ONGOLE: The precincts of the Thyagaraja Mandiram here will reverberate with some fine Carnatic music during the Thyagaraja Aradhana festival.
Budding artists and veteran musicians will pay homage to the legendary saint-composer, the great son of the soil, whose ancestors were from a remote Kakarla village near Cumbum in Prakasam district.
Yedirkola seva
The festival will begin on Saturday with the ‘Yedirkola seva’ to Lord Rama and His consort Sitadevi, says Thyagaraja Mandiram managing trustee P. Ramachandramurthy.
It was in praise of Lord Rama the doyen of the Carnatic music had composed a large number of compositions in Telugu, he said.
Sitarama Kalyanam will be performed on Sunday, when a large number of singers from Chennai, including Sunil R. Gargeyan and V. Swati (both vocal), G.V. Surya (mandolin), R. Swati Sri (violin), Kishore (mridangam), V.V. Srinivasa Rao (violin) and I. Pinakapani(mridangam) will give music concerts in spells, he says.
The festival will also see rendition of the famous ‘Pancharatna’ kritis composed by the saint-composer on Pushya Bahula Panchami of the lunar calendar, when he attained ‘samadhi’ in 1847, which this year falls on Monday.
A grand Nagarotsavam will be organised on Monday from Thyagaraja Kutir to Thyagaraja Mandiram marked by singing of the famous kritis, he said.
It may be noted that Shyama Sastri, the third in Carnatic music trinity, also hailed from Cumbum. Their ancestors had migrated to Thanjavur in search of greener pastures, thanks to the patronage extended to reputed artistes by the Marathas of the Bhonsle dynasty, who ruled Thanjavur principality (in present Tamil Nadu) between 17th and 19th centuries.
