Mother of all stories - Vishaka Hari

Mother of all stories - Vishaka Hari

That any program of Vishaka Hari will be packed with people is a given. Ever since she made her debut as a Harikatha exponent in 2006, there has been no looking back for her. Several Carnatic musicians who had made an entry after her have already exited. What is it that keeps this lady still at the top of the game, drawing people to her program? 

It’s clear that she is an expert story teller, and a competent Carnatic musician with a strong people connect. Now, is that enough to last more than a decade? I think, it is also because of her audience demography. They mostly comprise middle or upper middle class Tamil Brahmin. Again, for an average ‘TamBram’, academics play a critical role in their lives, career choices, marriage and that even decides their social standing. How often does one come across a young lady clad in a nine yards madisaar? 

Enter Vishaka Hari a qualified Chartered Accountant, who is able to strike a balance between marriage and Harikatha. A Sanskrit student trained in Carnatic music under a tough task master Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman, and inspired by her father-in-law Sri Krishna Premi. 
What more can the Chennai audience ask for? A Chartered Accountant, who can sing Carnatic music, versatile in languages, steeped in tradition.... a perfect prescription to have them eating out of her hand. 

On my way to attend her Upanyasam at Bharati Vidya Bhavan, I was hoping that she will confine to narration and not make it a 2 hours of singing. My concern was legitimate because she is guilty of singing too much and too often which usually leaves her with very little time to do justice to the story telling. Agreed that she is a good singer but we have no scarcity for good singers. It’s like this, all of us know that Sachin Tendulkar can bowl but we look forward to seeing him bat or Kamalhasan can sing but we are keen to see his acting skills. She must have read my mind (or read my earlier reviews 😜) there was more talking and bare minimum singing. 

The topic of the evening was ‘Mathru Devo Bhava’. Now this subject can never fail in our country. Be it politics , religion or movies. 
Who can forget MGR’s ‘ Thay Illamal Naan illai ‘ or Rajini’s ‘ Amma Endrazhaikadha ‘ or Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Deewar’ , where Shashi Kapoor says the famous dialogue ‘ Mere Paas Maa Hai’ !

The mother sentiment can move any person. 
Majority of Vishaka’s audience were senior citizens, so you can imagine how close this subject was to their hearts. She shared stories of the sacrifices of the Indian mothers, like Adi Shankara’s mother Aryambal, Rama’s mother Kausalya, Lakshmana’s mother Sumitra, Krishna’s mother Devaki, Kauravas mother Gandhari , Pandavas mother Kunti, Chhatrapati Shivaji’s mother Jija Bai and finally Panna Bai, Raja Uday Singh’s foster mother who sacrificed her own child’s life for the sake of her Mathrubhoomi. The list would have gone on and on but she had no time for more. She interlaced their stories with relevant examples contextual to today’s scenario. She simply had almost everyone there moist eyed, clucking their tongues and wiping their tears. I feel, that they were thinking of their offsprings rather their own mothers. 

It’s common that most people have NRI children living faraway in different time zones. They visit their children probably once a year and Skype or FaceTime them frequently, and send them WhatsApps which is rarely opened. It’s not me but Vishaka who activated their tear glands by fanning their emotions. If they didn’t cry she pushed them to it by sobbing herself and that was enough for everyone to follow. Most of them were recalling all sacrifices they had made for their children’s success in a poignant manner.  Frankly, it’s the children who should have been her audience. 

I was personally reminded of my grandmother because she played the role of a mother in bringing me up. She not only had infinite patience in bringing up a precocious child but taught me the meaning of unconditional love and how to be unselfish and above all how to be a mother.  In a lighter vein, though I don’t have NRI children and we all live together, I often feel we are in different time zones!

About the Author:

Sandhya Shankar belongs to a well respected business family in Chennai. She is a Life Skills & Corporate Trainer by profession. She is an avid reader and a natural writer, who has written several poems and articles. She even presented her poems as a reading at the British council. She has keen interest in all art forms  and has explored many different forms of painting like stained glass and Tanjore being among them. 

Music being her first passion, she had her formal training under Terakotti Chandrasekharaiah at Bangalore and later briefly under Mrs Champa Kumar. She is a regular visitor of concerts, theatre and other live performances. Her witty reviews have gained a loyal and interactive readership for their sound technical commentary and relevance for every kind of melophile, from the casual-goer to the ragam expert, frequenting Chennai’s rich music scene.

(*The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of Music of Madras.)