Venue: Tapovan Hall, Chinmaya Heritage Centre, Harrington Road, Chetpet, Chennai – 600 031

For tickets contact +91 44 2493 9539 , +91 9380961671

The Schedule:

Dec. 16, 2012 – Sunday
6.15 p.m. – Bombay Jayashri Ramnath – Vocal, H.N. Bhaskar – Violin, Sai Giridhar – Mridangam, Anirudh Athreya – Kanjira

Dec. 22, 2012 – Saturday
6.15 p.m – Nithyashree Mahadevan – Vocal, B. Raghavendra Rao – Violin, Palladam ravi – Mridangam, H. Sivaramakrishnan – Ghatam

Dec. 23, 2012 – Sunday
6.15 p.m. – Sanjay Subrahmanyam – Vocal, S. Varadarajan – Violin, B. Harikumar – Mridangam, S. Karthik – Ghatam

Dec. 25, 2012 – Tuesday
6.15 p.m. – P. Unnikrishnan – Vocal, Vittal Ramamurthy – Violin, K. Arunprakash – Mridangam, S. Karthik – Ghatam

Dec. 29, 2012 – Saturday
6.15 p.m. – N. Vijay Siva – Vocal, R.K. sriramkumar – Violin, Trichy Sankaran – Mridangam, K.V. Gopalakrishnan – Kanjira

Dec. 30, 2012 – Sunday
5.00 p.m. – Ranjani & Gayatri – Vocal (4 Hour concert), H.N. Bhaskar – Violin, K. Arunprakash – Mridangam, K.V. Gopalakrishnan – Ghatam

Jan. 01, 2013 – Tuesday
6.15 p.m. – U. Shrinivas – mandolin, V.V. Srinivasa Rao – Violin, Bangalore V. Praveen – Mridangam, V. Selvaganesh – Kanjira, Trichy Murali – Ghatam, Srirangam Kannan – Morsing

Jan. 02, 2013 – Wednesday
6.15 p.m. – S. Sowmya – Vocal, Embar Kannan – Violin, Neyveli Narayanan – Mridangam, Anirudh Athreya – Kanjira

Jan. 06, 2013 – Sunday
5.00 p.m. – T.M. Krishna – Vocal (4 Hour Concert), R.K. Sriramkumar – Violin, Trichy Sankaran – Mridangam, B.S. Purushotham – Kanjira, N. Guruprasad – Ghatam

112th YEAR – DECEMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL  (15-12-2012 TO 2-1-2013)

At  VIDYA BHARATHI, 55, Bheemasena Garden Road,

Mylapore, Chennai – 4.  Phone : 2499 7269 / 2499 1248.

112th YEAR – DECEMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL  (15-12-2012 TO 2-1-2013 )

15-12-2012 Saturday

2.30 p.m.  Mangala Isai Nadaswaram By Periyapalayam  B. Raji & Party

3.45 p.m.  K. Sathyanarayana  ( Carnatic Key Board) – B. Ananthakrishnan – Violin, Arjun Ganesh –

                   Mrudangam,  Hariharasubramaniam – Ghatam

6.30 p.m.  Dr. PANTULA RAMA – Vocal,  M.S.N. Murthy ­– Violin,  J. Vaidyanathan – Mrudangam

                   -K.V. Gopalakrishnan – Kanjira

16-12-2012  Sunday

8.30 a.m.  Lect. Demo :  A deeper insight into the compositions of Muttusvami Dikshitar -

          By  R.K. SRIRAMKUMAR

10.00 a.m. Maharastra Abhang  Ratna  K. Ganesh Kumar & Party ;  Dr. Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman on   Mrudangam,   Presents  ‘The Blissful Divine vision of Sri Rama and Sri Krishna by Mahan Uthukadu Sri. Venkata Kavi ’.

12.30 p.m. S. Sowmyasri – Vocal,    S.V. Sudarsan –  Violin, J. Aravind – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m.  B. Vijayagopal ( Flute ) -  M.R. Gopinath –  Violin,   R. Sankaranarayanan – Mrudangam, Trichy S. Krishnaswamy – Ghatam

4.00 p.m. BOMBAY SISTERS  C. SAROJA & C. LALITHA – Vocal,  S.P. Ananthapadmanabha – Violin,  K.R.Ganesh – Mrudangam, Madipakkam Murali – Ghatam

6.30 p.m. T.V. SANKARANARAYANAN  -  Vocal,   S. Varadarajan –  Violin, K.V. Prasad –  Mrudangam,  H. Prasanna – Ghatam

17-12-2012 Monday

8.30 a.m. Lect. Demo : Chittaswaras of Subbarama Dikshitar- By Dr. R. ABIRAMASUNDARI

10.00 a.m.  S. Mahathi –  Vocal,  V.V. Ravi –  Violin, Delhi Sairam –  Mrudangam ,  B.S. Purushothaman -Kanjira 

12.30 p.m. R. Rajakokilam – Vocal,  Thirumarugal Dinesh Kumar –  Violin, Arjun Narayanan – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m.  Manasi Prasad –  Vocal,  Aditi Krishnaprakash  – Violin, Ramsriram – Mrudangam,  Suriya Subramaniam  – Kanjira

4.00 p.m. Spl .Concert – ‘Krishnaarpanam’ – songs on Lord Krishna from all over India  by Dr.   SRIRAM PARASURAM &  ANOORADHA SRIRAM  – Vocal, Mysore Srikanth – Violin , Umakant Puranik – Hormonium, Ramesh Babu – Mrudangam,  M.T. Aditya – Tabla

6.30 p.m.   S. SAKETHA RAMAN – Vocal,  Vittal Ramamurthy – Violin, Dr. Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman – Mrudangam ,  B. Srisundar kumar – Kanjira

18-12-2012 Tuesday

8.30 a.m. Lect. Demo : Focal melodic  Points in  Rakthi ragas By  Dr. S. SOWMYA 

10.00 a.m. V. Sankaranarayanan – Vocal,  Nagai Sriram – Violin,  Gowri Shankar – Mrudangam , Nerkunam Shankar – Kanjira

12.30 p.m. Sushma Somasekaran -  Vocal,  Sudha Iyer – Violin,  Sumesh Narayan – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m.  V. Deepika –  Vocal, S.V. Sudarsan – Violin,  Arjun Ganesh – Mrudangam

4.00 p.m.  R. VEDAVALLI –  Vocal, Usha Rajagopalan – Violin, K. Arun Prakash – Mrudangam , Madipakkam Murali – Ghatam

6.30 p.m. MADURAI T.N. SESHAGOPALAN – Vocal,  Dr.  M. Chandrasekaran – Violin,   Mannargudi                                                         Easwaran – Mrudangam,  B.S.Purushothaman – Kanjira

19-12-2012 Wednesday

8.30 a.m.  Lect. Demo : The concept and Realisation of ‘Rakthi’ in Carnatic & Hindustani Raga-s By

                  Dr. SRIRAM PARASURAM

10.00 a.m.  ‘Maithili Mahatmyam ’A Musicial Presentation  By  Kousalya Sivakumar  & Party

12.30 p.m. Vignesh Easwar – Vocal,   M. Vijay – Violin,  Thanjavur Praveenkumar – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m. Sandeep  Narayanan –  Vocal,  M. Rajeev – Violin,  Nirmal Narayanan – Mrudangam

4.00 p.m. SUGUNA VARADACHARI – Vocal,  Dr.R. Hemalatha  - Violin,  H.S. Sudhindra – Mrudangam, Trichy Murali – Ghatam

6.30 p.m.   MALLADI BROTHERS  -  Vocal, TKV Ramanujacharyulu – Violin,  Lakshminarayana Raju –   Mrudangam , Udipi Sridhar – Ghatam

20-12-2012 Thursday

8.30 a.m. Lect. Demo : Musicology and its importance By Dr. B.M. SUNDARAM

10.00 a.m. Nirmala Rajasekar ( Veena ) – Nagai Sriram – Violin,  Thanjavur Murugaboopathy – Mrudangam,  S.V. Ramani – Ghatam

