Seventy-seven-year-old Savithri Rao is a Yakshagana performer, who started learning the art form when she was 66 years of age. “It was a passion I had nurtured for very long, but with many other things happening in life, I never had the opportunity to pursue it,” she tells The Better India.
Yakshagana is a traditional theatre form from Karnataka, which can be described as a temple art form that depicts mythological stories and Puranas. It is often performed with massive headgears, elaborate facial make-up and vibrant costumes and ornaments.
Growing up, the one thing Savithri enjoyed indulging in most was role play, which translated into her love for this dance form. “I would often pick up sticks and pretend to be at war, and jump around from one corner to the other.”
“I’d smear my face with charcoal and almost magically become someone else,” she recalls with childlike enthusiasm.
While she wanted to be a Yakshagana performer from a young age,…