This evening, the antique stone pillars of the Kalyana Mandapam inside Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple will reverberate with the tunes of a hundred Veenas. The stage is ready for the annual mass concert conducted as part of the Navaratri celebrations. Amateur Veena artistes, music teachers and students will turn up in the bests of silk and gold, get seated in neatly arranged rows and string up their Veenas to make some mellifluous music for over 5,000 people in attendance. Every Vijayadasami Day, for the past 16 years, it has been a routine for both the Veena players and the audiences to immerse themselves in a two-hour musical feast at the ‘108 Veenai Vazhipadu’ organised by the Madurai Veenai Vazhipaatu Mandram.
It all started at the turn of the Century when Orthopaedic Surgeon and music lover Dr. A. Chinnadurai, founder president of the Mandram, ideated weekly Veena concerts at the Saraswathi Sannadhi inside the temple in the year 2000. “I was enchanted by Veena even as a child and have a special fascination for the instrument,” he says. “It was an impulsive thought that struck me to have a regular concert every Friday.” Ever since, the Mandram has not forgone a single Friday. Rain or shine, the Mandram facilitates an artiste to reach the Temple and play the Veena in time for the evening Puja. “Later, we coordinated with all the music colleges and more people evinced interest in taking part. Today, our calendar is full and we find it difficult to accommodate more artistes.”
Inspired by the success of the weekly programme, Chinnadurai took a step further and arranged for the 108 mass Veena concert. “Our goal was to promote local talent and Veena. Youths these days tend to take up guitar or Piano and our native instruments like the Veena and Mrudangam are neglected,” he says. Over the years, the mega event has become a part and parcel of the temple festivities, apart from being a platform for young budding Veena players to showcase their talent.
For accomplished teachers of music, some of whom also head institutions in the city, it is a privilege to lead the concert from the front row. For the learners, it is an opportunity to exhibit their skills. Many artistes consider it a blessing and a matter of emotional oneness with the divine to be playing the Veena at the mega event.
“It’s a soul-stirring experience to play the Veena in the purview of the all powerful Goddess,” says Dr. S. Mallika, Principal and Coordinator, Rani Lady Meiyammai Achi Tamil Music College of Tamil Isai Sangam, who has been a regular player at the concert. “I haven’t missed a single year and yet each time, I feel as if I am playing at the concert for the first time.” The music college sends around 50 students each year for the programme.
“We start preparing and practising for the concert three months before Navaratri. It’s not an easy task to bring more than hundred players to unison. Even if a single note goes awry, it will spoil the harmony,” says music teacher Ananthi Poornachandran, who takes 20-odd students every year to play the veena. “We zero in on 15 songs to be played in the given time. Though majority of the songs are in Tamil, we also include Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada Keerthans and Bhajans. It is imperative to have a Thevaram hymn, some songs in praise of Goddess Meenakshi, Saraswathi and Lakshmi. We also follow the concert tradition of starting and ending the entire event in the ‘Mangala Raga,” says S. Vidhya, who runs Sri Kalakshetram music school.
“There’s a marked difference between playing the Veena in a small group in the class and playing along with hundred more artists. It has an aura of it’s own,” says J.R. Deepika, a student who will be performing for the fifth time this year. For homemakers P.A.B.Srilakshmi and B. Senthil Selvi, taking part in the concert is more like a pilgrimage. “To sing to the Goddess is more like a sacred Yatra. We do it with as much devotion,” says Senthil Selvi. For R. Siva Sankari from Paramakudi, it is all about self- transformation. “Three years ago, I was among the audience and had no clue about Veena. Today is my second time on the stage,” she says in elation.
Every passing year, the crowd on and off the stage is only growing in number. “Though it is called ‘108 Veenai Vazhipadu’, we have always got a minimum of 120 players. Once, it crossed 250 and we fell short of space. This year, we expect around 150 participants,” says Chinnadurai. “The concert has become famous and now attracts Veena players from all over the State, as far as Chennai, Pondicherry, Tiruvarur and Thanjavur. We hope to continue the legacy with the grace of Goddess Meenakshi.”
