By Dr. Padmavathi Narasimhan
Sri Prasanna Vidya Ganapathi Mandali Charitable (SPVGMC) Trust, 8th Cross, V.V. Mohalla, Mysuru, has been playing a crucial role in preserving the music of great masters. It is celebrating its 57th Heritage Music Festival with Ganeshotsava music series from Sept.13 to 24. Great maestros of Karnatak music right from Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, T.N. Krishnan, S. Rajam, T.R. Mahalingam, Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, T.N. Sheshagopalan, D.K. Jayaram, Paroor Gopalakrishnan, Umayalapuram Shivaraman, Vellore Ramabhadran, R.K. Srikanthan, Palghat Raghu to young performers like T.M. Krishna, Abhishek Raghuram and Sanjay Subramanyam, have performed here a number of times. Maestros of Hindustani music like Hariprasad Chowrasia, Rajeev Taranath and Gangubai Hanagal too have considered it a privilege to perform at 8th Cross. Following is the list of this year’s Ganesha concerts: Sept.13 at 6.45 pm: This year’s concert series begins on the day of Ganesha Festival with an auspicious opening of a Nadaswaram recital by Melukote M.G. Sridhar. A graded artiste of Akshvani and Doordarshan, Sridhar has performed for various sabhas at Chennai, Selam, Delhi apart from the music sabhas of Mysore. He is a recipient of ‘Karnataka Vibhushana.’ Sept. 14, 6.45 pm: Abhishek Raghuram will present a vocal concert with Akkarai Subbalakshmi on violin, N.C. Bharadwaj on mridanga and Vazhapalli R. Krishna Kumar on ghata. Performing from the age of six, Abhishek is nurtured by his grandfather Palghat Raghu and later by P.S. Narayana Swamy. Also a performer of mridanga and khanjira, Abhishek is popular for his jugalbandi concerts and lecture demonstrations. He is also a recipient of the ‘Best Senior Vocalist’ award at the Madras Music Academy. Abhishek has also some compositions to his credit. Sept. 15, 5.30 pm: Kumaravyasa Bharata - Virata Parva - Entry into Viratanagara. Vachana: Lalita Shekhar, Vyakhyana - Suma Kiran. 6.45 pm: Akkarai Sisters Shubhalakshmi and Swarnalatha will present a violin duet accompanied by K.U. Jayachandra Rao on mridanga and Vazhapalli P. Krishna Kumar on ghata. Hailing from a family of musicians, Akkarai Sisters are known for their vocal and violin performances. Trained under stalwarts like PSN and Chitraveena Ravikiran, Shubhalakshmi has accompanied almost all leading artistes of today.
