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The tension and excitement mounts through the morning. As the competition gets underway, children can be seen standing with their parents along the side of the large auditorium. Some are still practicing taalam. Others' lips move as they go through the songs in their head. Both mothers and daughters can be seen fidgeting nervously while waiting for their names to be called. The judges are a distinguished group including N. Ramani, P.S.Narayanaswami, R. Balasubramaniam, Suguna Purushottaman, Ramakanth Srikantan, S.Rajaram. Sanjay Subramaniam and S. Varadarajan join in for some of the sessions. The judges are armed with grading sheets and endless patience. They listen intently all day and the sessions run in two separate locations from 9.30 am until 6 pm.
There are the usual lapses in sruthi and tala that one would expect. But the children have worked hard. They sing and perform with intensity and involvement. They want to do well. They want to win. They applaud each other sincerely. The standard of music is very good for an open forum - anyone can participate by entering. Every so often there comes a beautiful surprise.
As the day progresses the advanced sessions begin. There are sessions for Alapana, Niraval and Swarakalpana. There are also 10-minute slots for the pallavi session. A young man presents a very competent Bhairavi pallavi segment in Khanda jathi Chatusra Jhampa. Just when one begins to wonder if he is simply reciting this, Sanjay Subramaniam asks him a question about the concept of Chatusra Tisram and then asks him to demonstrate. The young man executes this without hesitation. Loud applause, from the audience, follows. Similar questions are asked of each participant.
Shankar Ramachandran Also visit: Kalki @ Cleveland
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The Cleveland Aradhana 2003 kicks off its 10 day festival with the
children's competition. Families from Sacramento and San Jose in the West and New Jersey and Boston in the East begin arriving on Thursday night. They come by plane and by the mini vanload and check into local motels. They are here to congregate at the Cleveland State University campus where the festival is
being held. 180 contestants from the age group of 3 to 21 are competing this year. Boys and girls discard their jeans and
sweat-shirts for the day. Dressed in pattu pavaadais and in kurtas and churidars - a rare sight in Chennai today - and an adorable 6 year old scampers about in a dhoti, they come here to compete and perhaps through the music they attempt to retain their cultural memories and their Indian heritage.
The contestants, divided into age groups, are each given up to 5 minutes. There are also sessions for violin, veena and mridangam. Little children play intently on instruments that are larger than their tiny frames.
A tiny frame and innocent face begins to sing. With the very first phrase the audience hushes down. They know something special is coming. Sure enough it happens. Whether it is Saroja Dala Nethri by an 8-year- old, Aragimpave by a teenager from Fremont, CA, or a rare Kalyani krithi by
yet another of the California contingent, the listeners are not disappointed. Deep-throated voices flowing with gamakams and anuswarams fill the auditorium. Everyone in the hall is not a parent. These are the moments they have come for. While they all clap courteously to encourage every child, they clap with gusto for the new talent. 
The scenes in the hallways and the corridors are more interesting than the performances in the auditorium. Clusters of students are getting last minute coaching from their teachers or their parents. A child sits behind a doorway and practices on the veena, gently plucking away. Another is getting some help with shithyam and talam from Mridangam Maestro Raja Rao,, who has been a part of this festival
- for over a decade. Other children, resplendent in their silks and finery mill about and shift their weight nervously and gently sway back and forth. Boys and girls, young men and women are all enjoying this moment. This is their day at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana and there is no doubt they are enjoying this moment and want to share what they have learned.
As the sessions come to an end, the families gather themselves. The kids tuck their sruthi boxes under their arms. They all head back to their homes and their motel rooms to nervously await the judges' decisions and the awards ceremony, which will take place on the
20th of April. Surely there will be many discussions at dinner tonight about the sessions, the performances and the chances of going home with a prize. But every participant will take home fond memories and a certificate for having participated in the 2003 Cleveland Aradhana. There were no losers here today.
