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Shimoga Culture

Complimented with the accolades ‘The Rice Bowl of Karnataka’ and the ‘Cultural Capital’ of the state, Shimoga is an advanced and neoteric megalopolis that prides over its glorious historical heritage and its incandescent cultural lineage. Outshining in the creative, literary, artistic and cultural spheres and also acclaimed for its tender hearted and affectionate natives, Shimoga; a ballpark for the voyagers and vacationists is also the Promised Land for the students and researchers in the domains of the Indian Kannada Culture.

The two most conspicuous dance forms of the Shimoga Culture are Yakshagana and Dollu Kunitha.

Yakshagana; ‘the song of Yaksha’ is a musical theatre that resembles the western Opera tradition to a great extent. The Yakshagana is performed by a group of actors divided into two sections himmela and mummela wherein the himmela group is assigned the duty of providing the background music and dancing while the mummela group handles the task of delivering the dialogues. The actors wear different costumes according to their roles and the performances of the Yakshagana are mainly rooted in the stories from the Puranas, other Indian Scriptures as well as Indian Epic Poems. The Yakshagana music is predominantly based on the Carnatic Ragas and Talas.

Dollu Kunitha is the drum dance that commences with the praise of Lord Beeralingeswara and over the course of the performance it yields entertainment, replenishes religious education and inculcates spiritual insight into the psyche of the spectators, all at the same time. Dollu Kunitha Dance is invariably performed at the time of all the religious and ritualistic ceremonies as well as all the village festivals celebrated all round the year. The Dollu Kunitha Dance is principally woven around the mythical tale of Dollasura’s destruction by the hands of Lord Shiva.

Apart from the performing arts, Shimoga is also applauded for its creditable contributions in the area of Kannada Poetry. Multitudinous prolific Kannada Writers and Poets scilicet G S Shivarudrappa, Kuppalli Venkatappagowda Puttappa, Dr A Murigeppa, U.R. Ananthamurthy, M. K. Indira, S V Parameshwara Bhatta, Poorna Chandra Tejaswi, etc. belonged to the Shimoga District. Furthermore, the popular TV series ‘Malgudi Days’ based on a novel by R K Narayan was filmed at ‘Agumbe’ of Shimoga District, whereas a much loved Kannada film named ‘Kanoora Heggadathi’ grounded upon a novel by Kuvempu was shot at Thirthahalli. ‘Samskara’, rooted upon the novel by U.R. Ananthamurthy is yet another big screen production filmed in the Shimoga District. Girish Kasaravalli, domiciled in the Shimoga District is an eminent Kannada film director who has received several ‘Swarna Kamal’ awards for his accomplishment in the Kannada Art Movies. P. Lankesh is a renowned director and editor from Shimoga.

Dasara is the most outstanding festival of Shimoga that is celebrated here with unsurpassed grandeur and pageantry every year. The entire civic is marvelously decorated with garlands of flowers and electric lights and various cultural programs are organized here during the ten days jubilation of Navaratri and Dasara festival. ‘Kuvempu Rangamandira’ located near Acharya Tulsi National College of Commerce and ‘Karnataka Sangha’ located close to the Shimoga Central Library along the BH Road are the two major venues where the maximum of the cultural activities of Shimoga are held.

Not only that, in December 2006 Shimoga hosted the 73rd Kannada Sahitya Sammelana and a Folk Fair was also held here in the same year. Other noteworthy attractions of Shimoga culture include the Palapushpa Pradarshana, Kodachadri Vybhava and Marikamba Jatre.

The Palapushpa Pradarshana conducted at the Gandhi Park of Shimoga is a three days long annual exhibition where different varieties of flowers imported from miscellaneous nurseries and plantations are put up on display. The Palapushpa Pradarshana encourages the farmers and nature lovers to upgrade their knowledge and proficiency in the fields of floriculture and horticulture. Thousands of participants as well as visitors from different corners of Karnataka and the neighboring states alight at Shimoga and partake in this ‘beautiful’ event. The most meretricious attractions of the Palapushpa Pradarshana include the mind boggling flower decorations which frame peculiar shapes and symbols like animals, religious idols, heart, letters, and many others. The best decorations as well as the most alluring plants are honored with different prestigious awards at the Palapushpa Pradarshana.

Kodachadri Vybhava celebrated in the second half of the year is a 5 to 7 days long annual festival that is mainly organized with an objective of promoting and encouraging the small scale industries like traditional crafts, agricultural products, local cuisine, and so on. The Nehru Stadium and the Science Field of Shimoga generally serve as the venues of the famous Kodachadri Vybhava Festival. Tourists and visitors can purchase traditional handicrafts, ethnic village products, various household items and lip smacking food items from the stalls put up here. Shimoga boasts of its biggest areca nut market that is reckoned far and wide for its high quality areca nuts. The cuisine of Shimoga includes Tender-Mango Pickle, Sandige, Avalakki, Akki Rotti, Genesale, Thotadevvu, Thambli, Idly, Dosa, Uttappam, Appam, Wada, Sambhar, Rassam, etc.

Marikamba Jatre celebrated in the honor of the Goddess Marikamba is yet another annual festival of Shimoga when the city is swarming with thousands of devotees of the Goddess alighted here to pay homage at her feet.