DEVOTION IS THAT WHICH GENERATES KNOWLEDGE;
KNOWLEDGE IS THAT WHICH FASHIONS FREEDOM!
— Tulsidas
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST TO KNOW WHY VISHAKA IS AN IMPRESSIVE EMPRESS
VISHAKA HARI
PROFILE
Smt. Vishakha Hari is a practitioner of the ancient beautiful form of art called Harikatha or Katha keerthan. Herein she weaves beautiful stories of value and wisdom interspersed with mellifluous songs of yesteryear great composers. Her themes are varied and are generally from our great epics and puranas like the Ramayan and Srimad Bhagavatha Puranam. She presents Harikathas in Tamil and English (the narrative is in Tamil or English) and the songs are from various languages including Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit.
Her Gurus are Shri Lalgudi G.Jayaraman, the great violin maestro for music, Shri Krishnapremi Swamigaland Shri R. Hari for katha ( story component).
She was initiated into music right from her childhood years as early as when she was 5 years old. This was truly because of the passion of her parents who are lovers of Indian art and culture. After her marriage with Shri Hariji she was initiated into the art of Harikatha by her guru and father- in-law Shri Krishnapremi Swami who is a great vidwan in shastras. Blending beautifully both music and katha she spreads valuable messages of love and peace throughout the world. Having secured the 3rd Rank in the Final Chartered Accountancy Examination along with an All India First in Direct Taxes, she is an Academician too.
Presently she is guiding children, teenagers and youngsters to look up to Indian culture and arts for which she has been honoured as the Distinguished Professor of Oriental Studies and Arts. She and her husband tour all over the world to spread Indian values and universal peace.
She is the founder of ‘VIJAYASHRI SCHOOL OF HARIKATHA’ – a patashaala to promote the art of Harikatha and a medium to promote our culture, values and Dharma.
ACHIEVEMENTS / AWARDS RECEIVED
- Kalaimamani award by the State Government of TamilNadu
- Lifetime Achievement Award by Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, Chennai
- Lifetime Achievement Award by Karthik Fine Arts, Chennai
- M. S.Subbulakshmi Award- 7 eminent Women of India by Shanmugananda Sabha, Mumbai
- Sangeetha Vedantha Dhureena by Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira, Bengaluru
- Vishwa Kala Bharathi by Bharath Kalachar, Chennai
- Thyagaraja Prathidwani by Akhila Bharatha Sadhu Sanga
- Yuva Puraskar by Sangeeth Natak Academy, Central Government
- Harikatha Choodamani by Sri KrishnaGana Sabha
- “ Vasantha Sreshta”—woman par excellence by Vasantha Memorial Trust
- Yuva Kala Bharathi by Bharath Kalachar
Some LESSONS LEARNT by Our Empress
Every moment is precious and therefore do not waste even a single moment – Most important lesson that I learnt from my mother
Noble thoughts come from everywhere. See good, hear good and do good. Learn from each and everyone and everything around you.
This human life is precious, with which we can either create a miracle or cause destruction and the choice is entirely ours.
Radhe Krishna
Is there a way to join the school of Harikatha? I have tried to look up the website, but I am not able to find any links. Can you please provide the link? It would be really helpful. Thank you so much in advance.
Great interview!! Very inspiring.
As always, your questions are very pertinent, interesting and informative.
Very insightful conversation!!
Many thanks dear Malathy ji. Keep it coming.
Thanks so much for your very encouraging feedback. This keeps us motivated.
Namaste
I am Krithika. I got an opportunity to listen to your Katha… mesmerizing performance..
I have a daughter 11yrs old and a son 7yrs.
Daughter is learning carnatic music …
My son sings well hearing to my daughters practice.
I want to know if you could give an opportunity for children to learn and explore with your guidance..
Awaiting your favorable reply.
Thank you and regards.
Namaste Krithika
Kindly visit the website of Vijayashri School of Music for guidance.
Best Wishes.
Namaste Mam. Iam Gayathri from Gujarat. My son want to take lessons from you mam through vijayshree school of Harikatha.. Any online classes is going mam.??
Please check the website of Vijayashree School of Harikatha for more details.
Such an inspiring interview indeed!!
Malathy ji, the questions you posed were very thoughtful too.
The simplicity of Smt. Vishaka, something to practice.
Thank you.
Thanks Malathi for bringing such inspirational women so close to us via this platform. It was a treat to listen to Vishaka Hari. Didn’t know about her brilliant academics. But the sense of purpose has been so well instilled in her by her parents and gurus that she has been able to pursue it despite everything else that a young girl at her age would have inhibitions about! Really inspirational!
Thanks for your positive words of encouragement.
Wonderful listening to Smt. Vishaka Hari once again.💐 Thanks for such a lovely & lively q & a session 🙏🏽🙏🏽
Thanks so much.