Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s annual cultural festival began here on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the festival, Jennifer McIntyre, Consul General of the US Consulate General, recalled that it was with the Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan that her country began to collaborate when it wanted to establish educational and cultural ties with India. She said the American Corner in Bangalore was a partnership between the American Library, US Consulate General, Chennai, and the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. She also distributed Sri P Obul Reddy and (late) P Gnanambal Memorial Awards to vocalist Padmashri Aruna Sairam and violin-duo Ganesh-Kumaresh.
The award carries a medal, citation and a purse of Rs 1 lakh. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, which is celebrating its platinum jubilee year and the 125th birth anniversary of its founder K M Munshi, also honoured Nadaswara vidwan Seshampatti Sivalingam, make-up artist K Sethumadhavan, tambura artiste R Lakshminarayanan and flautist Sruthi Sagar.
The festival will feature performances by artistes such as Nityashri Mahadevan and Sudha Raghunathan, among others.