Swaralayam Arts Forum celebrates / Houston

Swaralayam Arts Forum (Houston, TX), a Texas non-profit organization promoting the education of Carnatic vocal and instrumental music completed eight years in June. It was celebrated at Amritakutiram recently, and was themed on the arts.

Tanjore paintings of deities Ganesha, Saraswati and Rajarajeshwari, and Carnatic Trinity composers - Thyagaraja, Shyama Sastry and Muthuswamy Dikshitar; a pastel artwork of the violin, and a portrait of Carnatic violin maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman artistically represented the visual arts on the studio walls.

The musical arts was presented through a Carnatic vocal concert by S. R. Janakiraman along with his team consisting of violinist Vittal Ramamurthy (a teacher at Swaralayam Arts Forum), mridangist Poovalur Srinivasan (Professor of Percussion at University of North Texas), and kanjira artiste Rekhakumary Karambithlu (teacher at Swaralayam Arts Forum). The culinary arts were represented by the lunch prepared by volunteer mothers. Manju Thangudu aptly decorated the foods, surrounding them with miniature musical instruments, dancing idols and ice-sculptures.

Swaralayam Arts Forum trains students in music and they have presented music arangetrams in Carnatic vocal, violin, veena and saxophone. For information on Swaralayam Arts Forum visit: http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/safrice/