Harikatha Pithamaha birth anniversary fete from Sept 6

Tirupati: TTD will observe the 154th birthanniversary of the Patriarch of Harikatha Adibhatla Narayana Dasa here from September 6 to 8. Thecelebrations will be held under the aegis of TTD's Sri Venkateswara Music and Dance College.

Narayana Dasa, a child prodigy was born at Ajjada village of Vizianagaram district in 1864 and exhibited exemplary talent in reciting Sanskrit verses- Sataka slokas- at the age of five itself and he was compared with Kalidasa. Narayana Dasa had scripted several epics like Savitri Charita, Janaki Sapatham, Rukmini Kalyanam and Bhakta Markandeya Charitra.

He was honoured with the coveted title of Pancha Mukeswara for his versatality in Music, Literature and Vedic studies. The three-day celebrations will start with paying floral tributes to the statue of Narayana Dasa in the college followed by Goshti Gaanam.

In the evening, daily from 6 to 7.30, there will be paper presentation and discussions on the works and contribution of Dasa for Harikatha, aunique traditional Telugu art form of  rendering stories based onPuranas and Ithihasas. Later, there will be Harikathas by reputed artistes drawn from various places.