Udupi: Veteran Yakshagana percussion artiste and teacher Mambadi Subrahmanya Bhat of Bantwal has been selected for the ‘Parthisubba Award’ for 2024 by the Karnataka Yakshagana Academy, President of the Academy Tallur Shivaram Shetty has said.

In a press meet held at the Press Club in Udupi on Friday, the Academy chief said that the award comes with Rs 1 lakh in cash and a citation.
The president also declared on the occasion the names of 10 people who have been selected for the ‘Yakshasiri’ annual award and the five people selected for the endowment award of the Academy for 2024.

The awards will be handed at a programme organized at the Kalaranga hall in Udupi on February 16, the Academy president added.

Senior artiste of Thenkuthittu Yakshagana Subrahmanya Bhat is the son of Mambadi Narayana Bhagavatha. Growing in the field of Yakshagana under the guidance of his father, Bhat worked as a prominent background percussion artiste in the Kateel, Karnataka and Kadri troupes (melas). He is also highly respected as a teacher, having trained several Yakshagana enthusiasts in Karnataka and Kerala.

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New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.

Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.

Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.

A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.

"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.

The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.

Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.

Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.

Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.

Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.

"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.

Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.