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When the concert resumes, in a touching gesture, that is vintage Sudha, she sings a Kalki Krishnamurthi composition “Kaatrinilee varum geetham”. This was an obvious favorite with the audience. The concert ends with a Tamil viruttam “Abhirami andadi” in ragamalika, the last raga of which leads to the final thillana in Suruti.
The hospitality at the Cleveland festival is something else again. Committee members from the president down ask everyone “chaaptela?” Their tone expresses a cheerful blend of concern and solicitousness. This is their festival and they want to make sure all the guests are cared for. Visitors and attendees also play host. Perfect strangers come up and offer food, beverages and any form of help one may need. Realizing that it was Sunday and I needed a phone card, a charming young lady sends her husband with a phone card for me to use to call India. Several others stop by and ask if we need anything. Another local family become good friends by the end of the first day. I made the mistake of asking directions to the grocery store. The next day they came with a bag full of apples, pears and bananas that I had wanted as well as a jar of homemade yoghurt. There are folks who help me with the technical problems I am experiencing with transmission of pictures to India. They spend hours with me and take great joy when they solve the problem.
This is one of the secrets for the success of the festival. No. I don’t mean just the food, which is delicious. What becomes clear quickly is that everyone who comes here feels proprietary. It is their festival and they take part and help. This mood is quite infectious. I find myself helping strangers too. Lovely little interactions catch my eye all day. Two jean and sweatshirt clad teens are leaning against the wall in a corridor in animated discussion. Closer proximity reveals them to be in conversation about kaala pramanams in pallavi singing. A shy young admirer gingerly approaches Sudha Raghunathan. “I remember you,” says Sudha to the 14 year old girl. “You sang Devagandhari in the competition last year.” The girl’s face turns pink with surprise and pride. Watch the prize-winning youngsters applaud each other with joy as each name is called out. They have all been together for three days and have become friends. Perhaps this camaraderie will stand them in good stead, as some of them will surely turn professional in the years to come.
But the festival continues for another seven days until next Sunday. But some will leave today to return on Friday. Others who have come from distant places will only come back next year. The festival will take on a new texture on Monday. Shankar Ramachandran
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The auditorium begins to fill up early in the morning. For today is the first big Sunday of the festival. By
8.30 am there are few seats to be had. Cleveland Aradhana attendees follow their time-honored tradition of using winter coats to “bag” their seats. Even on a warm, sunny day you will see folks walk in with several coats to hold seats for family and friends. The surprising thing is that everyone respects this tradition. I can think of several cities where you would lose your seat and your coat!
There is another reason for this early influx. Sudha Raghunathan, of course! The committee secretary apologizes. They had announced the concert at
8.30 to be sure everyone would get there by 9 am. Being Sudha’s concert everyone was in his or her seat by
8.25 am. When the concert began at 9 am, not only were all the seats taken, the doorways, aisles and balconies were
full of listeners. The crowd loves her concert and there is a rustle of excitement as she begins each new piece. R.K. Sriramkumar on the violin, Neyveli Skandasubramaniam on the mridangam, and R. Raman on the morsing make up the rest of this talent assembled on the stage. There is a brief ceremony toward the end of the concert to release a CD by Sri. P.S. Narayanaswami and his disciples. The first CDs were received by Sudha Raghunathan and by Seetha Ravi (Kalki Editor).
Soon it is time for lunch. Pizzas have been arranged and are available in the dining area. Many families have also brought their own picnic lunches. They congregate in little groups here and there in the lobby. Several families can be seen having tailgate parties in the parking lots.
There are people who come each year from other cities as volunteers. Roger and Jaya Natarajan are here from Chicago. They have been festival fixtures for over a decade. They help ensure that the guests at the hotel
get lunch and dinner. I skipped lunch one day. Jaya noticed and chided me. She made sure I got a warm smile and a bigger helping at dinner.
The Sunday evening program is the only ticketed event at this festival. Alarmel Valli presents a full program to the packed theater. The lobby is full of people early on talking animatedly. Eventually they have to be asked to go in. After Valli’s sparkling and energetic performance every one seems to pause in the lobby and foyer again. Many have to leave and get back to work and to school on Monday. Old friends and new, stand around chatting and no one seems to want to go home. No one is ready for the weekend to be over.
