| ||||
| Swathi Sangeetotsavam By Ramanathan Iyer / Thiruvananthapuram |   | |||
The ambience never fails to leave one breathless, even if one has had the pleasure of attending numerous concerts here before. Something ethereal seems to permeate the very air itself. The musicians as well as the audience seem to be equally affected by it. This year the festival commenced with a concert by Sanjay Subrahmanian. The second day featured the organiser and young singer Aswathi Tirunal Rama Varma. The concert featuring Parur M.S. Anantharaman, M.A. Sundareswaran and M.A. Krishnaswami, accompanied by Prof. Trichy Shankaran from Toronto was a rare treat for those of us in Kerala who don't get a chance to go to Madras for the Music Season in December. M.S. Anantharaman made a touching speech at the beginning of the concert informing the crowd how the Parur family owed a lot to the Travancore Royal Family...and how his father, the legendary Parur Sundaram Iyer used to eat at the Oottupura of Shri Padmanabhaswami Temple some eight decades ago. The fest also featured the duo Ranjini and Gayathri and Bombay Jayashree. The most eagerly awaited concert of the series was the Jugalbandi by doyens Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna and Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty. Balamuralikrishna made a speech at the beginning pointing out that they were highlighting the similarities between North Indian and South Indian Classical Music.....and not the differences. The listeners, whose numbers keep increasing in amazing proportions year after year enjoyed the fest to their fill. Another year... another festival. I can easily say that this was one of the most unique music festivals that I have ever had the privilege of being a part of. All the concerts are being telecast almost in their entirety from 6 am to 7pm on the Kairali Television Channel, with commendable camerawork. One cannot digest the fact that the public gets to listen to such sterling concerts entirely free of cost. I have already started to count the days till the 6th of January 2004 for the next festival...to feast on the 'Music of The Gods'... Contact, Ph: 0484-215273, e-mail:atrvarma@hotmail.com |
||||
