Source http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/01/23/stories/2009012351070100.htm
His art speaks for him
| PROFILE Veteran Burra Katha artist Karnati Lakshmi Narasaiah talks about the folk form and its relevance today. Kausalya Santhanam |
The themes dealt with in Burra Katha stress the need to erase inequality and spread the message of universal brotherhood.
WITH SOCIAL AWARENESS: Karnati Lakshmi Narasaiah.
Folk arts are our traditional wealth. We should try to educate the common people through these arts because they were created by them,” says Karnati Lakshmi Narasaiah, the doyen of Telugu folk performing arts who was in Chennai recently with his troupe to participate in the Chennai Sangamam.
The energetic 82-year-old is a man of many parts — practitioner and promoter of many Telugu folk performing art forms, scholar in Telugu and Urdu, freedom fighter who responded to Gandhiji’s call and also fought against the Nizam’s rule, and an author of several books (in Telugu). You talk to him for an hour and come away impressed with his singing skills and his indefatigable energy.
“Talking about the various things I have done in these many years is like distilling the sea in a bottle,” he says without false modesty. “If I stay idle for even half an hour, I tire,” he says with the sprightly enthusiasm of a man in his twenties. “I’m still actively engaged in lecture demonstrations, and I sing, dance and act.”
In a career spanning 65 years, Narasaiah has tried his hand successfully at various forms. He lists them rapidly — Veedhi Bhagavatham, Kasi Kavadi, Pitaldora, Jamukulakatha, Pambakatha, Kolattam, Bommalattam, Tapeta Gullu and Oggukatha.
Early years
“By the time I was 16, I had learnt nearly all these Kala Roopalu,” he says in chaste Telugu while I can only look bemused and scribble rapidly to keep pace.
“Did you get it right, amma?” he asks from time to time while our hostess Shobhana Reddy seeks to assure him on the score. Shobhana, a member of FICCI Ladies Organisation, has worked to showcase the Telugu arts at the Chennai Sangamam and has got Karnati’s troupe to perform here through the auspices of the World Telugu Federation. Karnati’s involvement in the arts goes back to his childhood. His mother moved to Telengana, her native place, when he was just a boy. Her family owned property there and when he took the cows to graze, he learnt the many songs of the folk people that helped lessen the burden of their toil. Surprisingly though the family was quite comfortably placed, the elder members did not curb the wanderings of the boy. He was free to roam around and absorb whatever took his fancy; so passionate was he in the pursuit of these art forms that he even forgot sometimes to turn up for his meals! He heard the recording of the great master of Burra Katha, Doddavarapu Venkataswamy for His Master’s Voice and learnt the form. “I also learnt to play the Jamukku (a drum),” he says.
Vibrant art form
Burra Katha, an art form once known as Jangam Katha, among other names, has a strong presence in Andhra Pradesh. Traditionally, it was used to narrate mythological stories. It later began to mirror social change. Burra Katha comprises three performers — one who sings, tells the story, plays the tambura and also dances, another who acts as commentator introducing political elements, and the third who acts as a comedian. The form is at once effective and extemporaneous, traditional and contemporary.
“The timbre of the performers’ voices is such as to rouse even those who are asleep,” guffaws Karnati and launches into a rousing recital of a few lines in his baritone. “I have given 10,000 performances in all,” he says. “I used to also participate in radio plays on AIR Vijayawada.”
Social messages
Burra Katha has been adapted successfully to propagate social messages. Karnati worked with Nassar to spread awareness among the people. Burra Katha has been used with telling effect in Telengana. “The themes I have dealt include the need to erase inequality and spread the message of universal brotherhood,” says Karnati. He is also a firm believer in gender equity. “Burrra Katha artists should speak of the problems of the poor farmers who are the backbone of the country,” he says.
Burra Katha led him to the cinema. “My guru Garikapati Rajarao introduced me and other members of the People’s Theatre such as Allu Ramalingaiah (actor Chiranjeevi’s father-in-law) to cinema. I have performed Burra Katha in 20 films,” he says. But the veteran is unhappy about the dilution of Burra Katha and other folk performing art forms as he feels not enough attention is being paid to the traditional costumes and format.
“All the States have their own distinctive and rich folk art forms; I love them all. I’m eager to be present wherever service is being done to them. Shobhana called me and so I have come with my troupe to take part in this confluence of arts,” says this recipient of many awards who facilitated different troupes to present Burra Katha, Jamukulakatha and play the Dappu at the festival.
No comments:
Post a Comment