An event in honour of ‘Harikatha Pitamaha’ Srimadajjada Adhibhatla Narayanadas began in Vijayawada on Saturday (August 16). The week-long event, featuring daily Harikatha renditions by eminent artistes, is being held at Sri Sitarama Kalyana Mandapam near Sivaji Café Centre in Satyanarayanapuram and will continue till August 22.
The inaugural day began with pujas, and the day’s Harikatha sessions included renditions by Nemani Nagalakshmi Bhagavatarini (Parvathi Patinayam), B. Yatirajulu Bhagavatar (Bhakta Siriyala), M. Purna (performing Das’s own composition Srikrishna Jananam), and Mudapaka Balasundaram Bhagavatar (Srikrishna Mahimalu). The proceedings were supervised by convenors Burra Padmanabha Sarma Bhagavatulu and Yanamandra Venkata Krishnaiah.
The celebrations are being jointly organised by Das Sishya Prasishya Sangham, Hyderabad-based Annamayya Parivaramu, Rajyalakshmi Sankaranarayana (Planjery Foundation, Hyderabad) and Aswini Subbarao.
An event in memory of ‘Harikadha Kesari’ the late Neti Lakshminarayana Bhagavatar, who was instrumental in installing Narayanadas’s statue in Vijayawada, will be held on August 20.
That evening, S.V. Sriram Bhattar Bhagavatulu of Hyderabad will be felicitated with the Neti Memorial Award by the Neti family and Annamayya Parivaramu. Additionally, Rajyalakshmi Sankaranarayana Planjery will honour two eminent Harikatha artistes — Dhulipala Sivaramakrishna Sarma Bhagavatar (Guntur) and Ch. Bhavani Bhai (Nellore) — with cash awards of ₹25,000 each.
The valedictory event on August 22 will coincide with the 161st Jayanthi of Narayanadas. On the occasion, Ms. Kalla Nirmala (Vizianagaram) will be conferred with Narayanadas Memorial Award by the organising bodies.
Born on Sravana Bahula Chaturdasi, August 31, 1864, Narayanadas is regarded as a doyen of Harikatha tradition, blending music, storytelling and philosophy to inspire generations. He died on Pushya Bahula Panchami, January 2, 1945.
His statue was installed in Vijayawada on January 25, 1951 at the Sivalayam here premises by his disciple, ‘Harikadha Kesari’ the late Neti Lakshminarayana Bhagavatulu, along with Sri Vajapeyajula Subbaiah and Sri Peddinti Suryanarayana Dikshitadas, in the presence of several prominent personalities. The statue is now housed in the adjoining Sri Sitarama Kalyana Mandapam.
Published – August 16, 2025 08:29 pm IST
