Veteran Yakshagana artiste Arate Manjunatha passed away at his house in Gavali village after prolonged illness near Kundapur on Friday. He was 73. He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.

Majunatha was regarded as one of the finest artistes donning the roles of women characters in both Tenku and Badagu thittu schools of Yakshagana. He was a natural at these roles. Besides a good voice, he was a graceful dancer, known for his acting prowess and powerful dialogue delivery.

Born in Gulvady village of Kundapur taluk in 1942, his formal education ended at class four. He was attracted to Yakshagana at a young age of 13 years and learnt its basics under the tutelage of Matapady Srinivas Nayak and Veerabhadra Nayak.

In a career spanning five and a half decades, he worked in various Yakshagana melas including Saligrama, Mandarti, Maranakatte, Kamalashile, Keremane, Rajarajeshwari, Surathkal, Mulki, Kollur, Pollali and Kundavu melas.

He had deep knowledge of women characters coming in the Puranas and epics. He donned the roles of women characters such as Ambe, Damayanti, Shashiprabhe, Dakshayini, Chandramati, Subhadra, Sita, Meenakshi, Mohini, Prabhavati, Sridevi with aplomb. He also donned the role of male characters including Krishna and Ashwathama.

As founder of Ganesha Pravasi Yakshagana Samsthe, he recognised the services of senior Yakshagana artistes and provided guidance to junior Yakshagana artistes.

He also served as the member of Karnataka Janapada and Yakshagana Academy. Several awards came in search of this versatile artiste including Karnataka Rajya Prashasti, Karnataka Sahitya Parishath Prashasti, B.V. Acharya Award, Bhojappa Suvarna Award and Ramavittala Award.

Vinay Kumar Sorake, Urban Development Minister, and the Yakshagana Kalaranga organisation, have condoled the death of Manjunatha.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Ganesh Prabhu / Udupi – January 30th, 2015