12.30 p.m. Dr. Sanjay Subramaniam – Vocal,  Mysore Sangeetha – Violin,   Nellai Srikrishnan – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m. Bharat Sundar –  Vocal, M. Rajeev – Violin,  Trivandrum Balaji – Mrudangam,  K.V. Gopalakrishnan  - Kanjira

4.00 p.m. RAMA RAVI – Vocal,  Nandita Ravi ( Vocal Support)  – Charulatha Ramanujam –  Violin, Sai Giridhar –  Mrudangam , B.S. Purushothaman – Kanjira

6.30 p.m. SUDHA RAGHUNATHAN – Vocal,  B. Raghavendra Rao – Violin,  Palladam Ravi -  Mrudangam , R. Raman – Morsing

21-12-2012 Friday

8.30 a.m. Lect. Demo : Contribution of  Ramaswami Sivan and Mahavaidyanatha Sivan -

                By  Dr. RAJSHRI RAMAKRISHNA

10.00 a.m. Mambalam Sisters – Vocal,   Dr. R. Hemalatha –  Violin, Dr. K. Ashok – Mrudangam , K.S. Rangachari – Kanjira

6.30 p.m. DR. K.J. YESUDAS –  Vocal, S.R.Mahadeva Sharma – Violin,  B. Harikumar -  Mrudangam , Vaikom Gopalakrishnan – Ghatam

22-12-2012 Saturday

8.30 a.m. Lect. Demo : Metamorphosis of a Musician – Sangeetha Payanam By

                  Neyveli R. SANTHANAGOPALAN

10.00 a.m. R. Suryaprakash –  Vocal,  R.K. Sriram Kumar – Violin,  Thiruvarur Bhakthavatsalam – Mrudangam , Anirudh Athreya – Kanjira

12.30 p.m. Bhargavi ( Chitra Veena ) – Gokul– Violin, T.R.S.  Manikandan – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m. Rithvik Raja – Vocal,  M. Vijay  – Violin, Thanjavur Praveen Kumar – Mrudangam , G.Chandrasekara Sharma – Ghatam

4.00 p.m.  Prof. T.N. KRISHNAN, VIJI KRISHNAN & SRIRAM KRISHNAN  (Violin Trio) – Rohan Krishnamurthy -  Mrudangam , Tripunitura Radhakrishnan – Ghatam

6.30 p.m.  Dr. S. SOWMYA –  Vocal,  Embar Kannan – Violin,   Poongulam Subramaniam– Mrudangam , K.V. Gopalakrishnan – Kanjira

23-12-2012 Sunday

8.30 a.m. Lect. Demo : A new trend in singing  Raga alapana – A suggestion  ByProf. S.R.                                        JANAKIRAMAN

9.30 a.m. Conferring the Title ‘ Sangeetha Kalaratna’  on Smt. SUGUNA PURUSHOTHAMAN By

                   Dr. Nalli Kuppuswamy Chetti – Sri. Mohan Parasaran – Presides.

10.15 a.m. Maharajapuram Ramachandran – Vocal,   M.A. Krishnaswamy –  Violin, Mannargudi Easwaran – Mrudangam

12.30 p.m. Raghav Krishna –  Vocal,  Parur Ananthakrishnan – Violin,  R. Ramkumar – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m.  Jayashree Vaidyanathan – Vocal,   Priya Hariharan – Violin,  Manikudi Chandrasekaran – Mrudangam

4.00 p.m. Carnatica Brothers  K. N. SHASHIKIRAN & P. GANESH –  Vocal, M.A. Sundareswaran – Violin,  K.V.Prasad – Mrudangam , Srisundar Kumar – Kanjira

6.30 p.m.  PRIYA SISTERS –  Vocal,  M.A. Krishnaswamy –  Violin, Neyveli Skandasubramanian – Mrudangam , B.S.Purushothaman – Kanjira                      

24-12-2012  Monday

8.30 a.m.  Lect. Demo.  Technique of singing Alankaras in various Gathis – TRICHY J. VENKATRAMAN

10.00 a.m. Sangeetha Swaminathan – Vocal,  B. Ananthakrishnan – Violin,  Delhi Sairam – Mrudangam , Nanganallur Swaminathan – Ghatam

12.30 p.m. Maalavika –  Vocal,  Thirumarugal Dinesh Kumar – Violin,   R. Ramkumar – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m. Sumithra Vasudev - Vocal,  Karaikal Venkatasubramaniam – Violin,  K.V.Gopalakrishnan – Mrudangam

4.00 p.m.  R.K. SRIKANTAN – Vocal,  R. Ramakanth -  Vocal Support – Dr. M. Chandrasekaran – Violin,  Srimushnam Rajarao – Mrudangam , Coimbatore Mohanram – Ghatam

6.30 p.m.  Chitraveena N. RAVIKIRAN – Akkarai Subbalakshmi- Violin,   Haridwaramangalam A. K. Palanivel ( Spl. Thavil ) – Giridhar Uduppa – Ghatam

25-12-2012 Tuesday

8.30 a.m. Lect. Demo : Varnas in Pratimadhyama ragas By  Dr. PREMEELA GURUMURTHY

10.00 a.m. Sangeetha UpanyasamBy VISAKHA HARI ,  on   “ Gajendra Moksham” - Trivandrum Sampath – Violin, B.  Ganapapthy Raman –  Mrudangam , Trichy Murali – Ghatam

12.30 p.m. Nivedita Narayanan –  Vocal, V. Murali Pavithran – Violin,  Ramsriram – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m. B. Suchitra & S. Saindhavi ( Katha Kutcheri ) –  Kalyani Shankar – Violin, B.  Ganapathy Raman – Mrudangam

4.00 p.m. HYDERABAD BROTHERS –  Vocal, Nagai Sriram –  Violin, K.V. Prasad – Mrudangam , Madipapkkam Murali – Ghatam

6.30 p.m.SIKKIL C. GURUCHARAN – Vocal,  TKV Ramanujacharyulu – Violin,  Dr. Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman – Mrudangam,  Giridhar Uduppa – Ghatam

26-12-2012  Wednesday

8.30 a.m. Lect. Demo : Evolution of the musical form – Kriti   By  Dr. M.A. BHAGEERATHI

10.00 a.m. Spl. Concert on familiar Tamil CompositionsBy Sriranjani Santhanagopalan – Vocal,Mysore Srikanth –  Violin, B. Ganapathy Raman – Mrudangam , B.S. Purushothaman – Kanjira

12.30 p.m.  K. Subiksha – Vocal,  V. Murali Pavithran  – Violin,  Trivandrum N. Hariharan – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m. Kirnavali Vidyashankar –  Vocal,  Attithi krishnaprakash – Violin,   Sridhar Chari – Mrudangam

4.00 p.m.  Shertallay Dr. K.N. RENGANATHA SHARMA – Vocal,  Trivandrum N. Sampath –  Violin, Shertallay   R.  Ananthakrishnan – Mrudangam

6.30 p.m. ABISHEK RAGHURAM –  Vocal,  Akkarai Subbalakshmi –  Violin,  Anantha R. Krishnan – Mrudangam – Vazapally Krishnakumar – Ghatam

27-12-2012  Thursday

8.30 a.m. Lect. Demo :  Contribution of Neelakanta Sivan By Dr. LAKSHMI PODHUVAL

10.00 a.m.  Dr. Ghatam KARTHICK’s  “HEARTBEAT ENSEMBLE”  Dr.S. Karthick – Ghatam,  Konnakol and Vocal;  U.P.Raju – Mandolin ; H.N.Bhaskar – Violin ; N.Ramakrishnan – Mridhangam ;  Aniruddh Athreya – Kanjira ;  R.Raman – Morsing;  N.Sundar – Tabla ; Sarvesh Karthick – Djembe ; V.Rajagopalan – Percussion Effects

12.30 p.m. Aishwarya Srinivas –  Vocal, Shradha Ravindran – Violin,Madurai B. Sundar – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m. Ramakrishna Murthy –  Vocal,  M. Vijay – Violin,  S.J. Arjun Ganesh – Mrudangam , H.Prasanna – Ghatam

