 Fringe Events |
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This section lists the fringe events that are part of the December Season in Madras. Heritage walks, photo-exhibitions, face-to-face with artistes, exclusive food stalls and more.
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 Book by Dr. M.B. Vedavalli
Maris Music Mela
Kutcheribuzz Quiz: Winners
'Krishnaveni of Kalakshetra'- Book Release
Exhibition
Focus on Tamil Heritage
Concerts at Sri Parthasarathy Temple, Triplicane
Illustrated Talk on iconic dancer Shanta Rao
KutcheriBuzz hosts Quiz on Carnatic Music
Keyboard musician Sathyanarayanan's new albums
Sumitra Nitin album on Arasi songs
Award for Radha Viswanathan; Dec.11 event
Anita Ratnam: talk and performance
'Unusual Padams and Javalis'
Interactive workshops in a Park!
Winter Dance Camp at Kalakshetra cancelled
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Book by Dr. M.B. Vedavalli
The book " Theory of Indian Music ( Sangita Sastra Sangraha - Part II )" written by Dr. M.B. Vedavalli, who retired as Professor & Head, Department of Indian Music, University of Madras, was released on Dec.31 at Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Vidya Barathi, Mylapore.
The book deals with almost all the topics which are very essential for the students of music at various levels.
Dr. Vedavalli has authored several books on music and presented several research papers. She has handled both theory of music and practical classes for about 33 years in various institutions
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Maris Music Mela
The Maris Music Mela is a Christmas Day event which was launched in 2007. Since then, the low profile Maris Hotel, a neighbour of the Chola Sheraton on Cathedral Road has hosted a day-long concert fest. Besides the maestros, it features young talent.
The team behind this effort - Prof. S. Venkateswaran (Malaysia), Mysore Nagaraj, Delhi Muthukumar, K Ram Prasad and Vijay Venkatesh. Contact - 98402 10892.
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Kutcheribuzz Quiz: Winners
'Madhavi Rajagopalan and her grandson, V. Thejas lifted the impressive rolling trophy of a miniature tambura at the first edition of the KutcheriBuzz Carnatic Music Quiz presented by Britannia Health Start and held on Christmas day in Mylapore.
The duo took turns to go at the questions in the final in which six teams featured and got ahead of the rest smoothly.
The second prize winners were Lakshmi Seshadri and Saroja Swamy while the third place was shared by teams C. Ram Ganesh and S. Manikandan and T R Aravindhan and T. M. Balaji.
42 teams took part in the written preliminary round which had 25 questions.
The quiz had direct questions, audio and video rounds and around in which Sangita Kalanidhi designate Trichy Sankaran posed questions.
The quiz was conducted by R. Revathi and Shivapriya and the prizes were provided by Britannia, Kosmik and Matsya Restaurant.
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'Krishnaveni of Kalakshetra'- Book Release
'Krishnaveni of Kalakshetra', a new book was released on December 27 at Krishna Gana Sabha. The book, edited by G. Sundari a senior Theosophist and contemporary of Rukmini Devi Arundale focuses on the late Krishnaveni Lakshmnan who was an eminent dancer and respected guru. Articles contributed by gurus, dancers and writers have been featured along with some photos. The book costs Rs.150, Mail to - muralilax@gmail.com
<< Take a look at photos shot of this event >>
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Exhibition
S. Sankaranarayana has created pencil portraits of Carnatic music maestros of the past and the present. They are on display at The Music Academy - TAG Archives Centre at the Music Academy campus.
The show is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. till Jan 1, 2012
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Focus on Tamil Heritage
At Raga Sudha Hall, Mylapore. 23 - 27 December 2011
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RAGHUNATHA-NAYAKA-KUDANDAI
Photo-taken-©-by-Swarnamalya-Ganesh |
The Tamil Heritage Trust believes that there is more to celebrate in our heritage other than music. Its team wants rasikas to also spend a few hours, learning other aspects of our heritage.
To celebrate literature, art, sculpture, temple building and dance, acknowledged experts in these fields will present talks.
Here is the schedule
23 Dec 2011 -Writer B. Jeyamohan - Kurunthokai - A gateway to Tamil Poetry Tradition
24 Dec 2011 -Prof. S. Balusamy - Arjunan Tapas - A new interpretation of Mamallapuram sculptural composition
25 Dec 2011 -Sthapathy K.P. Umapathi Acharya - Indian Sacred Art Tradition
26 Dec 2011 -Dr. Kudavayil Balasubramanian - The History and Art of Gangaikonda Cholapuram
27 Dec 2011 -Dancer Swarnamalya Ganesh - Life of Raghunatha Nayaka - An audio-visual presentation
Short Notes
Kurunthokai - A gateway to Tamil Poetry Tradition
Kurunthokai is part of the Sangam Literature Anthology, written probably around 2,000 years ago. As part of the Akam collection, these individual songs talk about love and separation. This anthology of around 400 poems contains short poems ranging from 4 to 8 lines.
