he State government has recognised the contributions of 85-year-old Burra Katha artiste Mariyamma Basanna Sirawati by choosing her for the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award this year.
She has kept alive the dying form of folk music with her captivating voice and lilting tunes to explain stories from religious texts. Even now when she takes over the stage to tell the stories of Balanagamma, Kombaja Raja, Nala Raja, Lakshmi Devi, Renuka Yellamma, Manikamma, and Mainawathi, her voice and movements on the stage keep the audience in rural areas glued to their seats.
Fluent in Kannada and Telugu, Ms. Sirawati tours extensively in the rural parts of Yadgir district and neighbouring Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for giving performances. “When I started singing Burra Katha more than sixty years ago, I was getting just Rs. 3 per concert, now I am getting Rs. 500 per concert.” Ms. Sirawati is living in a ramshackle hut on a private land in Yelsatti village. Although she was happy to receive the award, Ms. Sirawati is not a happy person. Her only son is suffering from hearing impairment since childhood and she is struggling with her meagre income from giving Burra Katha performances in villages.
“The State government should sanction old-age pension for me considering my poor economic condition and allot a house in any of the housing schemes. Then I will spend my last days peacefully in my own house,” Ms. Sirawati said. Expressing her unhappiness over the dying interest of the present generation in Burra Katha, she said that the people should support singers like her to carry forward the age old traditions.
The State government should sanction old-age pension for me considering my poor economic condition and allot a house in any of the housing schemes
