Carnatic Vocal By Madurai T N Seshagopalan

The South Indian Cultural Association (SICA) is organising its 48th Annual Festival of Music & Dance from 10th to 16th March, at the Ravindra Bharathi auditorium. The week-long festival will feature several renowned artistes such as violinists Lalgudi G J R Krishnan & Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, flautist Shashank, dancer Vyjayanti Kashi, and vocalists S Sowmya, O S Arun, Maharajapuram Srinivasan and Madurai T N Seshagopalan.

Today, the last day, renowned senior vocalist from Madurai T N Seshagopalan will be performing. He will be supported on the violin by S D Sridhar and mridangam by Trichur Narendran.

Seshagopalan is a popular artiste known for his chaste classicism in Carnatic music. Blesed with a rich voice and remarkable creativity, he has combined the best aspects of the great stalwarts of the past in the field of Carnatic music, and has created his own style and fans. His rendition of Kritis and elaborate Swaraprastharas, in particular, have received huge appreciation from his peers, the press, and music lovers all over the world.

Trained under Ramanathapuram C S Sankarasivan, Seshagopalan is a multi-faceted vocal artiste. He is also a specialist veena performer in the Gayaki style, besides playing harmonium and the keyboards. In recent years, he has also been giving musical discourses in the Harikatha style. He has performed all over the country and in many parts of the world, having bagged innumerous titles and awards, like Sangeeta Choodamani, Kalaimamani, Sangeeta Kalasagaram, the Central Sangeetha Nataka Akademy Award and the Padma Bhushan by the Govt. of India, to name a few.

SICA was founded in 1959 by Dewan Bahadur Aramuda Iyengar, the Finance Minister of Hyderabad's Nizam and a great patron of Carnatic music. The association has since organised more than 1,000 concerts. It has provided a basic platform for upcoming artistes like U P Raju and Nagamani, Mandolin Srinivas and the Malladi Brothers. It conducts workshops, felicitates artistes, and provides both moral and financial support to upcoming artistes. Dr S Chakravarthy, IAS, former Chief Secretary to the Govt. Of AP, is the current President of the association, and R Chakrapani is the General Secretary.

Entry is by season tickets of Rs. 300 per head for members. For others, it is Rs. 500 per head. Please contact R Chakrapani at 2742-5374/98491-24675 or V Ramachandran at 92461-61420 for further details.