Credit: Special Arrangement
During the festive season of Navaratri, people in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi wake up to the foot-tapping beats of ‘thaase’ , a percussion instrument, and the enchanting musical notes of ‘vadya’, a traditional trumpet resembling a shehnai. These sounds suggest the arrival of ‘huli vesha’ or ‘pili vesha’ (tiger dance). In Mangaluru too, huli vesha troupes have a rich legacy and evoke strong emotions from people.
Huli vesha is a traditional performance art of Tulunadu, practised widely in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasargod districts. Since ancient times, it has been practised as an offering to Durga. Young boys and men would take a vow to perform the tiger dance if their prayers were answered.
Over the years, the tradition has begun to surpass the barriers of region, caste, creed and community.
The tiger dance troupes of Dakshina Kannada are in great demand in Mumbai and Bengaluru, especially during the Ganesha Chaturthi festival season.
‘Pulse of Tulunadu’
Mithun M Rai, tiger dance aficionado and the organiser of ‘Pili Nalike’, a competition for tiger dance troupes, says, “Huli vesha is the pulse of Tulunadu and a symbol of brotherhood.”
He explains why the competition was conceptualised: “The pili vesha troupes are active only during some festivals. But a team needs lakhs of rupees for costumes, make-up and remuneration of team members. The tiger dance troupes can survive only if the people support them financially. However, not all people can afford to invite the troupes to perform at their places. This is why the Pili Nalike Pratishthana started the yearly competition in 2014.
Year on year, there has been an increase in the number of teams taking part in the competition.
The dancers are also seeing demand from across the nation and also abroad these days.
Long-standing legacy
Today, a huli vesha troupe consists of about 10 to 15 dancers. Earlier, there were around seven to 11 in a tiger dance team, recalls Uday Kumar, former vice principal of SDM Law College, Mangaluru. He is a tiger dance enthusiast. Around 17 tiger dance troupes have been coming to his house to perform during Navaratri, for the past 45 years.
Uday felicitates the best dancer in each troupe and the team owner as an encouragement to the art form.
A recent development is the addition of acrobats to the dance troupes. People from other cities and regions are invited into the troupe to perform special acrobatics, adds Uday.
Uday adds that the dance form is not confined to the Hindu community. “Members from the Muslim community also had their own team dedicated to the tiger dance and would perform during Muharram,” he says.
International connect
Mohammad Asif, a native of Mangaluru who currently works in supply chain management in Saudi Arabia, fetches high-quality ‘sheets’ made out of original sheep skin from Dubai and ships them to his friend back home. The tiger dance troupes purchase these sheets to make the traditional hat or ‘toppi’ worn by the performers. Asif has been shipping the materials for the past 13 years. Tiger dance troupes from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasargod have been sourcing these sheets from him.
A great admirer of huli vesha, Asif travels to Dubai at his own expense and handpicks the sheets. Every year, he sends around 250 sheets to Mangaluru. Each sheet costs around Rs 6,250. Around 12 hats can be stitched with one sheet.
He provides one sheet each to around 30 tiger dance troupes free of cost, as a mark of his appreciation for the art form.
Asif’s love for the dance form compels him to fly to Mangaluru during Navaratri. He also hosts tiger dance performances at his house. “It is the power of the soil of Tulunadu. Harmony and brotherhood is the foundation here,” Asif smiles.
Cutting across barriers
Credit: Special Arrangement
Amith Shetty, a hotelier who is the owner of the Yemmekere Friends’ Circle dance troupe, expresses his joy that people from other regions are participating in tiger dance. “Dancers from Odisha have been part of our troupe for the last four years. There are members from Bengaluru and Mumbai as well,” he says. Most of them are specialists in ‘double roll pulti’ acrobatics and are invited to perform with the tiger dance troupe during Navaratri. Some of them are now also learning the traditional steps, he adds.
Chandan, a native of Bengaluru, has been performing ‘flips’ in the tiger dance troupe, Mulihithlu Friends Circle in Mangaluru for the past nine years. He is a gymnastics instructor by profession and was attracted by the dance form after he watched a show in Bengaluru. “Varun, a member of the troupe, encouraged me to take part in the troupe. I am now learning the traditional steps of ‘paula kunitha’,” he adds.