By steadily gaining a grip over the Telugu literary format of ‘Avadhanam’ from the age of 16, he has arguably become one of the youngest exponents in the field.
‘Avadhanam’ is a rare literary feat unique to Telugu, where the protagonist has to face a volley of queries hurled at him in quick succession by qualified scholars. At times, the process involves cracking jumbled sentences, recalling queries and answering them at a later stage, keeping off prohibited words, etc., in order to get out of the quagmire.
A ‘Prakshastri’ (Class XI) student at the National Sanskrit University (NSU), Uppaladhadiyam Bharat Sharma (16) gained exposure in the feat during his schooling at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Sri Venkateswara Vidyalaya. Apart from ‘Avadhanam’, he is also a vocalist and plays the mridangam. He is also well-versed in Telugu poetry, mono-acting, and painting, and has also mastered the abacus..
He performed his first ‘Avadhanam’ online during Dasara 2021, followed by three more in the virtual mode. His live sessions at Eluru, Macherla and recently in Tirupati won him applause for his versatility of thought, repository of vocabulary and adeptness in handling queries, apart from the title of ‘Avadhana Bala Bhaskara’ conferred on him by SV Oriental College. Though he mastered the art by learning 400 ‘Padyas’ from Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavatha, he later learnt the nuances from noted ‘Avadhani’ Vaddiparthi Padmakar.
“Learning the verses by heart may take one far, but it is only under the able mentorship of a Guru that one gets solid tips to crack complex questions and make a winning streak,” says Bharat Sharma. In an informal chat with The Hindu, he explained the importance of having a sharp memory, command over grammar and the ability to ruminate queries in the back of the mind in order to master the art.
The talent seems to run in Bharat Sharma’s veins, as his paternal grandmother belongs to the lineage of the court poet of Karvetinagaram Samsthan in Chittoor district. His ancestor, Rigvedi Venkatachalapathi Kavi, had translated the 4th century ‘Champu Ramayana’ into Telugu in the 18th century and dedicated it to Kasava Raju, the then ruler of Karvetinagaram dynasty. His grandfather was a nephew of renowned film actor Uppaladhadiyam Nagaiah, popularly known as Chittoor Nagaiah. Bharat wrote a book called ‘Siva Bhavesa Sathakam’ two years ago and has now embarked on another one called ‘Yadagiri Lakshmi Nrusimheswara Sathakam’.
Aiming to crack the civil services, Bharat Sharma also wants to study the hitherto-unexplored facets of Telugu and Sanskrit literature.