4.00 p.m. GEETHA KRISHNAMURTHY ( Veena ) – Kuzhalmannam Ramakrishnan – Mrudangam , Papanasam Sethuraman- Kanjira

6.30 p.m. GAYATHRI VENKATRAGHAVAN – Vocal,  Charumathi Raghuraman – Violin,  Manoj Siva –  Mrudangam , Chandrasekara Sharma – Ghatam

28-12-2012 Friday

8.30 a.m. Lect. Demo : ‘Dvitala Avadhana’ and Method of presenting them By  SUGUNA                                           PURUSHOTHAMAN

10.00 a.m. Namasankeerthanam  By  Udayalur Kalyanarama Bhagavathar & Party

12.30 p.m. T.V.K. Vikaasa Ramdas ( Mandolin ) – Kaushik Rajagopal – Mrudangam , S.Sunilkumar – Kanjira

2.00 p.m.  Vishnudev Nambodri –  Vocal, R. Satishkumar – Violin,  Erode Nagaraj – Mrudangam

4.00 p.m.    RAJEE GOPALAKRISHNAN –  Vocal, Sandhya Srinath – Violin,  B. Ganapathy Raman – Mrudangam , Nanganallur Swaminathan – Ghatam

6.30 p.m. P. UNNIKRISHNAN  -  Vocal, S. Varadarajan –  Violin, B. Harikumar –  Mrudangam , Alathur Rajaganesh – Kanjira

29-12-2012  Saturday

8.30 a.m.    Lect. Demo : Compositions of Ponnaiya Pillai – Dr. R.S. JAYALAKSHMI

10.00 a.m. T.M. Krishna – Vocal,  T.K.V. Ramanujacharyalu –  Violin, Guru Kaaraikkudi Mani –  Mrudangam ,  N. Amrit – Kanjira

12.30 p.m.  S.R. Mytreyi – Vocal,   S.V. Sudarsan – Violin,  Umayalpuram Bairav –  Mrudangam

2.00 p.m. Tiruvarur S. Girish  –  Vocal,  Vittal Ramamurthy – Violin,  Poovalur Sriji – Mrudangam , E.M. Subramaniam – Ghatam

4.00 p.m.  M.S. SHEELA –  Vocal,  Nalina Mohan –  Violin, H.S.  Sudhindra – Mrudangam , H.Prasanna - Ghatam

6.30 p.m.  Dr. KADRI GOPALNATH – Saxophone & PANDIT  RONU MUJAMDAR –  Flute – Hindustani

A. Kanyakumari – Violin, B. Harikumar – Mridangam, Viswanathan Nakod – Tabla

B. Rajashekar – Morsing

30-12-2012 Sunday

8.30 a.m. Lect. Demo : Structure of Pallavi and its varieties –  ByDr. M.B. VEDAVALLI

10.00 a.m. ” Aditya Hrudayam – Surya Bhagavan Mahimai ” Sublime Observation by Sri. T.A. Srinidhi Swami, Musicial Presentation by Vasundara Rajagopal – Joshna Srikanth –  Violin, Nellai Balaji – Mrudangam  

12.30 p.m. Varsha Raman –  Vocal,  Mysore Sangeetha–Violin, Varun Viswanathan – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m. K. Gayathri – Vocal,  M. Rajeev – Violin,  R. Sankaranarayanan  –  Mrudangam , Surya Subramaniam   - Kanjira

4.00 p.m. O.S. THYAGARAJAN – Vocal,   Mysore Srikanth – Violin,  Trichy Shankaran –  Mrudangam , E.M. Subramaniam – Ghatam

6.30 p.m. SANJAY SUBRAMANIAN –  Vocal,  S. Varadarajan – Violin, Srimushnam V. Rajarao – Mrudangam , Trichy Murali – Ghatam

31-12-2012 Monday

8.30 a.m.     Lect. Demo : Manodharma Sangeetham- By  Dr. NEDUNURI KRISHNAMURTHY

10.00 a.m. V.K.  Manimaran – Vocal,  M.A. Sundareswaran – Violin,  Mellakkaveri Balaji –  Mrudangam , Papanasam Seethuraman – Kanjira

12.30 p.m.  Vikram Raghavan -   Vocal, Aditi Krishnaprakash –  Violin, Akshay Ananthapadmanabhan – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m.  Trichur Brothers  ( Srikrishna Mohan & Ramkumar Mohan )  –  Vocal, Mullaivasal G. Chandramouli – Violin, Trichur R. Mohan –  Mrudangam , Nerkunnam Shankar – Kanjira

4.00 p.m. Neyveli R. SANTHANAGOPALAN – Vocal,   Nagai Muralidharan – Violin, Mannarkoil Balaji – Mrudangam,  Vaikom Gopalakrishnan – Ghatam

6.30 p.m. Bhajan SandhyaBy O.S. ARUN – Karaikal Venkatasubramaniam  – Violin,  K.V. Prasad – Mrudangam,   Ganapathy & Kiran  ( Tabla ) – Krishnan (Hormonium)  – Kalaiselvam ( Thalam )

1-1-2013 Tuesday

8.30 a.m.  ‘Violin Ensemble ’ By Carva C.A. Rajasekar & Disciples

10.00 a.m.  Ramji’s Isai Mazhalai presents  “Sastriyamum Cinimavum”

12.30 p.m. Sindhu Natarajan  – Vocal,  Kovai Chandran – Violin,  Charan – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m.  Trichy Pradeep Kumar – Vocal,  B. Ananthakrishnan – Violin,   Praveen Kumar – Mrudangam

4.00 p.m. RAJESH VAIDYA ( Veena ) –  Mohan Ram –  Mrudangam,  Chandrajit – Tabla ,   Paramasivan – Kanjira,   S. Karthick  – Ghatam.

6.30 p.m. NITHYASHREE MAHADEVAN – Vocal,  B. Raghavendra Rao – Violin,  I. Sivakumar-  Mrudangam , Alathur Rajaganesh – Kanjira

2-1-2013  Wednesday

10.00 a.m. Nisha Rajagopal – Vocal,  B.U. Ganesh Prasad –  Violin, Manoj Siva –  Mrudangam , N. Guruprasad – Ghatam

12.30 p.m. Dr. Sudharshan Padmanabhan –  Vocal,  Sivagami Narayanan –  Violin,  Ammangudi S.Ramanarayanan – Mrudangam

2.00 p.m. Bharathi Ramasubban –  Vocal, Akkarai Swarnalatha –  Violin, B. Ganapathy Raman – Mrudangam

4.00 p.m.  Dr. R. GANESH – Vocal,  Kalyani Shankar – Violin,  Madipakkam Suresh – Mrudangam , A.S. Krishnan -Morsing

6.30 p.m.  PAPANASAM ASHOK RAMANI – Vocal,   R.K. Sriramkumar-  Violin,  Mannargudi Easwaran –  Mrudangam , Srisundarkumar – Kanjira

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1-1-2013 Tuesday At Triplicane

8.00 a.m.  Pasurams on ThiruvengadamudayanBy Jayanthi Rangarajan – S. V Sudarsan – Violin,   Manakkal Sriram – Mrudangam

10.00 a.m. “Sri Srinivasa Kalyanam”Upanyasam by Velukudi Sri. Krishnan Swamigal

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DONATION PASSES  :  5,000/-  3,000/-  1500/- 750/- at Venue from  1-12-2012

DAILY DONATION PASSES ; Rs. 500/ 200/- , and 100/-

Admission Free for 8.30 a.m., 10.00 a.m., 12.30 p.m. and 2.00 p.m.

Limited Free Seats available for 4.00 p.m. concerts

Ph:28264493 Mob: 9840072821

18th FINE ARTS FESTIVAL

7-12-2012 to 6-1-2013

At Infosys Hall, Ramakrishna Mission School Campus,

31, Krishna Street, T.Nagar, Chennai – 600 017

(opp. to Joyalukkas and adjacent to Shah showroom)

Inauguration on 7th December 2012(Friday) at 5.30 p.m.

