CHENNAI: An exponent in the art of ancient storytelling, or what is known as harikatha, Suchitra Balasubramanian enthralled audience at the ‘Varnakalanjiyam’ festival that brought out the greatness of Ramayana through a series of programmes. Her musical narrative of Oru sol, oru vil, oru il (One bow, one word and one woman) gave one a clarity on the epic character Ram.
She is the granddaughter of harikatha exponent Thanjavur TR Kamalamurthy. Her flawless storytelling, Carnatic music skills along with the violin and mridhangam rendition by MSD Suresh and V Shivaraman added flavour to the performance. Taking the opportunity to thank her gurus, she said, “I am really grateful to my gurus for having imparted such knowledge and the art in me especially my grandmother Kamalmurthy.”
Performing harikatha since 2008, the artist’s narration with reference to contemporary issues grabbed everyone’s attention. “This is the first time I am coming to a harikatha. I was able to understand the characters when a cricket team with a captain and vice-captain was used as reference to depict Marichan and Subahu,” said a 15-year-old Rishi.
“It is heartwarming that there are many who love this art and I hope it is sustained for long,” Suchitra adds.