AFVOA Newletter August 2020

Section 6 – eConnect Reviews CV 2 No. 02 / 2020 Page 217 of 237 In these hard times of fear of catching an infection through air, the attendees whole heartedly welcomed the Speaker’s infectious patriotic fervour that spread through the air into their Drawing Rooms within a few nano seconds into her session that transported them all into a trance for the next 90 minutes of a very involved discourse. The technical pre-requisite of deactivated videos prevented a view of the dilated eyelids and the attentive ears of all the attendees. Be it in the chat messages or during the Q & A session, the word ‘mesmerizing’ featured in the attenddees’ comments umpteen number of times. Almost all of our Speakers so far had said how honoured they felt in talking to the Veterans, but this Speaker’s averment of the same came across very powerfully, straight from her heart. For someone who achieved so much under 40 years of age, her eloquence and humility stood out like a beacon of light. Academic brilliance is a self propelling force from inside. To establish one self as a top artiste alongside in one form of art is a natural gift. To diversify into another art form is sheer hard work. To shine as a multi dimensional artiste at a very young age is nothing but divine will. Smt Vishaka Hari is a personification of such divine will. The copy book general rule that applies to lesser mortals, that an expert in one field may rarely achieve greatness in another to the same degree has no place in Smt Vishaka Hari’s dictionary. That she was brilliant academically is borne by the fact that she held the All India overall rank of 3 in the Chartered Accountancy Final, one of the toughest professional examinations held in the country and was No. 1 in Direct Taxes. She trained under the doyen of Carnatic music and a Violin maestro Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman. While her superlative skills in Carnatic music alone would have pitchforked her to the top position, giving a run for their money of the contemporary Carnatic musicians, she chose to diversify into the most demanding and hence dwindling art form of Harikatha and is now the crowned Queen in that space. Her guru in matters religion, tradition and the art form of Harikatha is Shri Krishna Premi Swamigal, aka Shri Anna. There is much more to her persona than just academics, music and Harikatha. 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. She presents Harikatha discourses in Tamil and English and the songs are from various languages including Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit. Along with a co-author, she has also translated Sri Sri Krishna Premi Swamigal’s account of 103 iconic Indian women (originally published as SATI VIJAYAM in Tamil)