Vice President Mohd. Hamid Ansari presenting the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award-2010 to M. V. Simhachala Sastry, Andhra Pradesh, for his outstanding contribution to Harikatha, at the investiture ceremony of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards-2010, in New Delhi on July 22, 2011. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Culture, Kum. Selja and the Chairperson, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Smt. Leela Samson are also seen.
Muppavarapu Venkata Simhachala Sastry, a Harikatha exponent, from Tirupati was conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi award under the ‘Other major traditions of music' category for Harikatha in Delhi on July 22, 2011. Born on May 17, 1968 in Guntur, AP, to M Subbamma and M Kesav Rao, Simhachala Sastry has contributed significantly to the sustenance and development of this art form and his performance is applauded by the way he handles the story, prose, poetry or the lyrical form. A senior artist of All India Radio, he has participated in many prestigious music festivals in India and won many laurels. His award reminds of K Viswanath’s movies ‘Shankarabharanam’ and ‘Swarna Kamlam’. The movies highlighted the fact that countrymen were brushing under the carpet old art forms for pursuing globalised ones. TCG spoke to M V Simhachala Sastry after receiving the award.
Congratulations on winning the award. How do you feel about it?
Thank you. The honour has not been bestowed on me but to the great art form Harikatha that has been recognized now. This is the first time that Sangeet Natak Akademi award has been conferred to this art form. Harikatha is worthy of a national award. I came to know that I had been selected for the award when a colleague of mine sent me an SMS. It was at 5.30 am when I received the message and I had to look for my spectacles to read the message as I misread the word congratulations. The award is the kindness and love bestowed by God. Harikatha means namasmarna (remembrance) of Hari (God).
What is the true meaning of Harikatha?
Harikatha is a form of Hindu religious discourse in the format of storytelling tuned to music and laced with moral values. Harikatha usually deals with the stories from the Indian epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata or the life of saints like Adi Shankara. It is basically to educate the people and help them think about their future. Harikatha is a composite art form composed of story telling, poetry, music, drama, dance and philosophy. Delving into the Hindu mythology, we are aware that Narada muni sang for Lord Vishnu, while Lord Rama’s sons Lava and Kusha sang the Ramayana after being tutored by Valmiki.
Who brought Harikatha into the limelight?
Harikatha came to Andhra Pradesh in 20th century with Ajjada Adibhatla Narayana Dasu (1864–1945), scholar and musician, who composed Puranic stories, and interspersed them with prose commentaries, a style adopted by numerous singers later. To become a successful Harikatha exponent, Narayana Dasu taught himself several languages and music. Such a great artiste was he that Dasu also composed in Sanskrit complete with raga and tala that placed him in the highest bracket of vaggeyakaras. Among his most notable admirers was noted laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who compared him to Kaalidasa.
One of the greatest facts about Narayana Dasu was his love for foreign languages. He translated Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat into Sanskrit and was also devoted to Shakespeare and successfully translated passages of ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Romeo & Juliet.’
What motivated you to take up Harikatha?
I took up this profession to propagate the name of God and create awareness among the people and resurrect the falling moral values. One Harikatha can do what 100 universities put together can’t do. Harikatha is like a mobile university, it goes to the people and reaches out to them. Apart from entertaining them it imparts knowledge too. Harikatha consists of prose, poetry, music and values – all told in an interesting way. To captivate the audience, daily nuances, current affairs and general knowledge are inter-woven to make the Harikatha more interesting.
When did you decide to make this your profession?
At the age of 14 years, I decided to take up this profession after I heard the story of ‘Rukmini Kalyanam’ by Karur Krishnadasa Bhagavatar, who lived just opposite my house in Guntur. Hearing Karur Krishnadas Bhagavatar brought lot of mental peace that determined my resolve and moved me to this field. In fact, Karur Krishnadas had undergone training under Narayana Das and I felt it was a great opportunity to learn from such a great person. Other gurus who taught me to hone my skills are Y. Subramanya Sastri, Burra Sivaramakrishna Sarma and G.L.V. Subbamamba.
What are the essential qualities required to become a good Harikatha artiste?
