“Patronage to Harikatha is on the decline. Some of the Bhagawatars are more concerned about sambhavana/dakshina rather than spreading bhakti (devotion) among masses,” says Nemani Nagalakshmi Bhagawatarini, a Harikatha exponent based at Tadepalligudem.
Hailing from an illustrious family of bhagawatars, Nemani Nagalakshmi Bhagawatarini was deeply influenced by her grandfather, Susarla Somasekhara Sarma Bhagwatar, and learnt ‘Harikathaganam’, the art of narration of the stories of god. She was in the city to render Annamcharya Harikatha ganam at Sri Sivaramakshetram (Ramakoti) here.
Sharing her experiences with The Hindu , Ms. Nagalakshmi said the present generation was not interested in learning the art or Harikatha . They, however, show some interest in Annamacharya or Tyagayya keertanas . Haridasaru , in fact, should propagate devotion among the people. They were causing immense harm to the divine art by singing songs from films or irrelevant padyams (poems). “All they want is a Rs.100 to Rs.200 a poem as dakshina offered by the audience. They sing poems from Satyaharischandra drama though they are not apt when rendering Rukmini kalyanam or Raybaramharikathas. Values are on decline. Obscenity has set in,” she lamented.
“I still remember. My grandfather was displeased when I sang a song from the film ‘Sankarabharanam’ following a request from the audience. He gave me an earful and cautioned that I should not deviate from the path just to please the audience,” she recalled.
The Bhagawatarini has given more than 6,000 performances since her childhood. Benares Hindu University conferred Harikatha Bharati title on her. “My first performance was at the age of 7. I sang Srinagaja tanayam sahridayam … at Ambajipeta. It was a test to see whether I was suitable for harikatha rendering.”
Ms. Nagalakshmi stood first in college and secured degree in Sanskrit and also learnt nuances of Carnatic music from her relative Updrastha Subrahmanya Sastry. The Bhagwatar should have knowledge of music also as Harikatha is a one-man theatre, she said. The performer has to be versatile, master the aspects of speech, diction, singing and histrionic talents. To be a successful Harikatha exponent one must have a good memory and ability to observe happenings around,” she added.