MUDHRA AWARD OF EXCELLENCE to

Padma Bhushan Sri P.S.Narayanaswami

(Outstanding Musician, Guru & Composer)

Presented in memory of Late Sri.P.Obul Reddy and Smt.P.Gananamba by

Mr. P.Vijayakumar Reddy and Mrs. Preetha Reddy

7th Dec 2012 Friday
4.00 p.m.
Mangala Isai
Adyar D. Balasubramaniam –Nadaswaram
P.V.Dakshinamurthy & D.Senthil Kumar – Tavil

5.30 p.m.
Inauguration
7th Dec 2012 Friday
7.00 p.m.
Flute- Mandolin Concert
B.V.Balasai – Flute
U.P.Raju – Mandolin
Trichy B.Harikumar– Mridangam
Udupi Sridhar – Ghatam
8th Dec 2012 Saturday
6.15 p.m.
Palghat Dr.Ramprasad – Vocal
R.K.Shriram Kumar – Violin
Tanjore Murugaboopathy – Mridangam
Trichy Krishnaswami – Ghatam
9th Dec 2012
Sunday
6.15 p.m.
S.Mahathi – Vocal
Usha Rajagopal – Violin
M.S.Varadan – Mridangam
Adambakkam Shankar – Ghatam
10th Dec 2012
Monday
6.15 p.m.
S.Saketharaman –Vocal
Akkarai Subbulakshmi – Violin
Neyveli Venkatesh – Mridangam
Trichy Murali – Ghatam
11th Dec 2012
Tuesday
6.15 p.m.
A.Kanyakumari & Embar Kannan –Violin Duet
Bangalore Praveen – Mridangam
Giridhar Udupa – Ghatam
12th Dec 2012
Wednesday
6.15 p.m.
Kadalur Gopi Bhagavathar’s
Thyagara Charitram
13th Dec.2012
Thursday
6.15 p.m.
Violin-Venu-Veena
H.K.Venkatram (Violin)
G.Ravikiran (Venu)
Ashwin Anand (Veena)
H.S.Sudhindra – Mridangam
Trivandram Rajagopal – Kanjira
14th Dec.2012
Friday
6.15 p.m.
Ghatam Karthick’s Heart Beat Ensemble
Dr. S. Karthick – Ghatam, Konnakol & Vocal
U.P. Raju – Mandolin
H.N. Bhaskar – Violin
Prapancham Ravindran – Mridangam
Papanasam Sethuraman – Kanjira
R. Raman – Morsing
N. Sundar – Tabla Sarvesh Karthick – Djembe V.Rajagopalan – Percussion effects

15th Dec 2012 Saturday
6.15 p.m.
Jairaj & Jayashree – Veena Duet
Mudhra Bhaskar – Mridangam
Madipakkam Murali – Ghatam
16th Dec 2012
Sunday
6.15 p.m.
SAPTHA RATHNANGAL – A Thematic presentation by Dr. Radha Bhaskar with Vasuda Ravi, K.P.Nandini, Aishwarya Shankar & Dikshitha -Vocal
Anayampatti Venkatasubramaniam – Violin
Nellai Balaji – Mridangam
S.Krishna – Ghatam

17th Dec 2012 Monday
6.15 p.m. Papanasam Ashok Ramani – Vocal
M.R.Gopinath – Violin
Tiruvarur Vaidhyanathan – Mridangam
N.Guruprasad – Ghatam
18th Dec 2012
Tuesday
6.15 p.m.
Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna – Vocal
B.U.Ganesh Prasad – Violin
Neyveli Narayanan – Mridangam
Dr.S.Karthick – Ghatam
19th Dec 2012
Wednesday
6.15 p.m.
Srikrishna & Ramkumar (Trichur Brothers) – Vocal V.V.Ravi – Violin Trichur Mohan – Mridangam
S.V.Ramani – Ghatam
20th Dec 2012
Thursday
6.15 p.m.
Madurai T.N.S.Krishna – Vocal
S.Varadarajan – Violin
R.Ramesh – Mridangam
H.Sivaramakrishnan – Ghatam
21st Dec 2012
Friday
6.15 p.m.
K.N.Shashikiran & Ganesh (Carnatica Brothers) – Vocal M.A.Sunderasan – Violin
Srimushanam Raja Rao – Mridangam
K.V.Gopalakrishnan – Kanjira
22nd Dec 2012
Saturday
6.15 p.m.
Namasankeerthanam
by Udayalur Kalyanaraman
23.12.2012 – FROM 9 A.M. TO 4.30 P.M.- TALENT PROMOTION CONCERTS
23rd Dec 2012
Sunday
9 .00 a.m.
Theme: Compositions of Mysore Vasudevachar
Aparna Kumar – Shraddha Ravindran – K.Parthasarathy

10.15 a.m.
Theme : Compositions of Papanasam Sivan
Nishant Thiagarajan(SIFAS) – Melakkaveri Thiagarajan– Thirucheri Kaushik Rajagopal

11.30 a.m.
Theme : Compositions on Lord Vishnu
Manasa Suresh – M.P.Aditya –Uzhavoor P.K.Babu

12.45 p.m.
Theme: Sri Gurubhyo Namah
R.P.Shravan –Srividhya R.S.Iyer –N.C.Bharadwaj

2.00 p.m.
Theme : Compositions on Lord Krishna N.S.Aruna– Sriram Sridhar – R.Kishore

3.15 p.m.
Theme : Compostions of Swathi Thirunal
K.S.Harishankar – H.M.Smitha– Kumbakonam Swaminathan
23rd Dec 2012 Sunday
6.15 p.m.
Madurai T.N.Seshagopalan – Vocal
M.Chandrasekaran – Violin
Trichur Narendran – Mridangam
Vazhappallay R.Krishnakumar – Ghatam
24th Dec 2012 Monday
6.15 p.m.
Sashank – Flute
Jyothsana Srikanth- Violin
Sai Giridhar – Mridangam
Thirupunithura Radhakrishnan – Ghatam
25th Dec 2012
Tuesday
6.15 p.m.
O.S.Arun – Bhajan
M.R.Gopinath – Violin
J.Vaidyanathan – Mridangam
Srikrishnan – Harmonium
Ganapathi & Kiran – Tabla
Selvam – Talam
26th Dec 2012 Wednesday
6.15 p.m.
Dr.Kadri Gopalnath – Saxaphone
A.Kanyakumari – Violin
Patri Satish Kumar – Mridangam
Gurumurthi Vaidhya – Tabla
Bangalore Rajasekar – Moharsing
27th Dec 2012
Thursday
6.15 p.m.
Neyveli Santhanagopalan – Vocal
M.A.Sundaresan – Violin
B.Ganapathiraman – Mridangam
Vaikom Gopalakrishnan – Ghatam
28th Dec 2012
Friday
6.15 p.m.
O.S.Thiagarajan – Vocal
Nagai R.Muralidharan – Violin
Dr.Trichy Sankaran – Mridangam
V.Suresh – Ghatam
29.12.2012 – TALENT PROMOTION CONCERTS FROM 9 A.M. TO 4.30 P.M.
29th Dec 2012
Saturday
9 .00 a.m.
Theme: Thiruvaiyaru Skhetra Kritis
Lakshmi Abhishek – S.Sayee Rakshith– J.Arvind

10.15 a.m.
Theme : Compositions of Lord Muruga Sunil R.Gargyan – Thirumarugal Dinesh Kumar – PBV Krishnamachari

11.30 a.m.
Theme: Devi Kritis
Priyanka C.Prakash – K.J.Dilip – Akshayram

12.45 p.m.
Theme: Compositions of Margadarsi Sesha Iyengar
Iyer Sisters(Srividhya & Sudha) (Vocal) – Adhiti
Krishnaprakash – Guru Raghavendra

2.00 p.m.
Theme : Ragam Tanam Pallavi
N.J.Nandini – Nagarkoil Anand – K.H.Vineeth