One must have love for literature, poetry, history and knowledge of music to keep the audience enthralled. He must know that he is a person to create inquisitiveness among the person to learn more. It is like lighting a lamp to drive away darkness.
Did you have any formal training in music?
I learnt Carnatic music under the guidance of Addanki Tirumalacharyulu and S. Lakshmi Ramana Rao. This helped me to hone my vocal chords and on hearing great artistes like M L Vasantha Kumari, D K Pattamal and others I learnt the nuances more and applied it to my singing. I was lucky to recite all the vaggeyakaras' compositions in chaste diction and melody which became a blessing to me.
Did you run into problems while pursuing the art form?
No. Even for a fraction of a second I did not run into any problems. All this is a blessing of God.
Did you ever think of changing course mid-stream?
No. Everything is destined by God and we merely follow it. I became a Harikatha artiste after studying/practicing the course for three-and-a-half years. By the time, many people turn 18 and are in their second year of Inter, I became a Harikatha artiste. By the grace of God, I completed my academic qualifications too. I followed both and successfully graduated with a Commerce degree from Acharya Nagurjuna University. I am also greatly thankful to a scholarship provided by the Union Ministry of Human Resources and Development in 1989 to pursue my art form.
Did you attend any training programmes in Harikatha?
In 1987, I underwent a six-month training camp conducted by the Telugu University in Hyderabad.
Do you think one can survive by following this art form?
Yes. An artiste must be devoted to his profession and do hard work to achieve success. No shortcuts would do as the audience is well-qualified and a person can be fooled once, but not the second time. There is truth in following the maxim that ‘Hard work always pays’.
What are the other awards conferred on you?
Ugadi Visista Puraskaram by the Government of Andhra Pradesh (2008), Harikatha Chudamani from the AdiBhatta Narayana Dasa Aradhana Sangham (2006), and was declared Asthana Vidwan by the Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham (2008).
Have you performed abroad?
Yes. By the grace of god, I have performed in London, Malaysia and Singapore.
Apart from giving Harikatha performances, what do you do?
Since 2005, I am employed as a lecturer in Harikatha at S V College of Music and Dance, TTD, Tirupati. The college conducts courses in Harikatha Visharda (Three years), Harikatha Praveen (two years), Diploma and certificate courses in Harikatha for a period of six years. I am also an ‘A' grade artiste of the All-India Radio.
What is the basic qualification to take admission into Harikatha course?
An eighth class pass and knowledge of Sanskrit, Telugu and Music. Here the students’ skills are fine tuned and they are taught other subjects
like Environmental Science and others too.
What are your future plans?
Spread the message of God and create awareness among people.
Congratulations on winning the award. How do you feel about it?
Thank you. The honour has not been bestowed on me but to the great art form Harikatha that has been recognized now. This is the first time that Sangeet Natak Akademi award has been conferred to this art form. Harikatha is worthy of a national award. I came to know that I had been selected for the award when a colleague of mine sent me an SMS. It was at 5.30 am when I received the message and I had to look for my spectacles to read the message as I misread the word congratulations. The award is the kindness and love bestowed by God. Harikatha means namasmarna (remembrance) of Hari (God).
What is the true meaning of Harikatha?
Harikatha is a form of Hindu religious discourse in the format of storytelling tuned to music and laced with moral values. Harikatha usually deals with the stories from the Indian epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata or the life of saints like Adi Shankara. It is basically to educate the people and help them think about their future. Harikatha is a composite art form composed of story telling, poetry, music, drama, dance and philosophy. Delving into the Hindu mythology, we are aware that Narada muni sang for Lord Vishnu, while Lord Rama’s sons Lava and Kusha sang the Ramayana after being tutored by Valmiki.
Who brought Harikatha into the limelight?
Harikatha came to Andhra Pradesh in 20th century with Ajjada Adibhatla Narayana Dasu (1864–1945), scholar and musician, who composed Puranic stories, and interspersed them with prose commentaries, a style adopted by numerous singers later. To become a successful Harikatha exponent, Narayana Dasu taught himself several languages and music. Such a great artiste was he that Dasu also composed in Sanskrit complete with raga and tala that placed him in the highest bracket of vaggeyakaras. Among his most notable admirers was noted laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who compared him to Kaalidasa.
