The 75th annual Sri Thyagaraja festival of music and dance got off to a colourful start at the Mahati auditorium here on Thursday. The diamond jubilee year festival coincides with the 251st Jayanti (birth anniversary) of saint Sri Thyagaraja.
Swami Shanmukhananda from Uttarkashi, who was present, hailed Sri Thyagaraja as a “god-gifted artist” who gained divine acceptance by rendering his kritis. “Telugu people have a greater role in perpetuating his legacy, as it was from the Telugu land that he migrated to Tiruvaiyaru in Tamil Nadu. In fact, the music lovers of Tirupati can take a major step in this direction”, he said.
TUDA Chairman G. Narasimha Yadav hailed the festival committee for its efforts in propagating the classical music heritage for 75 years and offered all support on his behalf in the form of timely plan and building approvals. The trust's executive chairman K.V. Ranganathan renewed his appeal for donations for the construction of the ₹8 crore auditorium in place of the now-demolished structure at Sri Thyagaraja Mandapam.
