Vandita Lakshman Kumari of Karnataka State has been passing her teenage on the banks of the sacred river Godavari for years. In their teenage, the life of another five girls from the same State is also the same. They are being groomed as complete ‘Harikatha’ exponents at Sri Sarvaraya Harikatha Pathasala, which is India’s only school exclusively dedicated to Harikatha teaching. It is also dedicated to girl students.
Established in June 1973 at Kapileswarapuram village in East Godavari district, the school has groomed nearly 200 girls in Harikatha. Kapileswarapuram Diwan Balusu Prabhakara Bucchi Krishna Satyanarayana Rao (SBPBKS Rao) has established the school in the street where the Diwan family lives.
The uniqueness of the girls is that everyone becomes a master in the Sanskrit and Telugu languages irrespective of their mother tongue by the end of their four-year course.
Uniqueness: “Kannada is my mother tongue. I am being taught in Sanskrit and Telugu. Being Harikatha exponent on the stage, I could recite Hindu mythological stories — Ramayana and Mahabharat — in all three languages. I am now belonging to entire South India”, Ms. Vandita told The Hindu .
Now, the school has 18 girls; six from Karnataka, ten from the Godavari region, and two from Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh. The girls from all South Indian States enroll in the school.
Arguably, the folk theatre form of ‘Harikatha’ flourished till the 1940s in Andhra Pradesh but it's in a state of oblivion now. Contrary to this scenario, it is gaining momentum in the rest of South India. Descendants: Ajjada Adibhatla Narayana Das (1864-1945) of Vizianagaram district is the Father of Harikatha. “Our school follows Guru Adibhatla’s tradition and style of Harikatha recitation and adopts his writings. Literally, our girls are descendants of Guru Adibhatla as they are now promoting Harikatha in South India with their performances”, claimed A. Singaracharyulu Sastry. He is the Principal of the school.
In Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Harikatha is performed both in religious and cultural events as well as in the event of ‘death’. In Andhra Pradesh, the performance is bound only for religious events.
Kapileswarapuram Diwan institutions In-Charge and Harikatha Pathasala Correspondent Nittala Srirama Chandramurthy told The Hindu; “Harikatha remains a way of life for the girls those keen to become exponents. Our doors are always open for the girls irrespective of their land and language. The school keeps Harikatha form alive. For girls, it gives them financial independence and livelihood”.
Affiliated to Andhra Pradesh State government, the school is run by the Kapileswarapuram Diwan family that provides free accommodation, training, and scholarship for the students.