One of the greatest facts about Narayana Dasu was his love for foreign languages. He translated Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat into Sanskrit and was also devoted to Shakespeare and successfully translated passages of ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Romeo & Juliet.’
What motivated you to take up Harikatha?
I took up this profession to propagate the name of God and create awareness among the people and resurrect the falling moral values. One Harikatha can do what 100 universities put together can’t do. Harikatha is like a mobile university, it goes to the people and reaches out to them. Apart from entertaining them it imparts knowledge too. Harikatha consists of prose, poetry, music and values – all told in an interesting way. To captivate the audience, daily nuances, current affairs and general knowledge are inter-woven to make the Harikatha more interesting.
When did you decide to make this your profession?
At the age of 14 years, I decided to take up this profession after I heard the story of ‘Rukmini Kalyanam’ by Karur Krishnadasa Bhagavatar, who lived just opposite my house in Guntur. Hearing Karur Krishnadas Bhagavatar brought lot of mental peace that determined my resolve and moved me to this field. In fact, Karur Krishnadas had undergone training under Narayana Das and I felt it was a great opportunity to learn from such a great person. Other gurus who taught me to hone my skills are Y. Subramanya Sastri, Burra Sivaramakrishna Sarma and G.L.V. Subbamamba.
What are the essential qualities required to become a good Harikatha artiste?
One must have love for literature, poetry, history and knowledge of music to keep the audience enthralled. He must know that he is a person to create inquisitiveness among the person to learn more. It is like lighting a lamp to drive away darkness.
Did you have any formal training in music?
I learnt Carnatic music under the guidance of Addanki Tirumalacharyulu and S. Lakshmi Ramana Rao. This helped me to hone my vocal chords and on hearing great artistes like M L Vasantha Kumari, D K Pattamal and others I learnt the nuances more and applied it to my singing. I was lucky to recite all the vaggeyakaras' compositions in chaste diction and melody which became a blessing to me.
Did you run into problems while pursuing the art form?
No. Even for a fraction of a second I did not run into any problems. All this is a blessing of God.
Did you ever think of changing course mid-stream?
No. Everything is destined by God and we merely follow it. I became a Harikatha artiste after studying/practicing the course for three-and-a-half years. By the time, many people turn 18 and are in their second year of Inter, I became a Harikatha artiste. By the grace of God, I completed my academic qualifications too. I followed both and successfully graduated with a Commerce degree from Acharya Nagurjuna University. I am also greatly thankful to a scholarship provided by the Union Ministry of Human Resources and Development in 1989 to pursue my art form.
Did you attend any training programmes in Harikatha?
In 1987, I underwent a six-month training camp conducted by the Telugu University in Hyderabad.
Do you think one can survive by following this art form?
Yes. An artiste must be devoted to his profession and do hard work to achieve success. No shortcuts would do as the audience is well-qualified and a person can be fooled once, but not the second time. There is truth in following the maxim that ‘Hard work always pays’.
What are the other awards conferred on you?
Ugadi Visista Puraskaram by the Government of Andhra Pradesh (2008), Harikatha Chudamani from the AdiBhatta Narayana Dasa Aradhana Sangham (2006), and was declared Asthana Vidwan by the Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham (2008).
Have you performed abroad?
Yes. By the grace of god, I have performed in London, Malaysia and Singapore.
Apart from giving Harikatha performances, what do you do?
Since 2005, I am employed as a lecturer in Harikatha at S V College of Music and Dance, TTD, Tirupati. The college conducts courses in Harikatha Visharda (Three years), Harikatha Praveen (two years), Diploma and certificate courses in Harikatha for a period of six years. I am also an ‘A' grade artiste of the All-India Radio.
What is the basic qualification to take admission into Harikatha course?
An eighth class pass and knowledge of Sanskrit, Telugu and Music. Here the students’ skills are fine tuned and they are taught other subjects
like Environmental Science and others too.
What are your future plans?
Spread the message of God and create awareness among people.
Glad to have read this wonderful interview.🌷🙏
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