Writer Jeyamohan will discuss the Tamil poetry tradition, its nuances and the imagery and how the tradition owes it primarily to Kurunthokai. He will also establish that Kurunthokai represents the epitome of Tamil poetry, and is the golden gateway to Tamil poetry.
Writer Jeyamohan, born in a Malayalam speaking family in Kanyakumari district, is one of the leading writers in Tamil.
Arjunan Tapas - A new interpretation of Mamallapuram sculptural composition
Mamallapuram is a designated World Heritage Monument by UNESCO. Built by the kings of the Pallava dynasty, it showcases, amongst several other art treasures, the most famous open-air bas-relief called Arjuna’s Penance, carved on a rock face. Overtime scholars have opined that this signifies Nagaworship, that it represents Buddhist or Jain stories, or that it is about Arjuna’s penance or Bhagiratha’s penance.
However, Prof. Balusamy contends that this whole bas-relief depicts the Himalayas as described in Vana Parva of Mahabharata. While he agrees that the penance is being performed by Arjuna to obtain Pasupathastra, he says the main purpose of the sculptors was not to depict that alone and that it was a task of much wider scope. His thesis has been published as a book in Tamil.
Prof. Balusamy is working as Professor of Tamil at Madras Christian College.
Indian Sacred Art Tradition
According to Indian thought, ideal art is a spiritual discovery, rather than a creation. Indian art is considered sacred; not merely art which happens to have sacred subjects as its theme, but inherently sacred, both in its nature and in the manner of execution. The Hindu temples are the architectural self-expression of our ancient spiritual and religious experiences.
Sthapathy Umapathy Acharya comes from atraditional Viswakarma community.
Umapathy Acharya practices temple architecture, creation of gold, silver and bronze icons of Hindu gods as well as sheet metal relief work. He has won awards from Government of Tamil Nadu and Craft Council of India.
The History and Art of Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Rajendra Chola I, the son of Rajaraja Chola I, built the great temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram to commemorate his victory at the battle of Ganges. By then he had also conquered Kadaram (parts of South East Asia).
The talk will focus on the temple’s architectural splendour, beauty of the sculptures and the bronze idols, contribution to the temple complex from later day rulers, all with the help of detailed pictures.
The historian, Dr. Kudavayil Balasubramanian was the curator of Saraswathi Mahal Library and specialises in Temple architecture, sculptures bronzes and paintings, historiography, epigraphy, manuscriptology and archaeology.
Life of Raghunatha Nayaka - An audio-visual presentation
The Nayaks were quasi-independent rulers under the Vijayanagara Empire, who ruled from Thanjavur, Madurai and Senji. Most prominent among them was Raghunatha Nayaka (1600-1630 CE). Besides a successful ruler, he was an erudite scholar proficient in several languages, a poet, composer, musician and a vainika. He wrote works such as Janaki kalyanamu, Achutanayakadbhudayamu, Sangita sudha etc.
His son Vijayaraghava Nayaka wrote a fantastic work called Raghunathabhyudayamu, a Yakshagana in Telugu. It presents the biography of RaghunathaNayaka and also vividly describes the court life, administration and the social life during the Nayak times.
Dancer and researcher Swarnamalya Ganesh will play-read extracts from this work, along with accompanying music, dance and a presentation.
Swarnamalya is currently pursuing her Ph.D in Bharatanatyam in Madras University.
Tamil Heritage Trust is at16, D’Silva Road, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004, Ph: 044-2467-1501 http://tamilheritage.in
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Concerts at Sri Parthasarathy Temple, Triplicane
Kalaachara Marumalarchi Trust has been trying to get the arts back to the temple precincts.
During the 'season' it has hosted an arts festival at Sri Parthasarathy Temple in Triplicane.
This year there are five events here - from the December 14 -18, starting after 6 p.m. Open to all..
14 December - N. Vijay Siva – vocal, R.K. Shriram Kumar – violin, N. Manoj Siva - mridangam
15 December - Udayalur Kalyanaraman - Namasankeertanam
16 December - Subbu Arumugam - Villu Pattu - Srinivasa Kalyana
17 December - Gayathri Venkataraghavan – Vocal, Mysore Srikanth – Violin, B. Sivaraman – mridangam, Nergunam Shankar - kanjira
18 December - Kalyanapuarm Aravamudhachariar - Harikatha
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Illustrated Talk on iconic dancer Shanta Rao
Reported by V R Devika
Ashoke Chatterjee will give a talk and show video clippings of 50s and 60s of iconic dancer Shanta Rao at Tagore Hall Kalakshetra at 10 am on Dec. 17th.
Ashoke Chatterjee's professional career highlights include positions with the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC, where he worked as a communications specialist. Ashoke held positions with the Indian Tourism Development Corporation, and as executive director of the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad.
He was a close friend of Shanta Rao and has written a book on her with stunning visuals shot in Mamallapuram in the 50s by Sunil Jena.
Shanta Rao was among the earliest women from non-traditional dance families to practice Bharatanatyam.
