Harikatha exponent Lakshmi Kumari Bhagavatharini attempted to create an unusual record by performing Harikatha non-stop for 24 hours!
The performance, given at Sri Thyagaraja Mandapam in Tirupati, started at 7 p.m. last Saturday and ended around the same time the next day.
It was successful in breathing fresh air into the art form that has, of late, been lacking patronage. Lakshmi Kumari chose the Mahabharata for the marathon recitation. She narrated the entire epic comprising of 18 parvas, though concisely, during the day-long presentation. It was said to be the first ever Akhanda Harikatha (non-stop) performance in the State. K.N. Raja, editor of Rangasthali cultural magazine, anchored the event.
Lakshmi Kumari, who hails from Manduru in Guntur district, learnt the art from T. Venkateswara Gupta Bhagavathar of Tenali with the help of Chekuri Bhujanga Rao. She later settled down in Tirupati for pursuing the profession. She has the credit of reciting the 30-minute Harikatha on the theme ‘Tulasi Jalandhara' on a single-take, which is still being aired on the Doordarshan.
She was honoured with a Swarna Kankanam by M.B. Ahobala Raja, the former Zamindar of Bangarupalyam near Chittoor over a decade back. At the completion of the show, she announced immense satisfaction at the fulfilment of her life ambition.
