The Khaddi Katha tradition has finally faded into oblivion with the passing away of the legendary Tummapuri Ramaswamy last month at the age of 60. With none to continue the tradition after him, the two-century-old folk form of narrating Dharmapuri Ramayana will never be heard again in the rural confines of Adilabad.
The fifth generation artiste from a poor Mithula Aiyyavar family in Waddadi village of Tamsi mandal will long be remembered for the sheer magic he created in the nights through soulful renditions of the Ramayana while playing the 200-year-old stringed instrument, the Khaddi Tantri Vadyam. A session of Khaddi Katha during its hey day with only oil lamps for illumination was visually comparable in beauty to that of an intense scene from any black and white classic by film maker Guru Dutt.
“Tears would swell in the eyes when he mellifluously narrated ‘Sita viyog' episode. Listening to him was a spiritual experience,” remembers Kala Ratna award winner and founder of Kala Ashram, Adilabad, Guruji Ravinder Sharma with whom Ramaswamy was associated for long.
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Evoking the ‘bhava' or emotion among audiences formed the essence of the art of the Mithula Aiyyavar, as Ramaswamy was popularly known locally. The audience were completely engrossed in the narration as the narrator himself.
It was in the holy month of Sravanam corresponding with July-August that Ramaswamy was much sought after by people especially in villages of Tamsi mandal. His renditions of the Ramayana usually consumed the whole of this month with each day featuring a three-hour session in the night.
As it turned out, this sacred month also played a significant role in the last year in his life. While he never completely recovered after falling sick in Tamsi village during a session in the month of Sravanam last year, death too occurred in the same month.
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Deteriorating health, diagnosed after long as lung cancer, added to the problems already inflicted by poverty. Despite the exposure he got to the outside world, thanks to contact with personalities like Jayadhir Tirumala Rao, a former Director of AP Manuscripts Library, the artiste found the going tough due to not enough work coming his way locally.
Rapid electrification of rural Adilabad in the 1990s plunged the world of folk artistes like Ramaswamy. The charm of his renditions had begun to lose out to the captivating variety fare offered by the newly arrived colour television during that decade.