K. V. Ramesh is an Indian puppeteer, specialising in performances based on

Yakshagana Yakshagaana is a traditional theatre, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, 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, ...

art. He most often performs in the

Tulu Nadu Tulunad or Tulu Nadu, also called Bermere sristi or Parashurama Srishti, is a region and a proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (plural 'Tuluver'), speakers of Tulu, a Dravidian language, ar ...

region of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. He leads the Yakshagana puppet troupe Shri Gopalakrishna Yakshagana Gombeyata Sangha, based out of Kasaragod.

Career

K. V. Ramesh learned Yakshagana puppetry from his father, K. Venkatakrishnaiah. His family has performed Yakshagana puppetry for generations. He is a graduate of

Calicut University The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to be set up in nor ...

, and gives performances in the

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

, Tulu, and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

languages. Besides performing, Ramesh also creates puppets. His performance are based on ''thenkuthittu'' style Yakshagana . His Shri Gopalakrishna Yakshagana Gombeyata troupe, has given such performances since 1981. It is the only troupe that performs Yakshagana puppetry in the ''thenkuthittu'' style; the only other troupe, based in Uppinakudru, performs in the ''badaguthittu'' style. It is said that there were 20 or 30 such puppetry troupes in the first half of 20th century. Ramesh and his troupe has given performances in places as varied as

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

, and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Awards

* Best Traditional Puppet Performance Award (2010) by the World Association of Puppeteers (Prague) * Rajyotsava Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramesh, K. V. Indian puppeteers Living people University of Calicut alumni Yakshagana Year of birth missing (living people) People from Kasaragod district Artists from Kerala Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2010

Career

Awards

See also

References