If winter is synonymous with music in south Chennai, summer is the season to promote music and classical arts in north Chennai. ‘Vadachennaiyil Isai Vizha', a five-day music festival opened on Monday at the Sri Sayee Vivekananda Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Kodungaiyur.
Being held for the ninth consecutive year, the music festival aims at increasing the appreciation of music among residents and also serve as a platform to young talent.
The School's correspondent, T. S. Thiyagarajan, said the patronage for the music fest has been on the rise in the past few years. “Last December, we also conducted a month-long Margazhi Vizha,” he added.
Inaugurating the festival, R. Krishnaswami, secretary of Narada Gana Sabha, recalled his association with the north Chennai music festival since its inception. “We decided to support the initiative as it aimed at introducing the concept of music festival in north Chennai,” he said.
Pointing out that north Chennai was a hub of music festivals about 50 years ago, he said as people began migrating to southern parts of the city, several music organisations were established. The concept of annual music fests has not caught up in north Chennai as there are only a few organisations here.
Mr.Krishnaswami also presented certificate to T.Ramgopal, a student of Sri Sayee Vivekananda Vidyalaya who performed during the inaugural ceremony.
V.Ramnarayan, Editor-in-Chief of Sruti magazine, appreciated the efforts of the school in sustaining the music festivals for nine years. The inaugural ceremony was followed by the performance of carnatic musician N.Vijay Siva. Among the many enthusiastic music rasikas was B.Chandran, a resident of the area, who said that the music fest was a boon to people of Kodungaiyur who otherwise have to travel long distance to listen to such musicians.
