It was a gathering of a different kind, comprising learned scholars and connoisseurs of religious discourses, last Sunday evening at the Tatvaloka auditorium, Teynampet. The occasion was release of the two, 23-hour, Mp3 CDs of Harikatha on Mahabharatham (Rs. 175) by T.S. Balakrishna Sastrigal on his 92nd Jayanthi.
Since the passing away of Balakrishna Sastrigal, his family has been releasing his live Harikatha performances on his Jayanthi Day. Sastrigals' nephew Srivatsa Jayarama Sharma has been a part of these events, giving Bhagavatham discourses.
T.S.B. K. Mouli (TSB's eldest son), while welcoming the gathering, recalled the days when as a child he was amazed by the huge turnout at his father's discourses. Younger son S.B. Khanthan described their hunt around the globe for their father's works and how they stumbled upon a nonagenarian, who was only too willing to share spools of Sastrigal's discourses that he had maintained, well-indexed. He also made special mention of the dexterity of musician-cum-recording engineer, Raghu (HMV), who had retrieved the recording from spools that were several decades old.
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Humorous anecdotes
Justice Ramasubramaniam laced his speech with humorous anecdotes that were thought-provoking too. He also spoke about the declining value system in the society.
Mridangam maestro Umayalpuram Sivaraman retraced the history of Harikatha, described the attributes needed to be an exponent and asserted that Sastrigal possessed these traits and had been a star among the stalwarts who had made their mark in this field. He requested Raghu (HMV) to pass on his knowledge and expertise, on the technical aspects of recording and retrievals, to youngsters for posterity.
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‘Sri Rukmini Kalyanam' was presented by Srivatsa Jayarama Sharma as a part of the ‘Bhagavatha Sapthaham' that brought the curtains down on the function.
T.S. Balakrishna Sastrigal, an erudite scholar and master of several puranas and epics, had always considered Mahabharatham closest to his heart. He had given discourses on Bharatham spreading over 60 or 90 days.
In his introduction, Sastrigal affirms that there is nothing in the world that has been left out in Bharatham and that is why it came to be known as Mahabharatham. His younger bother T.S. Valleesan, whose voice resembles GNB's, proves it inhis role as a vocal support.
Balakrishna Sastrigal with his commanding voice takes the listeners through the emotional sequences, at times depicting each of the characters, thereby kindling emotions. He asserts that Mahabharatham did take place several thousand years ago and that's why it is called an Ithihasa meaning, ‘It happened like this'. Throughout, his declamation is peppered with humour.
Listening to the Harikatha in their drawing rooms, may send many on a nostalgic trip recalling the keen audiences, pleasantries that were exchanged before and after the discourses, the plates that did the rounds when contributions ranging from 10 paise to Rs.100 were dropped in them for renovating a village temple and the fragrance of the manadhaara leaf ( Thaiyal Ilai) distributed to those attending the event to carry home the hot sundal or ven pongal (as prasadam).