As fitness freaks across the world gear up to observe ‘International Yoga Day’ on June 21, renowned Tamil film music director Bharadwaj and musicologist Pramila Gurumurthy have come together to give a musical twist to the event in Vedapuri, Theni district.
“Ms. Gurumurthy, an exponent of Harikatha, will make a presentation on a theme after which our troupe will present a song composed specially for the occasion,” said Mr. Bharadwaj, on the event which be held at the Dakshinamurthy temple attached to the Omkarananda Ashraman in Theni town.
Mr. Bharadwaj will also sing a few songs, while Ms. Gurumurthy’s presentation will be a combination of speech and music.
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Since Hindus worship the deity Dakshinamurthi as a “guru”, the event is titled ‘Guru Arulum Thiru Arulum’.
“On the theme ‘Guru’, I plan to sing a few lines from the popular Thyagaraja composition, Guruleka etuvanti, in Gowrimanohari raga and explain the concept. The music troupe will render a different song in Tamil,” Ms. Gurumurthy said, adding that other concepts to be dealt with include Fatherhood, Yoga, Nadam, Omkaram and Madurai, which is one of the spiritual centres for Saivites.
Asked whether he has composed these songs based on Carnatic ragas, Mr. Bharadwaj said they were devotional songs set to light music.
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“When I say devotional songs, they may not bear any resemblance to the numbers rendered by Sirkazhi Govindarajan or T.M. Soundararajan. They will be modern and on the lines of Krishna Ganam, a joint effort by Kannadasan and M.S. Viswanathan,” he said.
The initiative, according to Ms. Gurumurthy, seeks to take Chennai’s Sabha-centric music to other parts of the State.
“But we will certainly present the concept in Chennai also,” she said.
While Bharadwaj will sing a few songs, Pramila Gurumurthy’s presentation will be a blend of speech and music.