Months of planning goes into the Ramanavami music season and some 25 organisations are meticulously working on their lists, particularly the pairing of artistes.
“We try to match the musical personas for that special blend,” says S.N. Varadaraj of Chamarajpet Ramaseva Mandali. “We have people calling us to know who the accompanying mridangists are. It actually matters for serious connoisseurs. Once we had the names of the senior mridangists available, we thought we might as well pair them to suit the main artistes' qualities of presentation.” So crowd puller K.J. Yesudas would be alongside Tiruvarur Bhakthavatsalam for their magnetic personalities, Yella Venkateshwar Rao's soft touches will suit the soothing notes of Shashank's flute and the stringed riffs from Vishwamohan Bhatt and G.J.R. Krishnan will jell well with each other.
The traditional gaiety of Mysore Nagaraj and Manjunath melds excellently with some masterly touches from the legendary Karaikudi Mani, and the unpretentious Malladi Brothers' vidwat would be showcased with the unassuming pace of K.V. Prasad.
V. Tarakaram of Seshadripuram Ramaseva Samithi says their opening acts on April 12 are with an interesting pair of nadaswara players, Palanivel and Prabhavathi Palanivel. Their pioneering exercises continue later with the saxophone artistes Lavanya and Subbulakshmi. “These women are setting examples of female lung power. Earlier, these were the preserve of men,” says Mr. Tarakaram.
At the Kaaranji Sreerama Seva Samithi Trust at Basavanagudi, the Sapta Vadhya Vybhava on April 12 will have a blend of veena, gottuvadya, flute, mridanga, ghata, morching and khanjira by 14 musicians coming together.
The Vani Education Centre's music and dance at Basveshwaranagar is a veritable list of Carnatic, Hindustani, religious discourses, Yakshagana and dance programmes.
“We have a special place for Karnataka's talents, and have also sieved child artistes having the right potential,” says Mattur Lakshmi Keshava, the man behind the 22-day cultural fest, on till April 25.
