While the 158th Aradhana of Saint Thyagaraja was held at Thiruvaiyyaru recently, the 28th
Cleveland Aradhana of Saint Thyagaraja got off to a fiery(!) start on 26 March. (Yes, fiery, more info
on this in the following paras).
On the dot at 7 am Seshampatti Sivalingam gave the festival a sacred start with his nadaswaram
recital. He played a ragamaalika in kalpanaswara, which enthralled the morning audience. His
nadaswaram was a contrast to the icy weather outside the Cleveland University auditorium.
Thereafter the local children performed bhajans.
The ghana raga pancharathnas of saint Thyagaraja brought Thiruvaiyaru nearer home. N. Ramani
was there, with his 'Chethulara' (bhairavi). He also rendered Guruleka eduvanti and then followed the
saint's composition on lord Vinayaka - Sri ganapathim.
The pancharathnas followed. However, after the fourth rathna, namely Kanakana ruchira in varali,
while Cleveland Sundaram the main organizer was in the midst of his welcome / thanks giving
remarks, the fire alarm drove the audience and the artistes away from the auditorium, which turned
empty in a matter of seconds. They had to rush out into the chilly morning (though officially the
spring has arrived) braving the zero degree Celsius weather. It was discovered later that a child had
inadvertently pulled a plug, causing the alarm!
After an interval of twenty minutes the fifth rathna Entharo mahanubavulu was rendered. Many of the
well-known, popular, top artistes from India were on the dais rendering the five gems of the saint.
They included Vedavalli, Sudha Raghunathan, Aruna Sayeeram, Sanjay Subramaniam, AKC Natarajan, Sashikiran, Akkarai Subbalakshmi, RK Sriramkumar, Nagai Muralidaran, Sikkil Gurucharan, Gayathri Venkatraghavan, Vellore Ramabhadran, Thanjavur Murugaboopathy, Adayar Laksmanan, Veenai Vekatraman and Rohan Krishnamurthy among others.
A surprise on the dais was the inimitable H. Ramakrishnan (TV journalist, vocalist cum
percussionist), almost a permanent figure at Thiruvaiyaru. He was seen playing on the mridangam
and on the kanjira, adding richness to the Pancharathnas. Mridangist Srimushnam V. Rajarao was the master of ceremonies, coordinating the rendering of the pancharathnas. Soon after, the individual singing by the registered artistes (mostly local children)
went on till noon.
Dr.N. Ramani and AKC Natarajan the flute-clarionet duo gave a scintillating performance in the
afternoon reminding one of their performance in Sribhairavi Gana Sabha in Chennai during the past
three years.
Aruna Sayeerams' concert naturally drew a packed house. Her Ragam Thanam Pallavi in Bhairavi,
'Nambi kettavar' of Papanasam Sivan in Hindolam and a few other Tamil songs gave a nostalgic
touch to the Cleveland audience.
Comfort Inn - a mini Chennai
Almost all the Indian artistes who have arrived in Cleveland for the Thyagaraja festival are put up at the Comfort Inn, which is a stone's throw from the Cleveland State University's' concert hall.
During breakfast at the lounge, one can see the 'who is who' of Carnatic music - vocalists,
instrumentalists, critics and of course the media personnel from Jaya TV which is covering the
entire ten-day programme.
This year, AKC Natarajan receives the 'Sangeetha Rathnakara', Prof. Mysore V Ramarathnam
receives 'Sangeetha Kala Saagaram', senior dancer Padma Subrahmanyam receives 'Nrithya
Rathnakara', Dr. Rodeick Knight of Ohio receives 'Kala Seva Mani' and Houston based dancer
Rathna Kumar receives 'Nrithya Seva Mani' titles.
The Mayor of Cleveland city had designated March 26 - April 3, 2005 as Saint Thyagaraja music
festival days. This year's Aradhana is dedicated to the memory of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and
MS Subbulakshmi.
On the inaugural day (March 26) breakfast and lunch were served free to all the artistes and the
rasikas. Elaborate arrangements had been made for the smooth conduct of the musical homage to
the saint. The Cleveland State University had extended its support to make the festival a success.
CDs, cassettes, DVDs and books on Carnatic music were on sale in different stalls at the lounge.
A few music journals and their back issues were also available for sale. One stall was dealing with
real estates - for those who are interested in buying apartments in Chennai! Another stall was
selling typical Mylapore items - bindis, bangles, temple jewellery, tulasi madams, pictures of
deities etc.
According to the organizers, the spadework on the festival commenced six months ahead. Allotting
the concert slots, drawing up the schedule, arranging visas and tickets for the artistes, providing
accommodation for them, arranging sponsorships and deploying volunteers - all these require a
massive effort. This Herculean task was managed by Sundaram, Venkatraman and Balu - the
mummoorthis at Cleveland!
Priya Ramakrishnan & Kannan Bakthavatsalam, who have written this article can be contacted atbkanna@hotmail.comand piyaramakrishnan@yahoo.co.in
If you took part at the Cleveland Aradhana or just went to see it, share your experiences with us.
Mail us at editor@kutcheribuzz.com
Click here to read experiences shared by participants and rasikas at the Cleveland Aradhana.
