Arsha Vignana Peetham, a literary association, organised an enjoyable Ashtavadhanam by Bala Bhavani, the only woman Ashtavadhani in Andhra Pradesh at Laila Gangaraju Kala Vedika in G.V.R.Government College of Music and Dance, Vijayawada.
The event was largely attended by literary lovers. Ashtavadhanam is a difficult and challenging feat and requires the Avadhani to face challenging puzzles from eight well versed scholars and answer them extempore. Memory power plays a major role in this extraordinary feat in which ‘pruchakas’ throw literary puzzles to the Avadhani.
Bala Bhavani faced the challenges successfully and answered the Pruchakas with great memory power and poetic depth. The pruchakas were noted scholars and poets — Dhulipala Ramakrishna (Samasya), Venkataramana Murthy (Dattapadi), Indiradevi (Varnana), Tikkana Somayaji (Nishidhakshari), Jandhyala Paradesi Babu (Nyastakshari), Kavuri Satyavathi (Asuvu), Valiveti Radhakrishna (Puranam) and Bhanumurthy (Aprastuta Prasangam).
Well known poet and scholar Palaparti Syamalananda Prasad coordinated the Ashtavadhanam efficiently and noted scholar and poet Mallapragada Srimannarayana Murthy explained the intricacies of the Ashtavadhanam, in great detail. At the end of the programme P.Venkataramana Murthy, a resident of Singapore and an ardent lover of literature, honoured all the participants in the Ashtavadhanam on behalf of Arsha Vignana Peetham.