The Huli Vesha art form was born of the love, respect and veneration showered on the tiger by the people of Dakshin Kannada for whom the striped predator was but another face of god. The origins of the dance dates back to days when people lived each day in awe, wonder and fear of the tiger. At this critical stage in the future of Panthera tigris we need to be reminded that the tiger could be lost to us forever. The dancers have traveled from Mangalore especially for the Sanctuary-ABN AMRO Wildlife Service Awards 2007.

The Huli Vesha dance is normally performed during Dasehra, which is celebrated to mark the slaying of an evil demon by goddess Sharada, also worshipped as Durga, whose vahan, or vehicle, as we all know, is the tiger. The body paint is part of an arduous ritual, with layer upon layer of yellow applied, and allowed to dry, before the black stripes are super imposed. Huli Vesha quite literally means ‘tiger masquerade’. The survival of such dance forms and the ancient attitudes they represent are at risk today, because IF THE TIGER GOES, the cultures it spawned will also surely vanish.