3.15 p.m.
Theme : Thyagaraja Kritis other than Rama
Harish Nagarajan – Kovai Chandran – Thirucheri Kaushik
29th Dec 2012 Saturday
6.15 p.m.
Pantula Rama – Vocal
M.S.N.Murthy – Violin
Manoj Siva – Mridangam
Nerkunam Shankar – Kanjira
30.12.2012- TALENT PROMOTION CONCERTS FROM 9 A.M. TO 4.30 P.M.
30th Dec 2012
Sunday
9 .00 a.m.
Theme: Compositions of Spencer Venugopal Ramya & Sahana – Sudha R.S.Iyer – Thillaisthanam Suriyanarayanan

10.15 a.m.
Theme : Compositions of GNB
Amrithavarshini – Shraddha Ravindran– Thalaignayiru Harishkumar

11.30 a.m.
Theme : Tillana
Apoorva & Anahita – Adhiti Krishnaprakash – B.Saisankar

12.45 p.m.
Theme: Compositions of Muthiah Bhagavathar
J.Sathya Sairam–C.N.Srinivasamurthi –V.S.Raghavan

2.00 p.m.
Theme : One Raga One Kriti
Kamala Deepthi – S.P.Ananthapadmanabha –
PBV.Krishnamachari

3.15 p.m.
Theme : Compositions of Syama Sastri
Ananya Ashok – M.Vijay– Madurai Sundar
30th Dec 2012 Sunday
6.45 p.m.
Drama : Lakshaya Arts presents “POI MEI”
by C.V.Chandramohan
31st Dec 2012 Monday
6.15 p.m.
Sikkil Gurucharan – Vocal
H.K.Venkatram – Violin
Mannargudi Easwaran – Mridangam
B.S.Purushotham- Kanjira
1st Jan 2013 Tuesday
9.45 a.m.
Sthree Thyagaraja Pancharathnam Sruti 5 – Rendering of Pancharatha Kritis by 60 Women Artists
1st Jan 2013 Tuesday
4.30 p.m.
V.R.Raghava Krishna –Vocal
Kalyani Shankar-Violin
Kallidaikuchi Sivakumar –Mridangam
Papanasam Sethuraman – Kanjira
1st Jan 2013 Tuesday
6.45 p.m.
Drama : UAA’s Y.Gee Mahendra in
“Idhu Nyayama Sir” by Venkat
6th Jan 2013
Sunday 5 p.m. to
9 p.m. Special Four Hour Concert by Gayathri Venkataraghavan – Vocal
M.A.Krishnaswamy – Violin
Neyveli Skandasubramaniam – Mridangam
Alathur Rajaganesh- Kanjira
A.S.Krishnan -Moharsing
DANCE FESTIVAL FROM 2nd JAN TO 5TH JAN 2013 DAILY AT 6.30 P.M.
2nd Jan 2013
6.30 p.m.
Sheela Unnikrishnan’s Sridevi Nrithyalaya presents “Sri Krishna Vaibhavam”
3rd Jan2013
6.30 p.m.
V.Balagurunathan & Gayatri’s Krishnanjali Academy presents “Ayigiri Nandhini”
4th Jan2013
6.30 p.m.
Sashirekha Rammohan’s Kanagasabai group presents “Thennadudaiya Shivane Potri”
5th Jan2013
6.30 p.m.
Anita Guha’s Bharathanjali Trust presents “Pada Kavitaa Pithamaha”(Annamacharya)by students of Bharathanjali HIGHLIGHTS: 98% No repetition of accompaniments(20 violin, 24 mridangam, 16 ghatam, 6 kanjira & 3 moharsing). In 31 days fest, 24 main concerts in which different accompaniments in all the days.

For tickets contact – +91 94444 44767

The Schedule:

Dec. 3, 2012 – Monday
3.45 p.m. – Mangala Isai
6.00 p.m. – A. Padmavathy & Jayanthi Kumaresh – Veena Duet, R. Ramesh – Mridangam, S. Karthik – Ghatam

Dec.4, 2012 – Tuesday
2.15 p.m. – N.Ch. Parthasarathy – Vocal
3.45 p.m. – Dr. Subhashini Parthasarathy – Vocal, Usha Rajagopal – Violin, B. Ganapathiraman – Mridangam
6.00 p.m. – Sudha Ragunathan – Vocal

Dec. 5, 2012 – Wednesday
2.15 p.m. – S.R. Maitreyi – Vocal, R. Priyamvadaa – Violin, Srivanchiam Sriram – Mridangam
3.45 p.m. – A.S. Murali – Vocal, T.K. Padmanabhan – Violin, A.S. Ranganathan – Mridangam, A.S. Krishnan – Morsing
6.00 p.m. – Neyveli R. Santhanagopalan – Vocal, Dr. Narmada – Violin, Arun Prakash – Mridangam, B.S. Purushotham – Kanjira

Dec. 6, 2012 – Thursday
2.15 p.m. – Kamala Deepthi – Vocal
3.45 p.m. – Radha Badri – Vocal
6.00 p.m. – Abhishek Raghuram – Vocal, Vittal Ramamurthy – Violin, Anantha R. Krishnan – Mridangam

Dec. 7, 2012 – Friday
2.15 p.m.- Nadamuni Gayathri Bharat – Vocal
3.45 p.m. – U.P. Raju & Nagamani – Mandolin, Madipakkam Suresh – Mridangam, Anirudh Athreya – Kanjira
6.00 p.m. – N. Vijay Siva -Vocal, Amritha Murali – Violin, J. Vaidyanathan – Mridangam

Dec. 8, 2012 – Saturday
1.00 p.m. – J.B. Keerthana – Vocal
2.15 p.m – Vidya Kalyanaraman – Vocal, K.P. nandini – Violin, Kumbakonam Swaminathan – Mridangam
3.45 p.m. – Swarna Rethas – Vocal, B. Ananthakrishnan – Violin, N.C. Bharadwaj – Mridangam
6.00 p.m. – Ranjani & Gayathri – Vocal, B.U. ganesh Prasad – Violin, Delhi Sriram – Mridangam, K.V. Gopalakrishnan – Kanjira

Dec. 9, 2012 – Sunday
1.00 p.m. – R. Sridhar – Vocal
2.15 p.m – G. Madhavan – Vocal, B. Ananthakrishnan – Violin, Vijay Natesan – Mridangam
3.45 p.m. – Sriranjani Santhanagopalan – Vocal, V.V.S. Murari – Violin, Melakaveri Balaji – Mridangam, Chandrasekara Sharma – Ghatam
6.00 p.m. – Nithyasree Mahadevan – Vocal, Raghavendra Rao – Violin, Patri satish Kumar – Mridangam, Giridhar Uduppa – Ghatam

Dec. 10, 2012 – Monday
2.15 p.m – Duddu Radhika – Vocal
3.45 p.m. – Chinmaya Sisters Uma & Radhika – Vocal, Usha Rajagopalan – Violin, Nellai Balaji -Mridangam, Papanasam Sethuraman – Kanjira
6.00 p.m. – Sikkil Gurucharan – Vocal, Nagai Sriram – Violin, Mannargudi Easwaran – Mridangam, N. Guruprasad – Ghatam

Dec. 11, 2012 – Tuesday
2.15 p.m – Susha & Srividhya R.S. Iyer – Vocal
3.45 p.m. – S. Mahathi – Vocal, M.A. Krishnaswamy – Violin, Delhi Sriram – Mridangam
6.00 p.m. – S. Shashank – Flute, Mysore Srikanth – Violin, Patri Satish Kumar – Mridangam

Dec. 12, 2012 – Wednesday
2.15 p.m – Vasudha Ravi – Vocal, Kalyani Shankar – Violin, A.V. Manikantan – Mridangam
3.45 p.m. – Shankar Ramani – Vocal, G. Venkatasubramaniam – Violin, Neyveli Ramkumar – Mridangam
6.00 p.m. – K. J. Yesudas – Vocal, S.R. Mahadeva Sarma – Violin, Trichy Harikumar – Mridangam, Vaikom Gopalakrishnan – Mridangam