She did Gurukulavasam with Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai at Pandanallur, she was also the first woman student of Kathakali at Kerala Kalamandalam under Guru Pattikamthodi Ramunni Menon. She also learnt Mohiniattam from Guru Krishnan Panikar. By the mid-1950s, Shanta Rao had established herself as a leading exponent of Indian dance. She performed in various parts of India and several world capitals winning high acclaim. She also learnt the principles of Bhama Sutram from Venkata Chelapati Sastri to create her own style, Bhama Nrityam.
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KutcheriBuzz hosts Quiz on Carnatic Music
KutcheriBuzz is hosting a Quiz on Carnatic Music for the season.
It will be held on Dec.25 morning in Mylapore.
The venue is the Prayer Hall at Lady Sivaswamy Girls Hr Sec School, Mylapore ( Sundareswarar Street, diagonally opposite Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan).
Teams of two can participate - there is no age limit.
Check in by 9.30 am for some coffee and sit for the written prelim round.
Six teams will sit for the finals.
The winner gets a rolling trophy and goodies to take home. There are prizes for the rest in the final and goodies for 10 teams who could not make it.
R. Revathi and Sivapriya krishnan will conduct this Quiz.
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Keyboard musician Sathyanarayanan's new albums
Young keyboard musician Sathyanarayanan who plays classical music is into his 11th year of his performing career - his first concert was on the 9th December 2001.
Today, he is a busy artiste.
This 'season', he is releasing a slew of his music albums on 10th December. The event is hosted by Giri Trading in association with Brahma Gana Sabha.
It begins at 8.55 am with a concert of 'Ragamalika' and the launch is at 10.35 am.
Guests : Violin Vidwan Dr. M. Chandrasekaran, Dr. Umayalapuram K. Sivaraman, Dr. Nalli Kuppusami Chetti and A. Natarajan
Open to all.
Contact - 94443 90193 / +91 9841142427
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Sumitra Nitin album on Arasi songs
Sumitra Nitin is releasing a CD album of songs based on the compositions of Arasi ( Rajee Krishnan).
The event is on the 10th of December at 5 pm under the auspices of Nada Inbam at RagaSudha Hall, Luz.
Arasi is a well known writer of prose and poetry and she is also a composer. This is the third album based on her musical work.
Sumitra is a classical singer and Bharatanatyam dancer based in Bangalore.
This album, produced by Swathi Soft, Alwarpet, Chennai has 10 songs.
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Award for Radha Viswanathan; Dec.11 event
Brahma Gana Sabha will be celebrating the 7th.Remembrance Day of M. S. Subbulakshmi and 77th birthday of Radha Viswanathan.
This event is on 11th Dec. at 9.30 am at Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium. Luz.
On this occasion Gopalakrishna Gandhi ( former Governor of West Bengal) will present the Life Time Achievement award to Radha Viswanathan.
The function will be presided over by Nalli Kuppusami Chetti. T.K.Murthy, V. V. Sundaram and A. Natarajan will felicitate.
The function will be followed by a music concert Radha Viswanathan and her grand daughter Aiswarya accompanied by R. K.Shriramkumar, Parameswaran, Anirudh Athreya and N. Guruprasad.
Open to all.
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Anita Ratnam: talk and performance
On December 17, 2011 at 4.30pm.
Dancer-writer-scholar Anita Ratnam presents a one hour talk and performance on the many worlds and voices of Andal
Venue: Chamiers store, # 106, Chamiers Road, Chennai 600028.
Presented by Arangham Trust and Chamiers
More info at: 24311495 / 496
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'Unusual Padams and Javalis'
Bragha Bessel and Sangita Ishvaran, classical dancers are hosting a show titled 'Unusual Padams and Javalis' to mark the 84th birthday of their guru, Kalanidhi Narayanan.
The event is on Dec.7, 9.30 am onwards at Spaces, No.1, Elliots Beach in Besant Nagar ( place where late dance guru Chandraleka lived).
Call 94449 18692
<<You can enjoy pictures taken at this event here.>>
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Interactive workshops in a Park!
Ambalam, an arts company run by vocalist T. V. Ramprasadh and dancer Indira Kadambi in Chennai is hosting two days of interactive workshops and performances in Chennai.
The events will take place at the Nageswara Rao Park in Luz on Dec. 17 and 18, from 6 am to 9 am.
Admission is free but registration is required for participants.
The workshops cover Bharatanatyam, Carnatic and Hindustani music, yoga, folk arts, theatre and world music.
Indira says this unique meet is designed for artistes to interact and learn from seniors, for rasikas to get closer to various art forms and for the community to soak in in an open place like this verdant park that is in the heart of the Mylapore neighbourhood.
Call 044 – 43016555 / 8056109552 between 9.30 am - 7.30 pm and 9884823166 between 1.30pm - 7.30 pm
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Winter Dance Camp at Kalakshetra cancelled
Kalakshetra in Chennai had plans to host a Winter Dance Camp in early January 2012 at its campus.
But that camp stands cancelled now.
However a note from Kalakshetra says those who applied for this camp can resubmit the application for the Camp in 2013.
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About December Season
