Bharathi Cultural Wing

Every year in the month of Margazhi Bharathi Vidyalaya holds its music festival. Through this, the school provides an opportunity to the students, teachers and parents to immerse themselves in the divinity of music. This year the school arranged twelve music concerts. The festival started on 9th January 2023 and ended on 18th January 2023.

9th January, forenoon session: Shri. Dushyant  Sridhar gave a discourse on the topic ‘Kurai Illadha Govinda’. He narrated the avatars of Vishnu and told the audience how Lord Vishnu fulfilled his wishes which he missed during “Ramavatharam”. Shri.  Dushyanth Sridhar in his unique style connected with the young winds through lot of interactions.

The discourse was a mixture of humour, bakthi, music and lot of values. He advised the students to respect others, value brother-sister relationship, not to pollute Mother Nature and to have a balanced head on one’s shoulders without ego.

9th January, afternoon session: Vocalist Shri. Ashwath  Narayanan along with violinist Shri. Vittal Rangan and mridangam vidwan Shri. Praveen Sparsh gave an enthralling performance. He began the concert with ‘Ganesh Pancharatnam’.

The Song ‘முதா கராத்த மோதகம்’ brought Sringeri Thorana Ganapathi in front of the audience.

Through the song ‘Ranjani Mridhu Pankaja Lochini’, Shri. Ashwath and his team invoked the blessings of Goddess Ranjani. The entire story of Ramayana was brought before the eyes of the audience through the song ‘Bhavayami Raghu Ramam’,

‘Pralaya Payodhi Jale’ by Shri. Jeyadevar described the avators of Vishnu. He brought the importance of bhakthi through the song  ‘Bhaja Govindam’.

10th January, forenoon session: Sikkil Shri. Gurucharan gave an exhilarating performance. He was accompanied by Shri. Sayee Rakshith on the violin and Shri. Kishore Ramesh on the mridangam. He began the concert with the Varnam ‘Ninukori Yunnanura’ in Mohana Raagam. Through the verses ‘Sruthi Smrithi Puranaanaam Aalayam Karunalayam, Shri. Gurucharan invoked the blessings of our Guru Shri. Sankara Bagvadpada. He told the students the relationship exists among Tuesday, Angarakan and the planet Mars.

His rendering of ‘Aathichudi’ in his own melodious way was much enjoyed by the students.

The sloka “Lalitha Maampaahi” was vibrantly resonating in the auditorium even after the concert was over.

10th January, afternoon session: Shri. Bharat Sundar adorned the stage with Shri. Sayee Rakshith on the violin, Shri. Akshay Ram on the mridangam and Shri Chandrasekara Sharma on the Ghatam, to give a scintillating performance. He began the concert with Periyazhvar’s ‘Pallandu’. He then brought the blessings of Lord Vidya Ganapathy through the song ‘Siddi Vinayakkam’.

He captivated the heart and soul of the audience through the verse “பால் நினைந்து ஊட்டும் தாயினுன் சாலப் பரித்து” from Manikavasagar’s Thiruvasagam.

The importance of devotion was brought through the song ‘Nava Sidhi Petralum Siva Bhakthiilladha Narrargal Verum Saavi. The immense faith of the composer Papanasamsivan on Lord Shiva was brought through the song ‘நம்பி கெட்டவர்

எவரையா உமை நாயகனை’

11th January, forenoon session: Our school alumni Shri. Girijashankar Sundaresan accompanied by Shri.R. Raghul on the violin, Shri.S.J. Arun Ganesh on the Mridangam and Shri. S. Baskar and Shri. Shravan Nagarajan on the Tambura gave a scintillating Performance. He began the concert with the song “IInnumEnnManam’ composed by Shri. Lalgudi Jayaramanin raagam ‘Charukesi’. Through the song “Shobillu Saptaswara” in raagam ‘JaganMohini’ and ‘Ropaka’ talam he praised the divine form of seven musical notes.

