Madikeri Dasara is a platform utilised by hundreds of youth to showcase their passion towards art by creating magic through mythological effigies and tableaux.

Madikeri :  

An electrician, a plumber, an autorickshaw driver, a civil worker, a realtor – they wear different hats on their professional front. But the harmonious love for arts unites them under the banner of ‘Madikeri Dasara’.

A unique show of art, passion, devotion, and stardom, Madikeri Dasara is a platform that is utilised by hundreds of art-loving youth, who otherwise are busy with their routine jobs. “The festivity gives us an opportunity to showcase our true passion. While we are lost in our professional world most of the year, we quit everything for two months to satisfy our craze for arts,” says Vivek Alaga, an auto driver. For the past five years, he has been taking a two-month break from riding his autorickshaw during Dasara and indulging himself in this creative therapy. In his alter ego, Vivek is an effigy sculptor, bringing into shape the Gods and demons from mythology.

Madikeri Dasara is known to be a class apart in its celebrations. The festivity that starts with the traditional karaga utsava ends with a bash of a live tableau show, put up by 10 temple committees.

On the night of Vijayadashami, Hindu mythology comes alive in stories narrated through tableaus. The celebration, however, is beyond religion, caste or class. It gives a platform for hidden artists in the city to make their name and fame.

“If we have to pursue arts, we have to look for funding. But during Madikeri Dasara, we get funds from temple committees to indulge in our passion,” says Naveen Raghavan, a realtor who becomes an art director during the festival. He has been part of the Dasara tableau work for the last 15 years. The art has evolved over the years, he says. 

Massive effigies of deities and demons are placed on two to three tractors with sound and light systems during the tableau parade. Naveen is among the artists who script, design, sculpt, and plan 20-minute shows. While the final show is short-lived, the efforts and results are long-lasting. “We start working on the tableau nearly three months before the Dasara,” shares Sandeep, another art-smitten realtor. He says the work during the Dasara is like therapy after work and they (a team of over 20 artists from a single temple committee) spend time together for nearly three months to put out their best creative talents. For the upcoming Dasara, they got the idea for a 20-foot tableau, depicting a demon, from one of the mythological stories. He says, “We first decide the characters for the story. The script and dialogues are written and we sketch the characters on paper first. The effigies are then molded and decorated, which are later welded onto open tractors. Backed with background lighting and sound, we manually set the effigies on motion according to the story narration.” 

Several artists have been part of this creative pursuit since childhood. “I was in Class six when I and a team of boys joined two bicycles to build a platform to carry a Ganesha idol for the immersion during Ganesha Chaturthi,” says Manjunath, who recognises himself as an artist even as he works as a plumber and an electrician. He designs the creative backdrops on tableaus and also carves effigies. His earnings from this passion covers his expenses, he adds. “I will be known to people through my art and this will be a good add-on to my resume for my passion to take full shape,” he says. Despite the usual hardships and not earning big money, they take pride in what they do, as they feel recognised.

What started as still, paper mold effigies have now evolved into foam-made creations that move as per the narrative of the mythology. “It is similar to directing a movie. We take a lot of effort and put in loads of creativity to stage a show,” opines Sandeep. No one is a trained artist and it is only through experience that they have taught themselves to be unique. “When people call out my name, they know my work. The tableaus that I have been a part of have won prizes,” proudly recalls Hemaraju, a civil worker who has been a part of Madikeri Dasara for over two decades. 

“This year, we are doing a story that has Mahishi (the she-buffalo demoness in Hindu mythology) in it. She must have the face of a buffalo and her character must come alive. We will have to design her palace in her own world that is very different from ours. While mythology forms the base of our story, our imagination comes alive during the narration,” he says. Several of these artists have been connected to a single temple committee for decades and this loyalty pushes them to work hard. 

The tableaus are judged on the day of the event and the prizes won stay close to the hearts of these artists. “No one does it for money. It is to fulfil our passion and to earn a name in society,” says Hemaraju.

Teja, Aravind, Sunil… There are a hundred other boys who emerge as artists during Dasara and this passion has passed on as high school-going children Prathvik, Vikyath, Amith, Rohan, and Sushanth are now working at tableau workshops. “We like to help in the creative bit after school. We are learning to carry the tradition forward,” they share.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Prajna GR, Express News Service / October 08th, 2023