The Hindu : New Delhi News : Veena Navarathri soon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 07, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Veena Navarathri soon

Staff Reporter

To begin in Chennai from September 11

NEW DELHI: The Veena Foundation and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in Delhi in association with Narada Gana Sabha, Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Kartik Fine Arts and Thyagaraja Vidwat Sabha in Chennai are jointly organising the first “Veena Navarathri” in Chennai from September 11 to 19.

The festival will feature over 30 distinguished veena artistes and accompanists in concert tradition. Along with Padmavathy Ananthagopalan, who will be performing at the inaugural ceremony on September 11, a number of other maestros are also slated to take part in the festival.

The festival is part of IGNCA’s programme to explore the artistic manifestation emanating from primary human awareness of the world through the sense of sight and sound. In the world of music, the stringed veena has been a complete and leading instrument that represents the confluence of the musical and spiritual traditions. It has been said to be the quintessential symbol of the science of musical sounds and the Indic philosophy of tranquillity and peace.

The Veena Foundation, established in October 2005, has already held veena festivals and seminars in Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Delhi. According to the Foundation, the Veena Festival in Chennai will be a unique and momentous celebration of the musical resonance of India.

For its cultural archives, IGNCA will receive at the festival compact discs, photographs and a few books on the veena tradition. It will also document the entire festival to enhance its cultural archives and build a data base for future reference and study. There will also be an exhibition of photographs of contemporary veena artists and of leading veena maestros of yore in the festival.

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