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Monday April 21st 2003 - Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana

The first weekday of the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival is here. The walk from the hotel to the University Center seems longer in the face of the cold winds blowing off Lake Erie. Having given us a glorious and warm April weekend for the first few days, the weather has decided to give the visitors a taste of some cooler weather on Monday.

If you have read some of the earlier reports you must have got some idea of the variety and the scale of the Cleveland Festival. It is not possible to tell you about all the activities each day. The schedule is updated frequently at www.aradhana.org. We hope the reports here and on www.kalkionline.com/cleveland/  give you some inside glimpses and we try to capture bits and pieces of the ambience. Over 2000 attendees from all over the US were here for the first weekend. The next weekend will also be packed. But now, during the workweek, local residents, diehard aficionados, and the visiting musicians will have the festival to themselves.

A recent addition to the festival is the lecture demonstration on weekday mornings. The smaller University Center auditorium has a suitable classroom atmosphere as Smt. Raadha and some of her disciples take to the stage and present four of Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman’s compositions for Bhartanatyam along with commentary written by Sujatha Vijayaraghavan. 

“Compartmentalization of the arts in South India has lead to isolation between the art forms. This is a loss for Bharatanatyam, which requires inputs from all the performing arts to give it contemporary relevance. In this context, the compositions of Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman are a breath of fresh air.”

With a focus on this hypothesis Smt. Raadha and her disciples began their program. Two of the pieces were presented by Smt. Raadha herself and the other two by her students. The innovative, yet traditional choreography, the graceful and sensitive interpretations by her students and, of course, the music itself all came together in the Neelambari Varnam. The costumes were striking in their simplicity. Traditional silk checks in muted colors and jewelry without modern glitter capture the mood. The audience is transported to a forest glade with Lord Muruga and a peacock.

The audience, numbering over 200, included Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman himself. His daughter Vijayalaksmi was on stage to sing excerpts and illustrative phrases. It was refreshing to see so many senior musicians taking in this morning program. Here were P.S.Narayanaswami, T.K.Govinda Rao and Suguna Purushottaman.

Sri. S Rajaram was seated in the front row. Further back were Sudha Raghunathan, R.K.Sriramkumar, and K.Arunprakash avidly watching and discussing different aspects of the dance and the music among themselves. Listening closer one could hear each of them humming a little Neelambari. Many other senior musicians and several dancers were also in the auditorium. Live music or a better playback system for the music would have made a big difference. The audience, however, enjoyed the presentation.

Walking through the lobby later that day I heard music. I walked over thinking someone was playing a tape. Committee secretary V.V.Sundaram and mridangam maestro Raja Rao were standing with a few others. Nisha Rajagopal, a young vocalist, was singing “Yaaro? Ivar yaaro?” for them. No hesitation or self-consciousness showed in her manner as she sang the entire song even with other listeners close in around this group. Nisha has come from India as a guest of the Committee. I see her around, everywhere, in the role of volunteer along with other youngsters - sometimes serving food, sometimes making up guest packets. She is also giving a short concert during the week.

Not everything works like clockwork at Cleveland. The Committee faces many challenges each day. Artists cancel for health reasons or because of visa difficulties and delays. The Committee members work hard on rescheduling and recovery each day. Despite the delays the programs are adjusted to fit into the schedule. In the middle of all this activity, everyone gets fed and airport runs are made to pick up and drop off visiting artistes.

As a result of labor problems, the University electricians and sound technicians are not available this year. This forces young Kartik, son of Committee president Venkataraman, to work with other volunteers on setting up lights and sound systems for all the programs, in three different venues. He is everywhere - sometimes setting up mikes, at times moving tables, and there he is on stage playing kanjira for Sri. N. Ramani’s concert! In the midst of all this work he finds time to help me copy my photographs on to a CD so they can be transmitted.

During the course of the day one hears a short program by Anil Narasimha. This young vocalist from California is sure to be seen and heard in the next few years.

The final concert of the day is by Dr. N. Ramani, who gives a sensitive and extended presentation despite an earlier lip injury (details on www.kalkionline.com/cleveland/).

The hall is full till the end of the program. A group of children are spotted in the foyer quietly playing cards while their parents listen to the concert. This is the Cleveland Thaygaraja Aradhana 2003. There is something here for everyone.

Shankar Ramachandran

P.S. If you enjoy reading these reports and viewing the pictures, please do post your comments. It is difficult to judge the level of interest, among readers, without some feedback.