The South Indian Cultural Association (SICA), in association with the Tirumala Tirupati Devastanams (TTD) and the Department Of Culture, Government Of Andhra Pradesh, is organising the 600th jayanti celebrations of Saint Annamacharya, from 25th to 27th June, at the Ravindra Bharathi auditorium. The 3-day celebrations will feature some renowned music and dance artistes including Sweta Prasad, the Malladi Brothers, Dr. Anupama Kailash & Group, Garimella Balakrishna Prasad, Venu Madhav and the Priya Sisters.
The Priya Sisters will perform a Carnatic vocal duet, the last performance of the event, on 27th June, from 7pm to 9:45pm. The Priya Sisters, Shanmukha Priya and Hari Priya, are popular and leading Carnatic musicians. They began learning vocal music at the age of 5 from their father V V Subbaraman. Later they had their advanced training in music from Radha-Jayalakshmi, and are now under the scholarly guidance of Prof T R Subramaniam.
The sisters are known for their clear diction and perfect synchronisation, and continue to impress music lovers and critics with their harmonious, fluent and melodic rendering of songs. They enjoy perfect rapport and co-ordination. They are also noted for good stage presence, great manodharma, excellent poise and confidence. Their concerts are formatted to suit the mood of the audience.
Together, they have performed more than 2,000 concerts in India and abroad, touring countries like the US, Canada, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Mauritius, and in a number of prestigious festivals like the Festival of Hyderabad, the Duo Festival, the Spirit Of Youth Festival, and the 69th and 70th birthday celebrations of Sri Satya Sai Baba.
They have received many titles like Ugadi Puraskar, Gayani Siromani and Sangeetha Sarada. They have also been conferred upon the 2000 MLV Memorial Award, and the Isai Peroli title (the Gomathy Visweswaran Charitable Trust Award), one of the prestigious awards of Carnatic music, by Kartik Fine Arts. They are also the asthana vidushis of the Sringeri Sarada Peetam.
They have released several of their pre-recorded cassettes and CDs, of which Devi Krithis, Annamayya Lahiri and Bhadrachala Ramadas Krithis are highly popular and among the bestsellers. The duo, besides being accomplished musicians, are trained Bharatanatyam dancers, too. Haripriya even played for the Tamil Nadu women's cricket team.
The entry is free for invitees and members of SICA. For others, it is by donor passes of Rs. Rs. 100, Rs. 50 & Rs. 25 per head per day. Please contact R Chakrapani, Secretary of SICA, at 2742-5374/98491-24675 for further details.