The 62nd anniversary celebrations and the music and arts festival at Sri Sathguru Sangeetha Samajam was inaugurated by J. Charukesi, Postmaster General of Southern Region, on Monday.
In her inaugural address, Ms.Charukesi said one of the most important things about Carnatic music was that it was spiritual in content. “Carnatic music is purely devotional, dripping with ‘bhakthi’. All the compositions are made out of the love the composers have for God. While listening to Carnatic music, the performer and the singer unite in their thoughts where they think only about God,” she said.
Ms.Charukesi also defined Carnatic music as a major cornerstone unique to Hindu culture.
“Carnatic music also keeps alive the guru-sishya tradition. People who attend Carnatic music concerts should appreciate the nuances displayed by the artists and should look at the freshness of their renditions,” she added.
Shobana Ramachandran, president of Sri Sathguru Sangeetha Samajam, said listening to religious discourse developed tolerance. “People who listen to religious discourses become more tolerant and they will be able to live in harmony,” she said.
At the inauguration, U.VE. Karunakarachariar Swami, a presenter of religious discourses for more than four decades, was conferred with “Madhurakala Praveena” title and violin vidwan D. Sachidanandan was conferred with “Madhurakala Mani” title. They were presented medals and cash awards of Rs.25,000 and Rs.15,000 respectively.
Tambura artiste G.S. Lengaram was given a cash award of Rs.10,000.
Later, Karunakarachariar Swami delivered a discourse on Vedas.
According to the organisers, popular artistes such as Nithyasree Mahadevan, Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Bombay Jayashri Ramnath, Gayathri Venkataraghavan, Sudha Raghunathan and T.M. Krishna will present concerts at Lakshmi Sundaram Hall till February 12.
