> Dear friends:
>
>
> It is not earth shattering news, anyway. We are now watching a
> sudden surge of 'avadhaanaMs' across our beloved TelugudesaM.
> avadhaanaMs and avadhaanaMs galore! These gala events are taking
> place, almost after a lull and silence for over five decades!
> Lately, the interest level has risen stupendously high. We now
> have astaavadhaanaMs, saMpuurnasataavadhanaMs, and even
> shasraavadhaanaMs, conducted in the metropolitan areas with all
> the pomp, publicity and fanfare. Shocking it might seem, but
> bureaucrats, ministers and even the politicians running berserk
> for offices, are vying for a seat on the bedecked stage and try
> to get equal billing (if not better!) along with the avadhaani.
>
> Is there a reason(political, social, cultural, or all of the
> above)for this great upsurge? Could we entertain a decent
> debate/discussion on this phenomenon?
>
Pillalamarri Ramakrishna answered this question to some extent.
Please let me add some of my thoughts.
1) 'avadhaanam', when done by a competent 'avadhaani', is an
awe-inspiring sight, much like those gymnasts of whom Ramakrishna garu
talked about. AshTaavadhaanam had been a big draw at all the TANA
Conferences at which it was performed. avadhaanam is more engrossing and
spectator friendly than any other kind of staged literary event. It is a
great 'ready for TV' event.
2) Once somebody becomes an expert at ashTaavadhaanam, what is
the next step? He has to increase the number of things he can concentrate
about. Much like the athlete wants to better his own performance, I
suppose that ashTaavadhaanis would try their hand at Sataavadhaanam,
later at dwiSata, sahasra, ashTottara shasra and so on avadhaanams. So
the two leading avadhaanis of the day, mEDasaani mOhan and naagaphaNi
Sarma, seem to be competing with each other (I say seems to be - based on
the flurry in the last 12 months; it may not be the case) in coming up
with the avadhaanam with the larger number of events.
3) If one cannot be the 'avadhaani', the next best recognition
for some people with literary talents (and literary pretensions) is to be
the 'pruCChaka' at these events. We do have several beaureaucrats and a
few politicians that have literary talents or literary pretensions.
Also, even if one is not a pruCChaka, it still is a high profile
event where one can be seen, and of which one can later talk about (like,
'I was in the Stadium, when Michael Jordan made six three pointers
in a row in the championship series!' kind of boast).
That accounts for the interest among the high profile
beaureaucras and politicians.
4) Why now? I think one of the new phenomena in AP is
the sponsorship of the high profile cultural programs by the business
houses, for the publicity that can be gained by sponsorship. So much so,
a few Hyderabad organizations and organizers have been known to do well
financially through their organization of the cultural events. A sort of
competition exists among these cultural organizations regarding what kind
of events they can organize. A similar situation may exist statewide too.
5) Also, nationwide, for various reasons, there appears to be a
phenomenon of taking pride in 'traditional heritage'. Ashtaavadhaanam fits
this bill too well.
So, I think we have a combination of skilled avadhaanis, media
coverage, organizations looking for prestge, businesses looking for
sponsorship, and a 'traditional heritage' event with maas appeal coming
together. This, of course, is purely speculation on my part about the
recent upsurge.
Regards. --- V. Chowdary Jampala