From Thiyagaraja’s , ‘Manavinaalakincha’ the students could envision Rama in front of their eyes.

11th January, afternoon session: Smt. Anahita and Smt. Apporva accompanied by Kumari. Shruthi Sarathy’s Violin and Shri. Akshay gave a ‘Breathtaking’ Performance. The Varnam ‘Valachi Vacchi’ in Nava- Ragamalika was rendered beautifully by Smt. Anahita and Smt. Apoorva The Kriti ‘Vaatapi Ganapathim’, in the ragam Hamsadhwani set to ‘Adhi Thalam’ was rendered mellifluously.

Through the kriti Nada Thanumanisham, in raagam ‘Chittaranjani’ the artists held the audience spellbound. The 27th verse of ‘Thiruppavai’ ‘ Koodarai Vellum seer Govinda’ took the students to the days of Goddess Andal.

12th January, forenoon session: An enchanting Veena concert was given by Shri. Jayaraj and Smt. Jaysri accompanised by Sri. Arjun Ganesh on mridangam and Sri Guruprasad on ghatam. The Kriti ‘Swaminathane Samrakshitoham’ brought the blessings of God Swaminathan. The Kriti “கம் கணபதே நமோ நாம சங்கரி” kept reverberating in the hearts of the audience. The kriti “ராமருக்கு மன்னன் முடித்தரித்தாலே” in raagam ‘Hindolam’ was rendered mellifluously. ‘Ananda Nadanamaduvar’ in raagam ‘Poorvi Kalyani’ took us to the abode of ‘Thillai Natarajar’ and presented “ஆருத்ராதரிசனம்” before us.

Thus, the divine veena of Sri Jayaraj and Smt. Jayasri along with Sri Guruprasadghatam and Sri Arjun Ganesh’s Mridangam took the audience to the world of enchantment.

12th January, afternoon session: Smt. Amritha Murali along with Shri L. Ramakrishnan on the violin, Shri Delhi Sairam on the mridangam and Shri. Dhanush Anantharaman on the Tambura gave an exhilarating performance. The Kriti ‘Vathapi Ganapathim’ in raagam‘ Hamsadwani’ set to ‘Aadhi Thalam’ was rendered beautifully with a round of aesthetically sung Kalpanaswaras. The Kriti ‘Gurulekaetuvanti’ was presented beautifully emphasizing the importance of the Guru. “Shankari Shankuru”, a composition of shyama Shastri was delineated with a creative alapana and niraval passage.

A captivating composition of kotishwaraIyer ‘Edayyagati’ was sung with a lot of bhavas. A brisk ‘Brova Bharama’ in Bahudevi and a soulful ‘Inta Saukhaya’ in Kapi enthralled the listeners.

A request from the audience to sing ragas Madhuvanti & Ahirbhairav brought out an alluring sloka in these ragas. Andal’sthiruppavai ‘Oruttimaganai’ and Subramania Bharathiyar’s colourful composition ‘Bharatadesamenru’ added value to the concert which concluded with a composition in praise of ‘Sharadamba’(of Shri R.K. Shiramkumar) . The artistes interacting with the children made the experience enjoyable and Wholesome.

13th January, forenoon session: Smt. Sikkil Mala Chandrasekar filled the auditorium with her mellifluous flute performance. Smt. Mala Chandrasekar is accompanied by Shri. Kumbakonam M.R. Gopinath on the violin, Shri.Neyveli S. Skandasubramaniam on the mridangam and Shri. Trichy Dr. K. Murali on the Ghatam. She rendered the Kriti ‘Devi Neeyaethunai’, in raagam ‘Keeravani’ set to ‘Aadhi’ thalam beautifully in her sacred flute.

Through the kriti ‘Sharade Karunanidhe’, she took the audience to ‘Sringeri Sharadambal’ to get her blessings.

