Yakshagana inspired jewellery

The word Yakshagana literally means the “Song of Yakshas”. It is the theatrical folk art of Karnataka in India. Apart from the singing, there is a lot of drama and dance involved as well in a Yakshagana performance. The beautiful headgears, jewelry and makeup of the performers entertain and inspire the onlookers. While the word “Yakshagana” is said to be only 200+ years old, the art form itself is said to have existed for much longer and referred to by various names such as Aata (play) Kelike (entertainment). I chose to include Yakshagana inspired jewellery in my collection Parampare, as it showcases the rich heritage of Karnataka.

Yakshagana performances

Yakshagana performances are based on folk adaptations and retelling of various Hindu and Jain myths. But, some say that it has its roots in the Vaishnava Bhakthi movement. Hence stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata are important. A Yakshagana performance or Yakshaga Prasanga requires the support of many artistes. There are musicians who play the background score and at times sing. Then there those who act, spout dialogues and dance. Some actors sing live as well. I have seen a Yakshagana dance performance only once before. But the attire of the dancer along with his movements is still fresh in my mind after three years.

In the days of the past, Yakshagana used to be performed from dusk to dawn. Specially lit torches were used to illuminate the performances. Thus the jewellery was made in shimmering gold colour and makeup was done with stone based pigments. It imparted a glow to the actor-dancer making them look Godlike. Details regarding the makeup can be found in the book Yakshagana Shabdhakosha by Prof. Prabhakar Joshi. Colours like white, black, red and yellow are most used in dress and makeup.

Yakshagana inspired jewellery

Inspired by this Folk art form, I created two pieces. Both are very different from each other. Also, both do not follow the colour confines or the aesthetics of the artform. Rather, they are an artistic take on the “Glow” of the characters or the mood of the performance that is electric.

Yakshagana gold and navy necklace

This necklace is inspired by Shri Keremane Shivananda Hegde. He is an actor-dancer par excellence and the director of the Yakshagana troupe. I created a digital illustration based on a photograph of his that I found online. In this image, he is dressed as Lord Krishna.

Knowing truly well that black backgrounds do not work well with resin, I chose a dark blue background. Still I had to make the pendant (and the one used in the next necklace) thrice before I got some semblance of what I wanted. I had initially planned to make a bright piece to mimic the bright costumes of the actors. But as the pendant turned out to be muted I chose dull chain and navy cord to create the bib. The only consolation of bright accents were the red and blue beads. The necklace in my opinion looks very techno. What do you think? Incidentally, this necklace was featured in the Hindu Metroplus paper in an article titled, Bengaluru in a box. The e-paper though doesn’t seem to show all the images of the article.

Yaksha Necklace in Teal

I made this necklace with rich patterned ribbon beads in teal and purple along with shiny Chennapatna Lac beads and fire polished glass beads. I combined it with a resin pendant of a digital illustration of a yaksha. To create a coordinated set, I made matching faux enamelled metal earrings.

I was a little worried when I made these Yakshagana inspired jewellery. I felt that purists, who are fans of this art form might not really like my representation of it. However, I chose to do it this way to see if I can move away from traditional representation of this art form to create pieces just inspired by one aspect of it. Since both the pieces are sold, I guess that deems the experiment successful.

I hope you found my Yakshagana inspired jewellery interesting.

Cheers