The music concert series organised by Naada Inbam on 4th December featured a vocal recital by Sindhu Das. The sriraga varnam "Saamininey" gave a good start followed by "Namami Vigna Vinayaga" in Hamsadwani set to Aadi tala in tisra gathi. Strict adherance to Sruthi and Paadanthara was observed through out the concert. Giripai', the composition of Thyagaraja, is a very moving piece which brings out the essence of sahana. This was very neatly presented. Kamboji was taken up as the main raga with the Deekshitar composition "Subrahmanyaya Namasthey". The artiste did full justice to the composition. "Mariverey Dikkevarayya" in Shanmukapriya by Patnam SubramanyaIyer, "Paramapurusha" in Vasantha by Swati Tirunal figured in the concert. Ragalapana could be improved by considerably bringing down the pace and giving more pauses where appropriate. Kalpana Ramani on the violin and Kalakkad Srinivasan on the mridangam helped in putting up quite a good show.

A vocal concert by Koviladi Madhva Prasad featured in the Nadopasana music festival on 4th December. The kalyani varnam "Vanajakshi" in kalyani presented in medium tempo was followed by "Nee Sariyevvarey", a composition by Thyagaraja in Gangeyabhooshani. A detailed elaboration of Pantuvarali paved way for the popular krithi "Ninna nera Nammi naanura". The well-planned ragalapana and smooth flow of swaras over the higher octaves added vigour to the performance. Swati Tirunal's "Sarasija Nabha Murarey" in thodi was the main krithi. The ragalapana and kalpana swaras were attempted with utmost ease and hitherto unheard of bhavas of thodi were brought out. "Hari gunithanamma", a composition of purandara dasa presented in Vrindavana saranga was very moving and impressive. The Violin accompaniment by Pakkala Ramdas and the mridangam accompaniment by Thirupponanthuruthi Sri Viswanathan made the concert all the more memorable. The concert could be rated as one set to a very high standard and worth appreciating.

 Nityasree is an artiste who always surpasses the expectations of her audience. Her concerts are marked by novelty in the choice of ragas and perfection to the core. The concert under the auspices of the Mylapore Arts Academy at the R.R. Sabha on 4th December was no exception. Beginning with the Begada varnam "Indha saala", she went on to sing the Thyagaraja krithi "Eranamuni nammidhinee" in Vagulabaranam. The manodharma swaras were sung with great care stressing on the nishada, which distinguishes this raga from Mayamalavagowla. Abhogi was taken up for ragalapana and the very popular composition "Sabhapathikku veru daivam" was sung with ease and effortlessness. Neraval and swaraprasthara at "Kripanidhi evarai poley" brought out the raga bhava of Abhogi quite well. Kamboji was taken up for detailed elaboration with the Thyagaraja krithi "Sree reghuvara". The other pieces presented were "Durga devi durithanivarini" in navarasakanada by muthiah bagavathar and "Sree sathya narayanam" in subhapantuvarali by Deekshithar. Kalpana Venkat on the violin proved just apt for Nithyasree with her highly commendable performance. Neyveli Skanda Subramanyam on the mridangam and Raman on the morsing gave a good show. One really looks forward to more of Nithyasree concerts this music season.

The concerts in the memory of the Late Calcutta K.S.Krishnamoorthy featured a vocal recital by Suguna Varadachari on Dec. 5th, at the Mylapore Fine Arts hall. Suguna Varadachari is quite acclaimed an artiste and her recitals are marked by a strict adherance to sampradaya. Beginning with the atana varnam "Sreenivasa", she went on to sing "Sree mooladhara vinayaga" in shree ragam, a composition by Deekshitar. "Mundey deeramudu" a composition of Thyagaraja in harikamboji was very neatly presented with the neraval and swaras at "thamasadhi gunarahithudu". A detailed exposition of the darmavathi was rich with imagination and charm. K.S.K's composition "Kavavey karuna rasa yuvathi" was sung, an apt tribute to the great musician. Thodi was the main raga with the krithi "Nannu brochudaku thamasamey" by Shyama Sasthri. The other compositions that featured in the concert were Shashi vadana (chandrajyothi), Melatheliyathey (Darbar), Thillaithanam endru sonnal (shyama). The concert was highly inspiring and a very delightful experience.

‘Culture will stand the test of time’

India’s soul resides in its music, dance and other art forms that have withstood the onslaught of foreign invasions, said State BJP State General Secretary L. Ganesan.

Speaking at the inauguration of the 25th Art Festival ’99 organised by Kartik Fine Arts in association with IOC at the Narada Gana Sabha, Ganesan said the culture of many nations have been wiped away but Indian culture will stand the test of time. He commended Sabhas for patronising art and culture, a role played by temples, schools and kings earlier. Ganesan bestowed the title ‘Isai Perioli’ on Papanasam Ashok Ramani.

Academy president T.T. Vasu bestowed the title ‘Nandanamamani’ on dancer Ananda Shankar Jayant, student of Rukmini Devi Arundale.

Semmangudi R. Srinivasa Iyer, film director K. Balachander and Rajya Sabha member Cho Ramaswamy also spoke on the occasion. Chitra Visweswaran said dance is not a physical, emotional, mental or intellectual activity, but a spiritual experience that helps one attain the truth. T.T. Vasu, General Manager (Sales) IOC K. Ramachandran and Art festival Committee Chairman L. Sabaretnam also spoke. A special music performance was rendered with 25 violins to mark the occasion.

As Reported in "The New Indian Express"