Annamacharya jayanthi fest in Utah, USA
By Deepti Navaratna

On April 12, 2008, the snow-claden mountains of Salt Lake City in USA woke up to the warm strains of Sankeerthanas on the occasion of Annamacharya’s 600th Jayanthi Utsavam at Ganesha Temple of Utah.
The morning began with local artistes offering their tribute to Annamacharya, followed by a concert by Ashok Ramani, Guruvayur Dorai and Deepa Ramachandran.

In a string of short performances that showcased the talents of eminent local artistes, several popular kritis, as well as, rare Annamacharya compositions were sung by Sunitha Avasarala, Deepti Navaratna, Sudha Velamuri, Subba Laxmi Sriram, Vijay Jonnavittula, Aravind Mokkarala, Swarna Pokala, Hima Bindu Pagidimarri and children.

In the post-lunch session, Ashok Ramani enthralled audiences to a Carnatic music concert with the prominent compositions of Annamacharya such as, Nanati Baduku Natakamu (Revathi), Okapari Okapari vayyaramu (Kharaharapriya) and well-known favourites such as Vande Vasudevam (Sriraaga) and Muddugare Yashoda (Kurinji).
Blessed with an agile voice and an expansive manodharma, Ramani kept the audience in rapture with his inimitable music.

He was ably supported by Guruvayur Dorai, one of India's senior-most exponents of the Mridangam, who treated the music enthusiasts to a scintillating tani-avartanam in the latter part of the concert. Deepa Ramachandran, who is a resident of Salt Lake City accompanied the senior artistes with great grace.

This was followed by a short concert by Vikram P. Sundararaman, a disciple of vidwan T.K. Govinda Rao. Blessed with a resonant voice and a fertile imagination, Vikram took listeners through a journey that captured the lyrical intensity and melodic nuances of Annamacharya compositions. He was accompanied by Swaminathan on the Mridangam and Deepa Ramachandran on the violin.

A complimentary DVD consisting of 1008 Annamacharya keerthana audio songs compiled by Ramesh Babu Naraparaju was distributed to rasikas, as an effort to spread the musical message of Annamacharya’s compositions.
In a truly collective effort, the programme was organised by Dev Avasarala with the support of friends and family, including Chittoor Ramachandran, SGHTU (Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah), ICC (India Culture Center), IFU (India Forum of Utah), UTS (Utah Tamil Sangham) and SLC Kannada Koota.

You can contact the author of this report at - navaratna.deepti@gmail.com