The students were blessed to hear the kriti ‘Mahalakshmi Jaganmata’ on that auspicious Friday. They are also blessed to listen to the lyrics ‘Akhilandeshwari Rakshamam’. The audience could feel themselves relieved from the bondage of worldliness, when they listen to the song ‘Dharani Telusukonti’. On thewhole the divine music of Smt. Sikkil Mala Chandrasekar’s flute purified the heart and soul of the audience.

13th January, afternoon session: Students were gifted to witness and experience the live Bhajan Sandhya of Shri. O. S. Arun. Shri. O.S.Arun was accompanied by Shri. V. Suresh Babu on the violin, Shri. Venkat Subramaniam on the mridangam, Shri. Martin on the Tabla, Shri. Krishnan on the Harmonium, Shri. Selvam on the Talam and Shri. Baranikumar on Tambura.

Sri. O. S. Arun with this sonorous voice took the stage and captivated the audience. The students chanted ‘Shiva Panchaksharam’ along with Shri. O. S. Arun.

The kirti ‘Bega Baro, Bega Baro’ was very much invigorating. The audience were much excited to listen to kabir’s Doha- “Hari Bholo, Hari Bholo”.The children were taken to the childhood days of little Krishna through the song ‘Maiya Mori’. The song ‘Kanna Mani Vanna’, brought Lord Krishna before the audience. Altogether the soulful bhajans of Sri O.S. Arun were reverberating in the auditorium for a long time with lot of energy even after the concert was over.

18th January, forenoon session: Smt.Vishakha Hari, a Carnatic music vocalist and proponent of “Harikatha” adorned the stage with violin Sri. Anandha Krishnan, mridangam vidwan Sri. Arjun Ganesh and Tambura kumari Ramya. They gave a beautiful “Harikatha” concert on Arunachala Kavirayar’s ‘Sundarakandam’. The audiences were mesmerized by the way the story was narrated. They felt like being in the days of Lord Rama. They could visualize, Lord Rama, Seetha, Hanuman, Lanka and Langini in front of their eyes. They learned the values- Bhakthi, dedication, devotion to duty, Self-confidence, Hard work, Perseverance and ‘Implicit Obedience to Guru’ through the character Lord Hanuman.

Smt. Vishakha quoted the richness of Tamil Language and literature and said about the uniqueness of the letter ‘ழ’ in Tamil. “The Pronunication of this letter is special in Tamil”, said Smt. Vishakha Hari.

While talking about technology, She said that India had been pioneer to modern technology as there were evidences about solar vehicles and ‘Pushpaga Vismanam’ even during vedic period. The ‘Harikatha’ concert was very much enjoyed by the students. It was interesting, informative and with lot of values.

18th January, afternoon session: Shri. Ramakrishnan Murthy and his team L. Ramakrishnana on the Violin, Shri. Delhi Sairam on the Mridangam and Shri. Lakshman and Shri. Abhishek Ravishankar on Tambura gave us an enthralling concert. In his musical voice Shri. Ramakrishnan Murthy, the Aasthana Vidwan of Sri Sringeri Sharadha Peetam rendered the kriti Vaathapi Ganapathim mellifluously. ‘தாயே திரிபுரசுந்தரி உமாமகேஸ்வரி’ brought the students the blessings of Goddess திரிபுரசுந்தரி, who is the embodiment of compassion.

The kriti ‘Saamajavaragamana’ on Lord Krishna brought before us the unshakable grace of Lord Krishna. Sri Chamundeshwari Paalayamam Kripalini, Shankari, held us spell bound ‘எப்போ வருவாரோ எந்தன் கலிதீர’ on Thillai Natarajar resonated in the auditorium for a long time.

On the whole Shri. Ramakrishnan Murthy and his team gave a Scintillating concert.

The entire week gave an opportunity to the students, teachers and parents to enjoy the musical treat, learn about Carnatic music, think about this great legacy of ours and also look forward to such experience in future. It made us understand the dedication, passion and tireless practice the artists have put in to perfect the art. It is also value education in practice. We thank the School Management for organizing the music festival and providing such an enthralling experience.