Yakshagana artiste Ambatanaya Mudradi dies

Eminent Yakshagana artiste and writer Ambatanaya Mudradi died at his residence in Mudradi of Karkala taluk in Udupi district on Tuesday after a brief illness, family sources said.

He was 88. Mudradi is survived by wife, three sons and five daughters.

Mudradi, whose original name was Keshav Shettigar, was a versatile artiste who displayed his skill in all areas of Yakshagana. He was a ‘prasanga kartha,’ ‘talamaddale arthadhari’ and ‘veshadhari’ in Yakshagana.

At the recently held state-level Yakshagana Sammelana in Udupi, his work, ‘Yakshagana and Harikathe: a comparative study’ was published.

Mudradi has won several honours including Rajyotsava award and Parthi Suba award. He had also served as the president of the Udupi district Kannada Sahitya Parishad.

Mudradi worked as a primary school teacher for 36 years and retired in 1993.