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Tyagaraja Aradhana at Tiruvaiyyaru

The 155th Tyagaraja Aradhana is being celebrated at Tiruvaiyyaru. The Aradhana got off to a start on 28^th January, 2002 and will culminate with the group rendition of the Pancharatna kritis by Carnatic musicians from all parts of the globe on February 2, 2002. Several top-notch musicians travel to this small village near Tanjavur to pay their homage to this great composer every year. This year’s performances include ones by K V Narayanaswamy, O S Tyagarajan, Bombay Sisters, Madurai N Krishnan, K J Yesudas, Chitravina N Ravikiran, Kadri Gopalnath, Ganesh-Kumaresh, P Unnikrishnan, Nityasree Mahadevan and Bombay Jayasree. The concerts take place all day long, until midnight.

Swati Puraskar to T N Krishnan:

Kerala Government’s prestigious Swati Puraskar will go to veteran violinist T N Krishnan this year.

The award will be given at the Kuthira Malika Festival at Trivandrum on February 3, 2002. The Kuthira Malika Festival or Swati Sangeetolsavam, which is an annual event is already underway, having started on January 27^th. The festival is being held at Kuthira Malika, Fort, Tiruvanantapuram and will be on till February 2^nd. It is however being extended by a day for the award ceremony. The Kuthira Malika festival features an interesting array of veterans and youngsters like Prof. V V Subramanyam, T V Gopalakrishnan, T V Sankaranarayanan, Ajoy Chakraborthy, Aswati Tirunal Rama Varma, Baby Sriram and Kaushiki Chakraborthy.

From 2003 onwards, the festival dates will be advanced to about a week between 6^th and January 2003, to accommodate music lovers and artistes visiting India from abroad. 

Exclusive music course on Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi’s compositions:

The International Foundation for Carnatic Music (IFCM) and Hamsadhwani will jointly conduct a special weekend course on Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi’s compositions. Chitravina N Ravikiran will conduct these master classes.

One of the greatest ever composers in Indian music, Oothukkadu Venkata Kavi (also referred to as Oottukkadu Venkatasubbayyar) is said to have lived between 1700-65. Venkata Kavi was a great lyricist and also a musician of high calibre, as is evident from his works, which span a wide range of musical forms from Kriti-s to Kavadi Chindu-s both in Tamil and Sanskrit.

The course will include Venkata Kavi’s Saptaratna Kritis, Navavarana Kritis and various other masterpieces, many of which have come to light only in the last few decades.

The details of the workshop are as follows: 

• Date: Feb 9th - March 3rd, 2002.

• Timings: 5 pm - 7 pm (Saturdays and Sundays only).

• Venue: T-54C, Elliots Beach Road (near Cozee Resturant), Besant Nagar, Chennai 600090.

• Fees: Rs 500/- for the entire course or Rs 75/- per session.

• Payment: By cash or cheque upon registration.

The course is open to: 

• Middle and Advanced level students and musicians

• Vocalists and Instrumentalists

• Professionals and Amateurs 

For further details, contact:

Phone numbers: 451 1133, 491 5555, 466 0408
Email: carnaticworld@yahoo.com 

There will also be special weekday individual or group courses at Palavakkam and Alwarpet. Those interested in weekday classes may also contact the above numbers. 

Posted on January 31st, 2002