CHENNAI: Celebrating two decades of musical journey, Chennai Fine Arts set up 55 concerts over 11 days with 200 artistes. Inaugurating the festival, Umayalpuram K Sivaraman heaped praise on mridangam player Yella Venkateswara Rao for his contributions to Carnatic music over six decades. Vijaya Thayanban, member secretary, Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram presented the Gotuvadyam Narayana Iyengar International Award for Excellence.
A purse of Rs 1 lakh, a gold medal and the title Digvijaya Nadavani was given. This was followed by a concert by Hyderabad Brothers to the support of TKV Ramanujacharlu, Rao, and Tirpunithura Radhakrishnan.