<p>Tiger dance, famously known as hulivesha in Kannada or pilivesha in Tulu, is a unique form of folk culture especially found in the Tulunadu region. Over the years, it has become synonymous with Dasara celebrations. Generally, young men form troupes of five to 10 members or even more, with three to five people painted and costumed to look like tigers, and a band called thaase or himmela with two or three drummers. Recently, women have also entered the otherwise male bastion.<br /><br />These ‘tigers’ also become a part of the celebrations in the region when festivals like Krishna Janmashtami and Navaratri are celebrated. The men go around the streets with the accompanying drum beats of their bands and perform in front of the temples. They also stop at homes, business outlets and public places to perform for about 10 minutes. After the performance, they collect money from the people watching their performance.<br /><br />The main attraction of this folk form is the traditional dance steps put while performing the art. Subramanya Upadhyaya Marpalli, an artiste with the acclaimed Marpalli Hulivesha team in Udupi, said that the skills may vary from person to person. While the knowledge of the tiger dance steps is essential, it is also important to have the ability to do the dance over a long period of time, which requires good stamina.<br /><br />The skills that are usually exhibited by the artistes of a hulivesha group include fire breathing, hand walking, handstand, gymnastic moves, picking money from mouth by bending backwards and lifting akkimudi (rice tied in straw, weighing 42 kg) in teeth and throwing it backwards.<br /><br />Social service<br /><br />Subramanya, who has been performing hulivesha for the past 14 years, said that there are nearly 30 teams in Udupi who perform regularly. Quite interestingly, many troupes offer help to the needy from the collections they make through performances. The donations to various purposes made by Subramanya’s team is more than Rs 44 lakh till now. He added that the team performs only in front of the houses who believe in the spiritual incarnation of the animal in these performers. They also take part in competitions.<br /><br />Another troupe, Kalicharan Friends troupe in Mangaluru, which has 85 members, has been performing for the last 33 years. Kiran Prasad Shetty, former president of the troupe and the present advisor, said that they have been providing free training in hulivesha to around 30 government school students.<br /><br />Apart from this, they also organise singing and drawing contests, offer money to the needy (for health reasons) and sponsor a good sum to sportspersons if they are not able to collect money to take part in sports events. “While we have contributed a sum of Rs one lakh to the needy, we have given Rs 50,000 to help a sportsperson take part in a national event,” added Kiran.<br /><br />Bright paints<br /><br />The performers paint themselves as tigers. The costumes may vary slightly depending on the place. Generally, the body and face are painted with various design strips using the colours that denote the big cats — tigers, cheetahs and leopards.<br /><br />The painting begins a day before the performance. The painting is kept on the body for a couple of days and repainted or retouched as desired until the celebrations are over. Though the paint and design (as well as the steps of the artiste) draw the attention of the crowd, until recently, the artistes were not able to bear the severe burning sensation on the skin. The burning becomes too much when the body comes in contact with sunrays. In some cases, the artistes suffer from allergies.<br /><br />While they would like to cool off under water, the burning sensation is however endured by the members of the troupe to be part of the celebrations. In fact, earlier they used to sleep on plantain leaves at night to get some relief from the burning sensation. While traditionally the artistes used only yellow paint, of late, they use different colours such as orange and black.<br /><br />The recent advancements have offered a big relief to the artistes as these days paints dry quickly and also the burning sensation is far lesser when compared to earlier days, recalled Kiran. There are considerable changes in the dance steps too in recent times. While veterans are not in favour of modern steps, youngsters like it, he added. There are about 70 troupes in Dakshina Kannada.<br /><br />Enjoyed by many during the festive season, the hulivesha does indeed add colour to the celebrations and enliven the spirits of all.</p>
<p>Tiger dance, famously known as hulivesha in Kannada or pilivesha in Tulu, is a unique form of folk culture especially found in the Tulunadu region. Over the years, it has become synonymous with Dasara celebrations. Generally, young men form troupes of five to 10 members or even more, with three to five people painted and costumed to look like tigers, and a band called thaase or himmela with two or three drummers. Recently, women have also entered the otherwise male bastion.<br /><br />These ‘tigers’ also become a part of the celebrations in the region when festivals like Krishna Janmashtami and Navaratri are celebrated. The men go around the streets with the accompanying drum beats of their bands and perform in front of the temples. They also stop at homes, business outlets and public places to perform for about 10 minutes. After the performance, they collect money from the people watching their performance.<br /><br />The main attraction of this folk form is the traditional dance steps put while performing the art. Subramanya Upadhyaya Marpalli, an artiste with the acclaimed Marpalli Hulivesha team in Udupi, said that the skills may vary from person to person. While the knowledge of the tiger dance steps is essential, it is also important to have the ability to do the dance over a long period of time, which requires good stamina.<br /><br />The skills that are usually exhibited by the artistes of a hulivesha group include fire breathing, hand walking, handstand, gymnastic moves, picking money from mouth by bending backwards and lifting akkimudi (rice tied in straw, weighing 42 kg) in teeth and throwing it backwards.<br /><br />Social service<br /><br />Subramanya, who has been performing hulivesha for the past 14 years, said that there are nearly 30 teams in Udupi who perform regularly. Quite interestingly, many troupes offer help to the needy from the collections they make through performances. The donations to various purposes made by Subramanya’s team is more than Rs 44 lakh till now. He added that the team performs only in front of the houses who believe in the spiritual incarnation of the animal in these performers. They also take part in competitions.<br /><br />Another troupe, Kalicharan Friends troupe in Mangaluru, which has 85 members, has been performing for the last 33 years. Kiran Prasad Shetty, former president of the troupe and the present advisor, said that they have been providing free training in hulivesha to around 30 government school students.<br /><br />Apart from this, they also organise singing and drawing contests, offer money to the needy (for health reasons) and sponsor a good sum to sportspersons if they are not able to collect money to take part in sports events. “While we have contributed a sum of Rs one lakh to the needy, we have given Rs 50,000 to help a sportsperson take part in a national event,” added Kiran.<br /><br />Bright paints<br /><br />The performers paint themselves as tigers. The costumes may vary slightly depending on the place. Generally, the body and face are painted with various design strips using the colours that denote the big cats — tigers, cheetahs and leopards.<br /><br />The painting begins a day before the performance. The painting is kept on the body for a couple of days and repainted or retouched as desired until the celebrations are over. Though the paint and design (as well as the steps of the artiste) draw the attention of the crowd, until recently, the artistes were not able to bear the severe burning sensation on the skin. The burning becomes too much when the body comes in contact with sunrays. In some cases, the artistes suffer from allergies.<br /><br />While they would like to cool off under water, the burning sensation is however endured by the members of the troupe to be part of the celebrations. In fact, earlier they used to sleep on plantain leaves at night to get some relief from the burning sensation. While traditionally the artistes used only yellow paint, of late, they use different colours such as orange and black.<br /><br />The recent advancements have offered a big relief to the artistes as these days paints dry quickly and also the burning sensation is far lesser when compared to earlier days, recalled Kiran. There are considerable changes in the dance steps too in recent times. While veterans are not in favour of modern steps, youngsters like it, he added. There are about 70 troupes in Dakshina Kannada.<br /><br />Enjoyed by many during the festive season, the hulivesha does indeed add colour to the celebrations and enliven the spirits of all.</p>
