Yakshagana

Yakshagana is a traditional stage performance and semi classical Indian dance drama, found in Tulunadu that is Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kasaragod district and Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form. It is believed to have evolved from proto-classical music and Sanskrit theatre during the period of the Bhakti movement. This theatre style is mainly found in coastal regions of Karnataka in various forms. Towards the south from Dakshina Kannada to Kasaragod of Tulu Nadu region, the form of Yakshagana is called ' and towards the north from Udupi up to Uttara Kannada it is called '. Both of these forms are equally played all over the region. Yakshagana is traditionally presented from dusk to dawn. Its stories are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata and other epics from both Hindu and Jain and other ancient Indic traditions.

==Etymology== Yakshagāna literally means the song (gāna) of the yaksha (nature spirits). Yakshagana is the scholastic name in Kannada (used for the last 200 years) and Tulu for art forms formerly known as āṭa, kēḷike, bayalāṭa, and daśāvatāra. Performance of this Yakshagana literature or the play is called āṭa.