Chittani Ramachandra Hegde  Chittani Ramachandra Hegde (18 September 1935 – 3 October 2017) was a Yakshagana artist from Honnavara, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka. He was the first Yakshagana artist to be awarded the Padma Shri Award by the Government of India. Chittani Ramachandra Hegde is the first Yakshagana artist to win the prestigious Padmashri award before winning several awards in Karnataka. His style is so popular that it is called Chittani Gharana. He started his Yakshagana career when he was just 7 years old, after dropping out of School when he was still studying in II Standard. He started performing in main roles when he was just 14 years old and performed on stage until a few days preceding his death in October 2017. He hails from Uttara Kannada district and is popularly known as Chittani among his huge fan base. Chittani Ramachandra Hegde was born in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. He practised "badaguthittu" style of Yakshagana. In spite of stiff resistance from family members, he started giving Yakshagana performances at the age of 15 and continued to act till age 83, a few days before his death. Chittani perfected the Yakshagana performance to such a level, where he is considered as "the finest example of what one could achieve in life with hard work and achievements. Chittani had performed yakshagana all over India and abroad. He used to perform on stage better than any younger artists.The ever lasting concrete experience on stage has enabled him to master even the most vigorous and tough character of the art, he added.He had even earned praise and appreciation from the legend of Kannada cinema the late Dr Rajkumar. Chittani Ramachandra Hegde is one of the few names that Badaguthittu brings to mind. The Badagu style of Yakshagana is the coming together of dialogue, dance and acting. When all the three aspects are in the right proportion, the character that is portrayed comes out as required. This style of Yakshagana provides a great scope for the growth of the character portrayed. In fact Yakshagana is one art that provides a huge canvas for the characters to come to life. Probably no other art form offers that scope. As a result, the growth of the artiste means the growth of the character and hence the growth of the art itself.