Mangaluru: This Janmashtami, the tigers of Udupi will be a sad lot. These tigers are not our forest dwellers, but two-legged tigers, trying to match steps to the ear-splitting sound of tasse drums, during Krishna Janmashtami.This pack of tigers has reason 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 would prepare currency garlands worth more than Rs 6 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, to encourage the hulivesha ( tiger dance ) participants. Last year, a ball park estimate by observers put the amount spent at Rs 15 lakh.The seer had said: “Hulivesha (tiger dance) is the cultural dance of Karavali. It’s a unique and different form of art. I want participants to get inspired, and the youth should also come up with performances every year.”The seer saw it to that garlands with currency denominations of Rs 100 and Rs 50 were prepared well ahead of the festivities. Every year, more than 1,000 individual tiger dancers would be garlanded with currency notes. Making the garland was a Herculean task and 30 to 40 people worked on it a couple of days before the event.Though the Shiroor seer started currency garlands in 1998, he would organize special programmes on the occasion of Ashtami, and help artistes from the past three decades.Ravi K Katpadi, a centering worker, who keeps the public guessing about the costume he dons every year during the Janmashtami fest, says the `tigers’ are apprehensive and worried that their support base is gone. “They believed in his generosity and would throng Shiroor Mutt premises. This year, let us see how it goes with the Shiroor seer 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 Pirates of the Caribbean feature film series in 2012, and the Green Martian clan, the Thark, in 2013. He 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 the 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 ago, 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 in a tone of dejection.The popularity of the seer could be gauged from the fact that more tiger troupes landed at the Shiroor Mutt platform inside Sri Krishna Mutt, Udupi, than on Car Street during Janmashtami. About 30 troupes with 25 to 30 members each, and tasse band members used to be felicitated by the seer.

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