Durgaparameshwari Kukkila, S. Ramakrishna Mayya selected for Yakshasiri awards

BANTWAL: Yakshagana artistes Durgaparameshwari Kukkila and S. Ramakrishna Mayya have been selected for the Yakshasiri Award and the Yakshagana Janapada Award, respectively, instituted by the Karnataka Yakshagana Academy. The awards will be conferred on Monday, October 26.

Durgaparameshwari Kukkila, a traditional-style Yakshagana Bhagavatha from Kodapadavu in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, has been associated with the art form for nearly four decades. She is the granddaughter of renowned Bhagavatha Mambadi Narayana Bhagavatha and the wife of farmer Purandara Vittala Kukkila.

She made her stage debut as a Bhagavatha in a traditional open-air Yakshagana performance in 1987. Guided by her elder brother Narayana Bhat and inspired by her grandfather, she developed her skills in the family tradition. She became an Akashvani artiste in 1993 and has performed at programmes organised by cultural organisations and amateur Yaks