The week-long ‘Sri Tyagaraja Swamy Aradhana Sangeetotsavam’ concluded here last week. It was conducted on the lines of the one organised at Tiruvarur.
The seven-day music festival was conducted by inviting musicians and music lovers from all over the country, by the Sri Tyagaraja Cultural Association at Sri Tyagaraja Swamy Auditorium in Lakshmipuram.
The festivities were formally inaugurated on January 30 by Commissioner of Customs Central Excise & Service Tax C.P. Rao.
Highly energetic performance by V. Aparna from Bangalore, accompanied by Peravali Nandakumar on the violin, B. Suresh Babu on the mridangam, and Bhusurapalli Venkateshwarulu on the ghatam, gave the right start.
On ‘Pushya Bahula Panchami’, the day saint Tyagaraja attained ‘Nirvana’, people woke up to a traditional ‘mangala vadyam’, comprising ‘nadaswaram’ and ‘dolu’.
Processional deities of Lord Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman, along with that of Tyagaraja, were decorated with flowers and taken in a procession on a palanquin. Many prominent and up-and-coming musicians and music lovers participated in the procession that was taken out in Lakshmipuram.
Sri Tyagaraja ‘Pancha Ratnas’ were rendered by musicians. Vocal concert by an up-and-coming artiste Ravikanth, a disciple of Malladi Suribabu, from Vijayawada delighted the audience. He was accompanied by P. Nageswara Rao on the violin and B Suresh Babu on the mridangam on January 31.
A melodious performance by Sumithra Vasudevan from Chennai enthralled the audience on the third day. She was accompanied by B.V. Durgabhavani, S. Hanumantha Rao on the mridangam and Bhusurapalli on the ghatam.
Mohan Santhanam mesmerised music lovers on the fourth day. He was accompanied by M. Satyanarayana Sarma on the violin. Kamala Ramani’s vocal concert regaled the crowd on February 3, with P. Jayabhaskar accompanying on the mridangam and S. Hanumantha Rao on the ghatam.
Rithvik Raja from Chennai, who was accompanied on the violin by P. Dinakar, M.L.N. Raju on the mridangam, and M. Haribabu on the ghatam, also mesmerised the audience.
Apart from the main concerts, mini concerts of 15 minutes each were conducted during the day. The best of the local performers and their gurus were honoured on the last day of the festival.
The festival concluded with a ‘Harikatha’ titled ‘Sri Tyagaraja Charitra’ by Sri Simhachala Sastry Bhagavatar, recipient of the Sangeeta Nataka Academy Puraskar, who was accompanied by M. Nagadhara Rao on the mridangam and P. Nageswara Rao.
