Unadulterated by forms of music brought in by invading rulers from Turkey, Persia and Afghanistan, Carnatic music has retained its religious form, traditional nature and cultural purity, Governor Banwarilal Purohit said here on Tuesday.
Speaking after inaugurating the 171st aradhana of Saint Tyagaraja at his samadhi in Tiruvaiyaru on the banks of the Cauvery river, Mr. Purohit noted that Carnatic music was based on a “complex and structured arrangement”.
“The special elements in Carnatic music have been the devotional element and the spiritual content of its rendering, which makes it unique and divine,” he said.
Recalling his association with G.K. Moopanar, the late Congress leader and former president of the Sri Thyagabrahma Mahotsava Sabha, which has been facilitating the conduct of the aradhana every year, Mr. Purohit said that under Mr. Moopanar’s guidance, the Sabha had facilitated the tradition of Carnatic music being handed over from generation to generation in its pristine glory.
Former Union Minister G.K. Vasan, Collector A. Annadurai, president of the Sabha G.R. Moopanar, acclaimed Carnatic musicians and artistes were among the dignitaries present at the occasion.
Music concerts are scheduled till Saturday, when the actual aradhana will be held on the occasion of the Pushya Bahula Panchami when the saint attained mahasamadhi in 1847.
