THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There are music exponents who feel that Swathi Thirunal has not got the acclaim that he deserves. Some of them come together to spruce up ‘Swathi Swaraga Mahotsavam’, a three-day festival dedicated to his compositions. The festival hosted by Vailoppilli Samskruthi Bhavan will be inaugurated by Minister for Culture K C Joseph. Vailoppilli Samskruthi Bhavan member secretary Balu Kiriyath said that, even to this day, Swathi Thirunal’s works do not get much recognition outside Kerala. Though there have been Swathi festivals before, none have been as elaborate as the one starting on Wednesday morning, according to festival coordinator K Omanakutty. “Around 500 artists are part of the festival. All of them are from Kerala. This is one of the key differences when compared to other such festivals. In those festivals, most of the artists would be from outside the state,” she said, addressing a conference at Press Club.
One of the events in the festival, ‘Akhandaswathikrithi Alapanam’ brings together 125 children to perform.
In the eighties, there have been controversies surrounding some of Swathi Thirunal’s works. A seminar attempts to lay to rest the questions related to these on Thursday morning. Centre for Performing Arts Honorary Director V S Sharma and Kerala University Centre for Bioinformatics Honorary Director Achuth Shankar will be speaking at the seminar.
The concerts begin on Wednesday morning. The inaugural function will be held in the evening. K Muraleedharan MLA will preside over. Vailoppilli Samskruthi Bhavan Vice Chairman Anil Pachooran and State Institute of Languages Director M R Thampan will be present. The concluding function on Friday will involve bringing together 300 artists for Swathi Pancharathnalapanam, an event modelled after a similar event at Thyagaraja Festival, at Thiruvaiyar.
A musician par excellence