At the ninth edition of Nada Namana, a musical event in memory of Ramachandra Yavagal, on Sunday, Hindustani vocalist Vinayak Torvi will be honoured.
The annual concert that began over two decades ago in Hubballi, at tabla artiste Ravindra Yavagal’s house on a small scale to honour his father has steadily grown bigger over the years. In 2006, Sri Rama Kala Vedike was formed, and the events have since been organised by the trust.
“In the first year, we had Gangubai Hangal and Hariprasad Chaurasia decide that they wanted to treat the audience to a duet,” recalls the All India Radio artiste. “Along with them, we also honoured my guru Sheshigiri Hanagal.”
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt is another artiste of renown who has been given the platform. “For all these artistes, people come in large numbers, and sometimes, the auditorium is overflowing,” he says.
However, the Vedike wants to do more than just give connoisseurs concerts by popular names: it wants to also become a platform for up and coming talents as well as feature child artistes. “But the turnout for these performances is often disheartening,” says the 55-year-old.
While Nada Namana strives to strike a balance between these three categories, the trust’s Ganeshotsava and Shivaratri events focuses more on nurturing the less established artistes. For the fourth annual event, the tabla artiste tries to feature a rare instrument -- the sarangi, jaltarang and rudra veena.
For a few years, Nada Namana was an all-nighter. “Ravindra Kalakshetra is the ideal venue for a programme like that,” he says. Not only is it conveniently located, but also has ample parking space. “But somehow, it’s not being given for musical events anymore.”
In addition to the Kalashrunga award, five scholarships of `3,000 each will be conferred on promising students from economically challenged backgrounds to help them pursue music.
The inspiration
Ramachandra Yavagal was born in Hubballi into a family that wasn’t too well to do. He had a fascination for music they would often find him in one of the only shops nearby that played gramophone records. For this, he was often admonished at home. People would show him films because, once he heard the songs, he could reproduce them later to the last note. But, to survive, he had to set his love for music aside. However, later, when he noticed that his young son played rhythmic accompaniment on kitchen dabbas, he recognised his talent and ensured Ravindra got all the opportunities that had evaded the senior Yavagal.