Harikathaa KaalakshEpam ; Sri KalyaNapuram AravamudhAcchAr Swamy & Swamy Naatha Muni's avathAra Dinam today

[Guest guest]

Sri:

 

Dear BhakthAs :

 

On this avathAra Dhinam of Swamy Naatha Muni , it is good to read about

the dedicated efforts of Sangeetha Kalaa SikhAmaNi , Sriman KalyaNapuram

R.AravamudhacchAr (RA) Swamy.

 

adiyEn had the bhAgyam of listening to the spellbinding HarikathAs of

Sri RA Swamy's AchAryan , EmbAr VijayaraghavAcchAr Swamy at Oppiliappan KOil

KalyANa Uthsavams .

 

adiyEn is glad to know that this unique art combining Iyal , Isai and

Naatakam dear to Swamy Naathamuni has been preserved and is being

passed on to a new set of AasthikAs .

 

As many of you might know , the gift of HarikathA KaalkshEpam is

a gift to Tamil Naadu from the Maratti rulers of ThanjAvoor . We have had

eminent experts lie Chidhambara Bhagavathar , EmbAr SrirangAcchAr

( Father of Sri Embar VijayaraghavAcchAr ) and most recently Brahma Sri

T.S.Bala KrishNa saasthrigal , an officer of the State Bank of India .

 

May this rich and mesmerizing tradition continue with the efforts of

Sri Sri RA Swamy propelled by the vision of Srirangam Srimath Andavan .

 

A recent write up from The Hindu is attached .

 

V.Sadagopan

 

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Source: The Hindu

(http://www.hinduonnet.com/lf/2005/06/19/stories/2005061901410200.htm)

Giving his all for the sake of art

 

"The composite art form demands more from the performer. It is not an easy

art to learn or perform".

 

R. Aaramudachariyar.

 

Sixty-nine-year-old Kalyanapuram R. Aaramudachariyar has spent most of his

lifetime in telling `harikatha.' Giving up a lucrative job he took to

`harikatha' at the age of 43. For him, `harikatha' is soul and body. Having

performed the composite art form in most of the places in India, now his

concern is protecting the art form for the posterity. He is currently

engaged in training youngsters in `harikatha' with the hope that they will

carry forward the tradition. Amidst his busy schedule involving the

performing and teaching of `harikatha,' he took time to speak to G.

Srinivasan on the art form and his life.

 

HE WAS born in Kalayanapuram, a village in Thanjavur district on July 25,

1936. Aaramudachariyar was brought up in a spiritual atmosphere, which

infused in his blood the love for `harikatha.' His father, Nathamuni

Ranganatha Iyengar, popularly known as Raju Vadyar, was a Vedic scholar well

versed in music, the `Divya Prabantham' etc. The typical `agraharam' house

of Aaramudachariyar was filled with bhajans and spirituality. During the

early years of his life, Aaramudachariyar learnt the Vedas, prabandhams,

etc. from his father. This served as the basis for him to become a

`harikatha' exponent.

 

"Two persons were responsible for me to take to `harikatha.' One of them is

Thirukudanthai Aandavan who took to `sanyasam' at the age of 57 and walked

through Bharath i.e. 40,000 km on foot. He led me to listen to Embar

Vijayaragavachariyar, a famous `harikatha' exponent. I learnt the

intricacies of the art form from Embar and am now following his style," said

Aaramudhachariyar.

 

He performed first at Madras Music Academy in Chennai in 1979. On the

recommendations of Embar, the academy called on him to present the

`harikatha.' He has not looked back since. He continuously performed the

`harikatha' in all the leading sabhas in the country not only in major towns

and cities but in small villages too. It was in 1979 that the All India

Radio, Tiruchi, started offering him programmes as a graded artist and in 20

years AIR made him a top grade artist.

 

"The composite art form demands more from the performer. It is not an easy

art to learn or perform. One has to be an all rounder. It requires a lot of

reading. I used to read for eight hours before giving a performance. One has

to give comparisons from texts, for instance, if the `harikatha' is on

Kambaramayanam the comparison must be detailed with quotes from Valmiki,

Arunachala Kavirayar etc.," explained Aarmadhachariyar on the requirements

of a `harikatha' exponent.

 

This is because the audience have different tastes. Some attend the

performance for the music, some to learn Dharma, some for the humour. A

performing artist should satisfy the audience on all these aspects. "The

`harikatha' is a three-in-one performance i.e., `iyal' `isai' and `natakam'

in one" says Aaramudhachariyar.

 

His major concern now is that there are no people to carry the tradition

forward. Hence, he has started training youth in `harikatha' at Sri

Ranganatha Paduka Vidyalaya run by Srirangam Srimath Andavan Ashram. He has

been selected by the Government of India to train young people in the art

through the `Guru-Sishya' programme implemented through the South Zone

Cultural Centre at Thanjavur.

 

Aaramudhachariyar is also concerned about the decline of values in the

society. To teach values to the students he started SHREYAS, Service Academy

to Promote Value Systems Among Youngsters, a service academy to promote the

value system and inculcate moral and spiritual values in young minds. He has

been conducting free Sanskrit classes and special lectures for youngsters.

 

A winner of several titles, including the `Sangeetha Kala Sikhamani'

bestowed by the Indian Fine Arts Society and the Kalaimamani award bestowed

by the Government of Tamil Nadu, Aaramudhachariyar is also the founder

secretary of Sri Andal Thirupavai Mahotsava Sabha, which has been conducting

the Thirupavai Mahotsavam for the last 14 years at Srivilliputhur and for

the past seven years at Kumbakonam.

 

According to him, many people are reluctant to learn the art for three

reasons. First because it requires a lot of work, second because it is not

remunerative and third because one gets little recognition. But, the art has

a wide following.

 

"I have conducted seminars on `harikatha' to create an awareness of the art

form at several places including Srirangam, Chennai and Mumbai. In Mumbai,

1,500 persons attended one of my lectures. But, the art requires patronage.

Sabhas should come forward to patronise such rare arts," says

Aaramudhachariyar. He thanks Srimath Andavan Rangaramanuja Mahadesikan of

Srirangam for allowing him to teach `harikatha' to the students at Sri

Ranganatha Paduka Vidyalaya and introducing it as an ancillary subject in

his college.