This tension is necessary and it constitutes the idiom of its vitality. No tradition can defy change unless it prefers to remain embalmed like a mummy. When we say we should preserve a tradition, what we mean is that we do not want preserve it as a fossil in a museum but keep it alive. To be alive is to change, and acknowledge that change. But change should not lose sight of the tradition, what was bequeathed to us. Surely, if that tradition is a living tradition, what we bequeath to prosperity will not be what we have inherited. This creative tension is in any living art form, and Dr Joshi is acutely aware of this when he critiques Yakshagana and its cousin, Taalamaddale. He is sure that change in them should not be at the expense of the aesthetics inherent in them. While it is imperative that they make certain compromises with modernity such as technology and with the shifting demands of the audience which modernity brings in, he is convinced that we are not at liberty to take the soul out of the art. In his writings and speeches Dr Joshi has
not only tried to interpret Yakshagana and Taala-maddale to people but also acted as their conscience-keeper, telling them what is good and what is not in what they see. The job of a good art critic is not just to criticise the art and artists but instil among the audience certain values by which they evaluate art. The enjoyment of art is not by defying or spurning these values. His job is to educate the audience so that the art they support and patronise is not judged wrongly. Dr Joshi has been an indefatigable educator of both the practitioners and patrons of this rich art form in coastal Karnataka.
Dr Joshi has not only been an outstanding critic and spokesman of Yakshagana and Taala-maddale, but also an activist in that field. He is tirelessly into projects of supporting artists in the field whose abilities did not quite yield them financial dividends in life. He has been involved in getting awards and financial support for these artists, to make their retired life less sombre and less of a grim phase of regret. He wants the society which once
16 / ಯಕ್ಷ ಪ್ರಭಾಕರ
