Senior and well known Yakshagana ‘bhagavatha’ Subrahmanya Dhareshwara who had earned hundreds and thousands of fans for his melodious and rich voice passed away in the early hours in Bengaluru on Thursday, April 25.

He was 66 and is survived by his wife and two children.

Dhareshwara, born on September 5, 1957, hailed from Kirimanjeshwara, Kundapura taluk in Udupi district.

The mortal remains of Dhareshwara will be brought to Kirimanjeshwara in the evening on April 25, sources said.

A disciple of legendary Yakshagana ‘bhagavatha’ (background singer) late Narnappa Uppura, Dhareshwara entered into Yakshagana theatre as a professional singer at the age of 21. His father Lakshminarayana Bhat from Dhareshwar, near Gokarna, in Uttara Kannada was an amateur Yakshagana artiste. Hence the son developed the taste in Yakshagana at the early age.

Dhareshwara was a professional ‘bhagavatha’ for nearly four decades. After his retirement as ‘pradhana bhagavatha’ from Perdoor Yakshagana mela he was singing in different Yakshagana shows and Talamaddales till recently.

He filled the vaccum created in the Badagu Thittu (Southern) school of Yakshagana following the death of legendary Yakshagana ‘bhagavatha’ Kalinga Navada who passed away at the age of 32 in May, 1990.

A Karnataka Rajyotsava awardee, Dhareshwara was a professional ‘bhagavatha’ in Yakshagana melas (touring performing troupes) like Amrutheswari, Hiremahalingeshwara, Panchalinga and Perdoor.