Mangudi Chidambara Bhagavatar was an outstanding performer of Hari Katha (musical discourse on religious themes) of the 20th century CE. Mangudi Chidambara Bhagavatar hailed from Agara Mangudi, a cultural center famous for the dance-drama called Bhagavata-mela. He was learned in Sanskrit, Tamil, and Telugu; he was a descendant of Ghanam Tirumalayya, a court musician of Raja Serfoji II (1798-1832 CE) of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu.
Harikatha was developed in the district of Thanjavur during
the 19th century CE. Thanjavur was then governed by Maratha kinds,
who used to invite kirtankaras (storytellers) from North India to perform in
the Marathi language. Their recitals were so popular that many local musicians
learned the art and fashioned it in their own style in Tamil, and it came to be
known as Harikatha Kalakshepam.
The Harikatha mode of exposition of the epic stories and Puranic
tales suited Bhagavatar’s intellectual capabilities. He had a profound knowledge
of the sacred lore, and an extraordinary power of storytelling. His mellifluous
voice and keen sense of humor made his recitals very popular, and he became a
household name in Tamil Nadu. He also learnt Bharatanatyam and performed a few
gestures from it to the delight of the audience. He composed his own songs for
the stories he narrated in different languages.
In 1948, Mangudi Chidambara Bhagavatar published a monograph
in Tamil entitled ‘An Essay on Kalakshepam, which contains rare material on the
art.