Pallavi Darbar , a unique festival dedicated to the art of Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi singing, is all set to take place between August 3 and 5 at the Mylapore Fine Arts Club auditorium. This event, organised by Carnatica, in association with Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, has received an overwhelming response from music lovers for the last two years. The three-day event is intended to make the art of pallavi singing and its inherent challenges familiar to the audience and to encourage creativity in this musical form. Reckoned as the ultimate challenge to a Carnatic musician’s creativity, “on the spot pallavi singing” will be the highlight of the festival. This year, Pallavi exponent J. Venkatraman will be honoured with the title Pallavi Chakravarthy . There is also a special lecture demonstration on the intricacies of Pallavi construction by J. Venkatraman. The festival will feature a mix of popular and young artistes ranging from Bangalore T. S. Satyavati, Sangeetha Sivakumar, Abhishek Raghuram, Palghat Sriram to Bharat Sundar, Ramakrishnan Murthy and Vishnudev Namboodiri.
Pallavi puzzle
In the past, royal court musicians used to challenge one another with pallavis that were akin to riddles. On similar lines, a ‘pallavi puzzle’ testing the Carnatic IQ of musicians will be conducted at the festival. Groups of 2-3 members are allowed to participate. There is no entry fee for participants and registrations will be open till 11 a.m. on the August 5. Registrations can also be emailed to carnaticapallavi@gmail.com. The contest is a measure of one’s ability to decode a pallavi on the spot and answer relevant questions on it. Winners will be awarded cash prizes of Rs.5,001 for the first place, Rs. 2,500 and Rs.1,000 for the second and third place, respectively. This contest will take place in the presence of experts, Suguna Purushothaman and J. Venkatraman.
Pallavi bank
K. N. Shashikiran, Founder Trustee of Carnatica said that a pallavi bank will be launched and remain as a repository of pallavis. Professional musicians, students of Carnatic music and connoisseurs can contribute recordings of known and new pallavis with the notation and mail it to carnaticapallavi@gmail.com. The creator of the best new pallavi lines shall be awarded a cash prize of Rs. 5,000. Contributors from across the world can send in their entries. Vocalist S. Sowmya, another Founder Trustee says that this festival shall serve as an ideal treat for pallavi buffs, music students and connoisseurs of music. Entry for this festival is open to all.
SCHEDULE
Aug 3
5.00 pm – Inauguration - Honouring and Felicitation of J. Venkatraman. Guest of Honour, Suguna Purushottaman, V.V. Sundaram.
5.30 pm – T.S. Satyavathy, Charulatha Ramanujam, H.S. Sudhindra
7.15 pm – Bharat Sundar & Ramakrishnan Murthy, Nagai Sriram, Trivandrum V.Balaji
Aug 4
4.00 pm – J. Venkatraman – Lecture Demonstration
5.30 pm – Palaghat Sreeram, Nagai Sriram, Trivandrum V.Balaji
7.15 pm – Sangeetha Sivakumar, R. Hemalatha, Kallidaikurichi Sivakumar
Aug 5
4.00 pm – Carnatic IQ - Pallavi puzzle - Suguna Purushottaman & J. Venkatraman - Judges
5.30 pm – Vishnudev Namboodiri, Trivandrum N. Sampath, Palakkad A.M. Harinarayanan
7.15 pm – Abhishek Raghuram, Mysore Srikanth, Anantha R. Krishnan
