MANGALURU: This Janmasthami, the tigers in Udupi will be a sad lot. These tigers are not the ones found in the forest, but the two-legged tigers, trying to match steps to the ear-splitting sound of tasse drums, during the Krishna Janmashtami Reason for them to be heartbroken? Their benefactor and champion promoter of arts and artistes, who used to shower currency notes on them, is no more. Every year on the occasion of Krishnashtami and Vittla Pindi, Lakshmivara Teertha Swamiji of Shiroor mutt used to prepare currency garlands worth more than Rs 6 to Rs 7 lakh, to encourage the hulivesha (tiger dance) participants. Last year, a ballpark estimate by observers put the amount spent last year at Rs 15 lakh.The Seer had said: Hulivesha (tiger dance) is cultural dance of Karavali. It’s unique and different form of art. I want participants to get inspired and the youth should also come up with this art performance every year.The Seer saw it to that garlands with currency denomination Rs. 100 and Rs.50 were prepared well ahead of the festivities. Every year more than a thousand individual tiger dancers would be garlanded with currency notes. The garland making itself was a Herculean task and about 30 to 40 people worked on it a couple of days before the event.Though Shiroor Seer started the currency garlands in 1998, he used to organise special programmes on occasion of ashtami and help the artists from the past three decades.Ravi K Katpadi, a centering worker, who keeps public guessing about the costume he dons every year during the Janmashtami fest, says `tigers’ are apprehensive and worried that their support base is gone. ``They believed in his generosity and used to throng the Shiroor Mutt premises. This year, let us see how it will go with Shiroor not around us,’’ he says with a tinge of sadness.Ravi was Spiderman in 2010; he was Na'vi - a humanoid species indigenous to Pandora of Avatar in 2011. He was Davy Jones - a character in the Pirates of the Caribbean feature film series in 2012 and the Green Martian clan - the Thark in 2013. He had also figured as Faun, a creature in Pans Labryinth of the Mexican-Spanish dark fantasy film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro.Subrahmanya Upadhya, organizing secretary, Marpalli Chande Balaga, admits that Shiroor Seer was a great promoter of art. ``No doubt, he has done a lot for us. If not for him, huli vesha may not have had the glorious run it has had in Udupi. When we started Marpalli Balaga 15 years back, it was the Seer who had promoted and encouraged us. We cannot forget his benevolence,’’ he says.With the benefactor not being here, how will it be this year? “Krishnane balla’’ (Krishna only knows) he says with a tone of dejection.The popularity of Seer could be gauged from the fact that more tiger troupes landed at the Shiroor Mutt platform inside Sri Krishna Mutt, Udupi, than on the Car Street during janmashtami. About 30 troupes with 25 to 30 members each and tasse band members used to get felicitated by the Seer.

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