Every year, the Barke friends frolic across the streets of Mangalore, entertaining and delighting their audiences every Dussera, with vibrantly painted wild cats dancing off their skin, bringing the paintings to life as they dance and prance in beautifully choreographed motions.
Celebrating their silver jubilee this year, the Barke friends once again hit the streets of Mangaluru with the Pilivesha troupe to enthrall one and all during the Dasara festivities.
Pili Vesha (in Tulu ) or Huli Vesha (in Kannada) is a folk dance unique to the region with a religious touch. Enthusiastic young males form troupes and either paint their bodies with vibrant colours or wear costumes to look like tigers.
While ‘huli’ means ‘tiger’, dancers also paint themselves with leopard or cheetah motifs. “The costumes vary but patience is the key,” says Satish Shetty who is part of the troupe led by Barke Yeddu.
In a ritual called “Oodu Untuni”, each member offers prayers before painting his body to protect him from unexpected impediments and health hazards, explained Satish.
“Each person will be wearing just a pair of shorts. The rest of the body, including the face, is painted with various designs that denote either tigers, cheetahs or leopards. Every person taking part in the performance requires an enormous amount of stamina in order to sustain the long hours performing traditional acrobatic maneuvers and dances,” stated Satish Shetty.
Barke friends, known for their creativity, introduced the Kathakali dance form for the first time in this region and are well known for displaying special tableaus during Dasara. Aquariums, Sholay, Bahubali, King-Kong, dinosaurs and many more impressive tableaus have drawn the fans in herds during Navarathri festivities each year.
The Barke friends, more natably not only spends liberally during festivities to leave an impression but also for the welfare of the needy without seeking anything in return.
As the festivities this year ends, the Barke friends, take off their vibrant wild cat paintings and costumes and don on their less vibrant and more human clothing, and carry on with their lives till they are called once more to frolic across the city streets and bring joy to the people as their favourite dancing cats.
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