Tribute to Thyagaraja
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The recitals contributed grandeur to the fete as a whole.
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Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
THE `PANCHARATNA kriti seva' rendered with devotional fervour by about 250 artistes of all categories on the `pushya bahula panchami' after the puja and `vunchavritti' procession, marked the 158th `aaradhana mahotsavam' of Thyagaraja organised by the local Thyagaraja Aaradhana Trust.
Then followed a scintillating `nadaswaram' recital, by Gurivilli Appanna, with the excellent support on dolu (tavil) by his brother, Durga Rao. While the first day witnessed 34 recitals, each of 10 minutes duration, mostly vocal, which were interspersed with a few recitals on the `veena', violin, flute and `nadaswaram'; all rendered by junior artistes incessantly till 4.30 in the evening .
Thereafter, there were five recitals of 15 minutes duration each by senior artistes till 6 p.m., followed by seven recitals, each of 30 minutes by veterans till 9.30 p.m.
Listless show
The same pattern followed on the next two days also, except, that the 10 minutes recitals started at 8 a.m, accommodating about a dozen more junior artistes on each day. Thus, the juniors including the accompanying artistes were about 450 in all. The rest of the recitals by seniors created an enthralling fervour and contributed grandeur to the fete as a whole. But not even one fifth of the juniors appeared deserving to be given a place even on the `aaradhana' platform.
Popular fete
Nevertheless, thanks to the stupendous zeal of the trust president, CSN Raju, and his comrades, the fete has come to stay as a popularly prestigious cultural event in the port city for more than a decade by now in `Kalabharathi' which houses a small, but elegant looking `mandir' of the `Vaggeyakara' in its premises.
A befitting tribute, it has been indeed to the memory of Susarla Surya Bhagavath Sankara Sastry who spent more than three decades of his retired life collecting money and secured the present site for the Thyagaraja Nilayam Trust, which he founded.
He agreed to rename it as Visakha Music and Dance Academy Trust and handed it over to a team of dedicated trustees headed by CSN Raju, as his advancing age was going much against his ambition of constructing a concert hall with a temple for Thyagaraja in its precincts.
A. RAMALINGA SASTRY
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Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
