You know you have arrived at the Cleveland Aradhana when you see a few hundred Kanjeevaram saree clad women and paavada clad girls parading through a downtown Cleveland, which in normal times sees students in torn jeans and funky T shirts.
I was thrilled to be invited to perform at Cleveland this year, not just because of the brand value of the festival , but because despite it being a 33 year old festival- one of the oldest in the US, it still retains a warm, family atmosphere.

I reached Cleveland 2 days before the festival was to begin, in order to rehearse with Kalyanasundaram sir’s group of dancers, who I was to sing for, in addition to my concert. I was picked up at the airport by ‘Roger’ Natarajan - one of the organizers of the Aradhana, after a little bit of hide-and-seek, considering neither of us knew what the other looked like!

The Comfort Inn, where all the artistes and a large section of the audience stay, is synonymous with the Aradhana. As I stepped in, sure enough, there was Cleveland Balu’s (another of the key people behind the Aradhana) ever smiling face to welcome the weary traveler. Sundaram sir was down with a sore throat, so his usual words of welcome were replaced with a wide grin!

The banquet hall at the Comfort Inn doubles up as the rehearsal space for dance groups, and occasionally a curious hotel employee or American guest peeps for a glimpse of Indian culture. All artistes report very punctually for meals, with the buffet line manned by the ‘mamis’ of the aradhana committee, who are generous with their helpings and their smiles! To see Mannargudi Easwaran waiting patiently in line, in discussion with an eager young mridangam enthusiast is so endearing.

The weather was surprisingly pleasant and sunny, as opposed to last year’s copious rain and blustery winds, so the short walk from the Comfort Inn to the concert venue was refreshing. The Sri Rajarajeshwari school’s dance presentation, directed by Kalyansundaram sir was well attended. As the second half of the performance was dedicated to G N Balasubramaniam, I had a chance to sing a few of his compositions and favourites as well.

The Pancharatna rendition is always a much awaited part of the Aradhana, and it is heartening to see people pouring in from every part of the United States to be part of this opening weekend at the Festival.

With musical heavyweights like Trichur Ramachandran, Sudha Ragunathan, Charumathi Ramachandran, Guruvayur Dorai and Mannargudi Easwaran among others, there were camera moments galore. The presence of Radha Vishwanathan (MS Amma’s daughter) added a touch of nostalgia to the festivities. The music competitions also take place during the opening weekend. Kids from all over the US pour in to participate, and the classical music competition is conducted in several categories, including, surprisingly – whistling!

An interesting feature of this year’s Aradhana was the dedication of the festival to GNB, and the introduction of several features of academic interest. Sudha Ragunathan’s concert was preceded by clippings from a documentary film on the life of GNB. Also many of the main concerts were preceded by an elucidation on the main raga of the concert, with a demonstration by Nadaswaram vidwan Injikkudi Subramaniam, highlighting the GNB bani.

As I would walk from the elevator to my room at the end of the hallway at Comfort Inn, I would hear strains of various ragas floating in from various rooms. Trichur Brothers perfecting their Kharaharapriya, Carnatica Brothers putting final touches to their Ardhanareeshwaram, Gayathri Venkatraghavan rehearsing the Purvi Kalyani varnam with dancer Kirti Ramgopal…I must admit I would linger on in the hallways for several minutes just soaking in the music. Truly for me this was the most enriching part of the Aradhana.

My concert was at 8:00 am on a Monday morning, and I was apprehensive about whether I would have any audience at all, but was pleasantly surprised at the number of rasikas who attended. Following my concert was a hasty departure as I had a flight to catch. As I handed over the keys of my room to the hotel desk and mulled over the week past, the lines from Hotel California ran through my head “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave…”