos inside the Metro rakes and at stations.
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Earlier on Saturday, Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav inaugurated the Metro service by flagging off a train from Subhash Nagar station on a 7.5-kilometre stretch, called the “Priority Corridor”.
With this, Bhopal became the 26th city in the country and the second city in Madhya Pradesh, after Indore, to have the Metro service.
Rao Singh, who took a Metro ride, told PTI Videos that besides saving time and money, the new mode of transport will provide relief from traffic jams and pollution.
Another passenger, who identified himself as Chetan, said he was happy that Bhopal is now on the “Metro list”.
Office-goers will benefit a lot due to the Metro service, said a young man named Akshay.
While the estimated cost of the 30.8-km-long Bhopal Metro project is Rs 10,033 crore, a sum of Rs 2,225 crore was spent on the ‘Priority Corridor’, according to officials.