Dec. 13, 2012 – Thursday
2.15 p.m – Bhavana Iyer – Vocal, Karaikal Venkatasubramaniam – Violin, Guru Raghavendra – Mridangam
3.45 p.m. – Sangeetha Swaminathan – Vocal, B. Ananthakrishnan – Violin, Nellai Balaji – Mridangam, Nanganallur Swaminathan – Ghatam
6.00 p.m. – P. Unnikrishnan – Vocal, Charumathi Raghuram – Violin, Thiruvarur Bhakthavatsalam – Mridangam

Dec. 14, 2012 – Friday
2.15 p.m – R. Raghavendra – Vocal, M.Rajeev – Violin, H.M. Sudheendra – Mridangam
3.45 p.m. – Subhashree Ramachandran – Vocal, V.V. Ravi – Violin, Kallidaikurichi Sivakumar – Mridangam
6.00 p.m. – S. Sowmya – Vocal, Embar Kannan – Violin, Neyveli Narayanan – Mridangam, K.V. Gopalakrishnan – Ghatam

Dec. 15, 2012 – Saturday
1.00 p.m. – N.J. Nandini – Vocal, Padma Krishnan – Violin, V.S. Raghavan – Mridangam
2.15 p.m – Hemmigey Prashanth – Vocal, Aditi Krishnaprasad – Violin, H.M. Sudheendra – Mridangam
3.45 p.m. – Shantala Subramaniam – Flute, Anuradha Sridhar – Violin, Sai Giridhar – Mridangam
6.00 p.m. – Sanjay Subrahmanyam – Vocal, S. Varadarajan – Violin, Palladam Ravi – Mridangam, Alathur Rajaganesh – Kanjira

Dec. 16, 2012 – Sunday
1.00 p.m. – Karthik Raju – Vocal
2.15 p.m – Shreya Devnath – Violin Solo, Sumesh Narayanan – Mridangam, S. Krishna – Ghatam
3.45 p.m. – Thenkarai Maharaja Pillai – Vocal
6.00 p.m. – Gayathri Venkataraghavan – Vocal, Padma Shankar – Violin, Tanjore Murugaboopathy – Mridangam, Dr. S. Karthik – Ghatam

Dec. 17, 2012 – Monday
2.15 p.m – Bhooma Kasthuri – Vocal
3.45 p.m. – Akkarai Subbulakshmi & Swarnalatha – Vocal, Avaneeswaram Vinu – Violin, Shethalai Ananthakrishnan – Mridangam, Dr. S. Karthik – Ghatam
6.00 p.m. – Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan – Vocal, Sherthalai Sivakumar – Violin, Trichur Narendran – Mridangam, Sivaramakrishnan – Ghatam

Dec. 18, 2012 – Tuesday
2.15 p.m – Aravind Bhargav – Mandolin, Shraddha Ravindran – Violin, S. Sathyanarayanan – Mridangam, S. Hariharasubramaniam – Ghatam
3.45 p.m. – Bhushany Kalyanaraman – Vocal
6.00 p.m. – Pantula Rama – Vocal, M.S.N. Murthy – Violin, J. Vaidyanathan – Mridangam

Dec. 19, 2012 – Wednesday
2.15 p.m – Sathur Sisters – Vocal, Neela Jayakumar – Violin, V.R. Jayakumar – Mridangam
3.45 p.m. – Vasudha Keshav – Vocal, Charulatha Ramanujam – Violin, Melakaveri Balaji – Mridangam, D.V. Venkatasubramaniam – Ghatam
6.00 p.m. -B. Saketharaman 0 Vocal, Akkarai Subbulakshmi – Violin, Mannargudi Easwaran – Mridangam, Giridhar Uduppa – Ghatam

Dec. 20, 2012 – Thursday
2.15 p.m – Cuddalore S.J. Jananiey – Vocal, Jayanthi Keshav – Violin, Guru Raghavendra – Mridangam, Narasimhan – Ghatam
3.45 p.m. – Carnatica Brothers Sashikiran & Ganesh – Vocal, Nagai Muralidharan – Violin,
6.00 p.m. – Lalgudi G.J.R. Krishnan & Vijayalakshmi – Violin Duet, K.V. Prasad – Mridangam, S. Venkataraman – Kanjira

Dec. 21, 2012 – Friday
2.15 p.m – Aditya Prakash – Vocal, Shiva Ramamurthi – Violin, Akshay Padmanabhan – Mridangam
3.45 p.m. – Raji Gopalakrishnan – Vocal, Kalyani Shankar – Violin, Sherthalai Ananthakrishnan – Mridangam, Hariharasubramaniam – Ghatam
6.00 p.m. – Yet to be announced

Dec. 22, 2012 – Saturday
10.00 a.m. – Dushyanth Sridhar – Vocal
1.00 p.m. – R. Swathi – Vocal
2.15 p.m – Salem Gayathri Venkatesan – Vocal, Mlakaveri Thyagarajan – Violin, Madipakkam Suresh – Mridangam
3.45 p.m. – Trichy Pradeepkumar – Vocal, B. Ananthakrishnan – Violin, K.V. Gopalakrishnan – Mridangam
6.00 p.m. – Maharajapuram Srinivasan – Vocal, M.A. Sundareswaran – Violin, Neyveli Venkatesh – Mridangam, Srirangam Kannan – Morsing

Dec. 23, 2012 – Sunday
10.00 a.m. – Dr. Sudha Seshayyan – Discourse1.00 1.00 p.m. – Vikaasa Ramdas – Vocal, V. Supraja – Violin, Suri Upendra Narasimhan – Mridangam, Sri Sainath – Ghatam
2.15 p.m – Brinda Manickavasagam – Vocal, Dinesh Kumar – Violin, Mohanakrishnan – Mridangam
4.00 p.m. – Ramakrishnan Murthy – Vocal, Charulatha Ramanujam – Violin, Poongulam Subramaniam – Mridangam, B.S. Purushotham – Kanjira
7.00 p.m. – Chitra Visweswaran – Bharatanatyam

Dec. 24, 2012 – Monday
1.00 p.m. – Vignesh Eashwar – Vocal, Sivakumar Anantharaman – Violin, Akshay Ananthapadmanabhan – Mridangam
2.15 p.m – Nanditha Ravi – Vocal, K.P. Nandini – Violin, A.V. Manikandan – Mridangam
4.00 p.m. – Manda Sudharani – Vocal
7.00 p.m. – Hare Rama Hare Krishna – Thematic Bharatanatyam by Bharatanjali – Choreography by Anitha Guha

Dec. 25, 2012 – Tuesday
10.00 a.m. – Drama by Crazy Mohan troupe
1.00 p.m. – Lakshmi Abhishek – Vocal
2.15 p.m – J.V. Deepak – Vocal, Arunachala Karthik – Violin,
4.00 p.m. – Tadepalli Lokanatha Sharma – Vocal
7.00 p.m. – Malavika Sarukkai – Bharatanatyam

Dec. 26, 2012 – Wednesday
1.00 p.m. – Sruthi Bhatt – Vocal
2.15 p.m – Deekshita Venkataraman – Vocal, K.J. Dileep – Violin, K.H. Vineet – Mridangam
4.00 p.m. – Kunrakudi Balamuralikrishna – Vocal, Usha Rajagopal – Violin, Kallidaikurichi Sivakumar – Mridangam, S. Venkatraman – Kanjira
7.00 p.m. – Nauka Charitam – Dance Ballet by Kala Darshana – Choreography – Jayanthi Subramaniam

Dec. 27, 2012 – Thursday
1.00 p.m. – Mahathy – Keyboard, Sudharshan – Violin, K.H. Vinith – Mridangam, Ammangudi S. Ramanarayan – Ghatam
2.15 p.m – Dr. Vasumathy Badrinathan – Vocal
4.00 p.m. – Papanasam Ashok Ramani – Vocal
7.00 p.m. – Shobana – Bharatanatyam

Dec. 28, 2012 – Friday
1.00 p.m. – Madhumitha – Vocal, Naveen – Violin, Vignesh – Mridangam
2.15 p.m – J.B. Sruthi Sagar – Flute
4.00 p.m. – Alamelu Mani – Vocal
7.00 p.m. – Alarmel Valli – Bharatanatyam

