A new book on the traditional make up and costume of Yakshagana

My father late Muliya Mahabala Bhat was a scholar of Yakshagana. His knowledge of the art and craft of the dance form was immense.

By mid 80s Yakshagana was losing its authenticity. Artists were cutting corners in many aspects – such as make up (which is elaborate and time consuming), costume and even stage performance. My father with some of his friends such as writer, scholar Raghava Nambiar, scholar Prabhakara Joshi and others conducted a workshop on traditional make up of Yakshagana near Mangalore. He invited a group great artists, requested them do authentic make up, don the right costume and I photographed all of them. It was the mid 80s.

I have now scanned all the images (shot on transparency film) and are in the process of restoring them. I am working with Raghava Nambiar to produce a book soon. The book is scheduled to be launched by December 2019 to mark the 20th year of my father’s passing. It will be a bilingual book - English and Kannada.

The book will feature images that one cannot find anywhere else. The text will be most authentic. It will be a collector’s item. Do book your copy and support this project by pre ordering your copies at a pre publication price of Rs.2000/-.(Cover price will be Rs.3000/-) It will help us to restore the images, for the honorarium for the writer, cost of design and production. This is an important project in conserving and preserving the authenticity of an important performing art form.
The first hundred pre orders will receive a free copy of my previous book on Bangalore (published in 2012). For more details and to pre order - https://www.maheshbhat.com/shop/yakshagana-traditional-make-up-and-costumes-working-title

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