CHENNAI: The inaugural events at the sabhas sets the stage for a month-long dance and music festival as the city awakens to the mesmerising rhythms of the month of Margazhi — up before sunrise, drawing kolams, visiting temples, listening to devotional songs and more.
On Saturday, the oldest sabha in the city, Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha transformed into a musical and dance haven. The sounds of age-old swaras and timeless ragas fill the hallowed space at Vidya Bharathi Marriage Hall. Encapsulating the hall’s energy, Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti said, “Stepping into this hall feels like entering a temple. And the deity is classical arts celebrated here.”
Held for the 124th year, special guests Nandini Azad, Nagai R Muralidharan, and Cleveland VV Sundaram graced the stage, sharing it with the awardees. Sri Ranganatha Yatheendra Maha Desikan Jeyar Swamigal from Sri Ahobila Muth presented the awards. He said, “Without Vedas, there is no music and without music, there is no Veda.”
During the celebration, The Sangeetha Kalasarathy Award was presented to Trichur V Ramachandran and mridangam maestro Srimushnam V Rajarao. “The key learning from my guru is to observe and learn. I used to attend kutcheris from 7 in the morning to 1 am. I observed, learned the techniques and bettered myself. Upcoming artistes, I request you to observe other artistes and learn,” shared V Ramachandran.
In a similar message to the budding artistes, Rajarao said, “In my time, the opportunity to sing on the radio was a huge achievement. But now, you have so many avenues to prove your talent. Make use of it.”
The other awards conferred included, Acharya Sarathy Award to Rukmini Ramani, Palghat Mani Iyer Centenary Award to mridangam vidhwan Trichur C Narendran, Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu Award to violin vidhwan TKV Ramanujacharlu, Veena Pichumani Iyer Centenary Award to veena vidhwan D Balakrishna, Gottuvadyam Narayana Iyengar Award to ‘Ghatam’ S Karthick, G Ramanathan Award to ‘Issai Mazhalai’ Ramjhi, and Dr. M.L.V. Award to Sunil R Gargyan and Kamalakiran Vinjamuri.
2024 schedule
The Sabha has planned 155 concerts across venues and 135 additional concerts in collaboration with Carnatica, a global organisation promoting and propagating Carnatic music. In 45 days, 290 programmes featuring nearly 1,000 artistes are scheduled, bringing artists and rasikas together in a common appreciation of the arts.