Dec. 29, 2012 – Saturday
10.00 a.m. – Varsha Bhuvaneswari – Harikatha – Andal Kalyanam
1.00 p.m. – Ravali – Vocal, Radhika Srinivasan – Violin, V.S. Raghavan – Mridangam
2.15 p.m – Padma Sugavanam – Vocal, B. Ananthakrishnan – Violin, Arjun Ganesh – Mridangam
4.00 p.m. – Suguna Varadachari – Vocal, Usha rajagopalan – Violin, Neyveli Skandasubramaniam – Mridangam
7.00 p.m. – Srinidhi Rangarajan – Bharatanatyam

Dec. 30, 2012 – Sunday
10.00 a.m. – Anil Srinivasan – Piano
1.00 p.m. – Rema Ramkumar – Vocal. Shraddha Ramkumar – Violin, Harishkumar – Mridangam
2.15 p.m – Manasi Prasad – Vocal
4.00 p.m. – Bharat Sundar – Vocal
7.00 p.m. – Lakshmi Viswanathan – Bharatanatyam

Dec. 31, 2012 – Monday
1.00 p.m. – Rakesh Raghunathan – Vocal
2.15 p.m. – Kiranavali Vidyasankar – Vocal
4.00 p.m. – G.S. Rajan – Flute
7.00 p.m. – Vishaka Hari – Harikatha – Sarvam Brahma Mayam

JustUs Repertory presents Night’s End a story of betrayal, abandonment and loss set in a forest

A play about the tiger, forests, and human survival, Night’s End, a JustUs Repertory production is presented by SS International and supported by Kalakshetra. Written and directed by Gowri Ramnarayan, the play features Sheejith Krishna and Akhila Ramnarayan. It will be staged at Rukmini Arangam, Kalakshetra, Thiruvanmiyur on December 8 at 7 p.m.

Night’s End is a tale of betrayal, abandonment and loss in which the actions of humans — indigenous peoples, settlers, tourists, the state, the media — affect the fragile eco-system we inhabit. Set in a reserve forest in Rajasthan the play follows the journey of Krishnan Nair. Born into a family of Kathakali artistes, Krishnan runs away from his native village in Kerala, and becomes a forest guard in a tiger sanctuary. In moments of emotional intensity, the Kathakali artiste in him finds solace dancing. Krishnan is revered by the local Mogiya tribe for bringing alive the sights and sounds of the forest through his dance. He raises an abandoned tiger cub, resolving to return her to the wild with the help of his drumming partner Billu Mogiya. The plot moves through his attempts to enlist the help of the tiger-hunting Mogiya tribals to save the tiger, his friendship with Billu, his romance with the tribal woman Chandni, and his encounters with the poaching mafia.

JustUs Repertory is a Chennai-based theatre group launched in 2005. Gowri Ramnarayan, a journalist with a lifetime’s contribution to Indian performing arts has been a member of the Fipresci Jury of critics at international film festivals (London, Venice, Valladolid, Oslo, Mumbai).

Dancer-choreographer-actor Sheejith Krishna studied, then taught, at Kalakshetra for 21 years. He now directs his own Sahrdaya Foundation for the arts.

Actor-writer Akhila Ramnarayan has worked with JustUs Repertory since 2007. She teaches at the Asian College of Journalism, and is a founding member of Sahradaya Foundation.

The play is open to persons above the age of 13. For details call 98400 89030.

]]> http://kvivekshankar.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/gowri-ramnarayans-nights-end/feed/ 0 kvivekshankar nights end http://kvivekshankar.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/madras-players-water-hindu-review/ http://kvivekshankar.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/madras-players-water-hindu-review/#comments Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:25:31 +0000 kvivekshankar http://kvivekshankar.wordpress.com/?p=2521 ]]> Brimming with energy

KAUSALYA SANTHANAM

SMOOTH FLOW: From Water.

Theatre Madras Players’ Water , based on Komal Swaminathan’s Thaneer Thaneer, was rooted in the local context and performed with fervour

As promised, the Madras Players brought the village of Athipatti to Chennai through their production of Water. The English translation (by S. Shankar) of Komal Swaminathan’s Thanneer Thanneer directed by P.C. Ramakrishna was presented at the Museum Theatre for three consecutive days recently.

Thanneer Thanneer is part of the consciousness of all those who value powerful and meaningful theatre in Tamil. The issues the play deals with are ones the viewer can immediately relate to; the sceptre of water scarcity always looms threateningly for numerous villages, towns and cities in the country.

Vellaiswamy, a bonded labourer who is escaping from the law for the crime he has committed, enters a drought-affected village whose inhabitants have to trudge for long miles to procure even a single pot of water. He rouses the villagers to collective action, the support of the village teacher being crucial in this struggle. A venal politician, a couple of stout-hearted elders, a fiery young man, the village priest itching for an animal sacrifice, a journalist with a social conscience, a feisty young woman and her policeman husband are among the characters around whom the story is woven. Just when they are about to attain their much-longed for goal, they are thwarted.

REALISTIC SETS

The first scene with its excellent sets (set and light design: Victor Paulraj) immediately took the audience to the heart of the village with its thatched huts, the niches on the walls for the lamps and the mandatory bench or thinnai in front of the house. The villagers speaking English instead of the Tirunelveli Tamil did strike an odd note initially. But as the struggle for water was played out, the language barrier slowly dissolved. The brilliant direction and the spirited performances soon helped to brush away the incongruities. This was a play where the director’s vision was firm and clear and he was able to transcend some of the inadequacies of the English text. He showed his acumen by retaining certain words in Tamil and also the folk songs (which had sounded strange and incoherent in the translated text) in the original. Off stage was used to great effect in the production. An inspired stroke too was the lighting of the door frames flanking the stage and the sound of music (sound: Charles, vocals and music arrangement: Madras Youth Choir) and conversation to depict the village wedding. So too was the building of the cart portrayed though backstage effects.

The dramatic tension never slackened throughout. Appropriate casting can be crucial in a play of this kind where the characters can easily descend into caricatures. Water got it right almost every time. P.C. Ramakrishna scored high with his portrayal of the schoolmaster banished to a drought-prone village but who becomes its guide and key figure. Keeping pace with him every step of the way were Shankar Sundaram and D. Ramachandran as the village elders. Ramachandran consistently maintained his bent posture and limp and his demeanour of a villager who is in turn supportive, disbelieving or disarmingly simple. Mohamed Yusuf made for an arrogant and ruthless politician though he seemed a trifle too suave. Krishna was convincing as the deferential fugitive who transforms into the bringer of water. A. Karthik was the credible, angry young man who puts up a good fight with the politician. But the casting faltered when it came to the female actor, setting the balance askew. The character of Sevanthi is a pivotal one. The actor who played her appeared unsure and too sophisticated for the role. She seemed hardly the woman who would stun an entire village by her revolutionary action. Her costume of crisp and glossy sarees was glaring in its inappropriateness. Even more out of place was her equally sophisticated-looking husband. The drummer Nellai Manikandan was an asset to the play enhancing the rhythm of the work.

WATER WOES

Komal’s play represents both success and tragedy for us today. The success of a playwright who could so realistically depict the plight of a water-starved village and its characters. And tragedy for despite the passage of 30 years the situation remains the same. But to the Madras Players Water was a great success. A veteran actor turns director with aplomb fusing together various elements harmoniously and with understanding, in a felt tribute to the writer. And the team produces one of the best productions seen from them in recent times — rooted in the local context, dealing with vital issues and acted out with fervour.

A scene from Yaar Paiyan

Young Sridhar (Bhaskar) learns that the man, who has brought him up, is not his biological father. His search begins much to the anguish of his foster parent (KSN Sundar). The ‘real’ father (V. Chandru) is traced and the plot thickens.

Sailaja (Nivedita), single child to her parents, is lonely and would love to have Sridhar as her brother. Karur Rangarajan as the long-serving cook of the family painted a realistic portrait.

Packed with emotion, a commendable display of histrionics made the proceedings of ‘Yaar Paiyan’ riveting.

Sundar has written the story, dialogue and directed the play too. K.S. Nagarajan, doyen of Tamil theatre and father of Sundar, made an appearance surprising the audience that was overwhelmed by the senior’s dedication. Some members actually waited for the actors to come out and congratulated them on their performance.

A scene from `Pillayar Pidikka.

There was a time when prospective grooms laid down impossible conditions when it came to choosing a bride.

(A hilarious take on this was a play titled ‘Modi Masthan’ written by Visu in the Seventies, and later made into the film ‘Manal Kayiru.’) But now it is the girls who call the shots. Nothing wrong really, except when they lay down unfair conditions, as Nandini (Jayanthi), does in Stage Creations’s play, ‘Pillaiyar Pidikka…’, by S.L. Naanu.

The point about GenX not being interested in getting acquainted with the extended family had a ring of truth. And it is true that while Tamil has words for every relationship, GenX refers to all relatives above the age of 40 blandly as uncles or aunts. And gone are all those quaint words such as ‘athaan’ and ‘ammanji,’ which have yielded place to ‘cousin.’

Unfortunately, the play demanded more suspension of disbelief than one was capable of. And it could have used a liberal dose of humour.

One has seen better plays from Naanu.

Rehearsal in progress of Water, the English Translation of Komal Swaminathan’s Thaneer Thaneer, by the actors of Madras Players

Madras Players is staging an English adaptation of Komal Swaminathan’s timeless classic, ‘Thanneer Thanneer.’

When ‘Thanneer Thanneer,’ written and directed by Komal Swaminathan, was first staged in Chennai in 1980, it created a tremendous impact. The content and the form blended seamlessly to create theatre that was realistic and serious but appealed to all levels of viewers. And when director K. Balachander adapted it for inema, the film had the force of a river in spate and it went on to win a National Award.

‘Thanneer Thanneer’ is still searingly relevant despite the passage of three decades. This testifies to the power of Komal’s pen and vision. The struggle of the poor inhabitants in a water-starved village, the red tape the bureaucracy is mired in, the machinations of politicians, and the skewed priorities of the media – all these issues featured with such incisive power by Komal are true even today. ‘Thanneer Thanneer’ has been staged more than 250 times. But a ban was sought to be imposed on the film on the grounds that it provoked violence.

Now for the first time the play will be staged in English by The Madras Players. ‘Water!,’ the English translation of ‘Thanneer Thanneer,’ directed by P.C. Ramakrishna will be presented at the Museum Theatre on November 30, December 1 and 2. The translation is by S. Shankar who is now Professor of English at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

I met Komal Swaminathan, a towering figure in Tamil theatre for an exclusive interview in August 1995 just a couple of months before he passed away. Anyone who met the playwright- film script writer- director-journalist could not but be struck by how lightly he carried his fame and multifaceted talent. “Well made traditional theatre is what I believe in, not the abstract kind,” he told me. “Theatre,” he pointed out, “should reach out and communicate.” His plays certainly did. He was responsible for creating a middle theatre. His plays were marked by realism and a strong social concern and formed a bridge between the mainstream and serious theatre, between the rural and urban sections. Focussing on issues that matter, that provoke thought and debate, his plays are in a class of their own. Not for him the mindless family fare or the inane comedies of the average sabha offerings.

Realistic theatre

Many of his plays deal with the larger issues of society and the politics of exclusion and exploitation. His heroes are the nameless, faceless citizens who struggle against an unfeeling and unresponsive establishment. And those who strive to succeed through bold, decisive action.

Komal believed in realistic theatre that would reflect the travails of the common man. He wrote 33 plays in a span of 30 years. “Physical and mental revolt is what I am concerned about in my work,” he told me in the interview. “Marxist thought and literature have provided me a broad-based philosophy of life and I have used it for literary ends,” he admitted.

As a young man, Komal, who hailed from a village of the same name from Thanjavur, was inspired by the writings of Pudhumaipithan. The course of his life took a firm shape when he moved to Madras. He learnt play writing at the educational institute for drama run by well known actor S.V. Sahasranamam.

After joining Sahsranamam’s Seva Stage, Komal began writing for the theatre and with his very first play ‘Pudhiya Paathai’ that dealt with villagers carving out a new road, set out his own path for the future. His plays drew in audiences who were ready for such revolutionary fare.

He later formed his own troupe, Stage Friends. Play after play that he wrote and directed became successful. Many of his plays toured the villages and quite a few of them were made into films.

As assistant director to K.S. Gopalakrishnan, Komal produced powerful scripts for films such as ‘Karpagam,’ ‘Pesum Deivam’ and ‘Kai Kodutha Deivam.’ He also wrote and directed his own films of which ‘Oru Indiya Kanavu’ received the National Award for Best Regional Film in Tamil.

His involvement in literary issues saw him become the editor of Subhamangala, a literary monthly that also dealt with the fine arts. The Subhamangala theatre festival that he conducted attracted plays from various genres.

“I came across the English translation of ‘Thanneer Thanneer’ at Landmark ten months ago and found it eminently workable for us,” says P.C. Ramakrishna of The Madras Players, who is the director of ‘Water!’ “I had seen the first show of ‘Thanneer Thanneer’ when it was staged at the Kartik Fine Arts and was completely blown by it. I introduced myself to Komal and he became a friend. He was such a simple quiet man,” reminisces Ramakrishna.

“The play remained with me all these years. It is a seminal piece of theatre. It deals with conflict and self-belief. Dramatically it worked for me. The village is the hero in my play. I asked Komal’s daughter, Lalitha Dharini, who has the copyright after the publisher Seagull turned over the rights to her, whether I could edit it a little. She said she trusted me. If I touch the younger generation through this, I will consider it an achievement. It is strangely the first play I’m directing for the Madras Players in 43 years. I have not found the language or the culture a barrier and I am sure the audience is catholic enough to accept it.”

So much water has flowed under the bridge since the play was first staged but so much still remains stagnant. ‘Water!’ promises to once again bring to the forefront issues that Komal presented with such intensity.

Theme universal

Professor S. Shankar is happy with his effort.

“What is amazing to me about ‘Thanneer Thanneer’ is its combination of political commitment and brilliant exploitation of theatrical resources (story, spectacle and performance elements such as folk songs). At the same time the play has universal themes – a stranger arrives and becomes a catalyst for change. People can relate to that kind of story. I admire also the play’s treatment of female characters – in some ways, in its treatment of marriage for example, the play was path-breaking,” says S. Shankar, Professor, Department of English, University of Hawaií at Manoa, who has translated Komal Swaminathan’s ‘Thanneer Thanneer’ into ‘Water!’ (English). Excerpts from an e-mail interview:

What prompted you to choose ‘Thanneer Thanneer’ for translation?

I was in Chennai as a college student during the years of the ‘Thanneer Thanneer’ controversy. I knew it was an amazing and powerful play. Many years later I was working on a scholarly article on representations of the poor and was surprised to learn that this play had never been translated into English. I began by translating a few passages for the article and ended up doing the whole play. I am glad I did.

Which are the areas you have succeeded in and are disappointed with?

I am very happy with my translation and it is gratifying that the Madras Players is staging the translation without any changes. It was vital to me that I maintain the narrative arc of the play – it’s driving momentum. The play is very political but it is also a rousing story. I think I managed to capture that. I always had the idea when I was translating that the play might be staged and so I wanted to retain its performability. Of course, it has taken 10 years for it to make it to the stage! Where I had to compromise was in capturing the flavour of the language, which is often a kind of Tirunelveli Tamil. I have to admit I was helped here by my father.

Why are such few significant theatre texts being produced in Tamil?

This is hard for me to answer especially because I don’t live in Chennai any more. I also think ‘Thanneer Thanneer’ had many things going for it, that made it a runaway success. I think the current theatre set up in Chennai might militate against the production of an independent, serious drama.

Rooted so specifically in a cultural context and milieu, how successfully will a text like this translate on the English stage?

I have few worries on that front. It’s a socialist play, and it also raises crucial questions about post-colonial nations in general, especially with regard to the poor. In fact, I would say the play’s cultural specificity only strengthens its ability to travel around the world – the story and issues become fresh without losing power.

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