Carnatic Vocal Duet By Priya Sisters: Events in Hyderabad

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The South India Cultural Association (SICA), one of the oldest cultural associations of the twin cities, is organising its 51st Annual Festival Of Music & Dance, from 9th to 17th March, at the Ravindra Bharathi auditorium. The 9-day festival will feature several renowned performers - T M Krishna, P Unnikrishnan, Ravi Kiran, Sankaran Namboodiri, Priya Sisters, M Chandrasekharan and danseuse Anita Guha.

The Priya Sisters, Shanmukha Priya and Hari Priya, will be performing a Carnatic vocal duet on the 5th day. The Priya Sisters 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.

Together, they have performed more than 2,000 concerts in India and abroad, touring the US, Canada, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Mauritius, and in a number of prestigious festivals that include 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, some of which are the 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). Isai Peroli is one of the prestigious awards of Carnatic music, given by Kartik Fine Arts. The sisters 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 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.

SICA was founded in the year 1959, by Dewan Bahadur Aramuda Iyengar, patron of Carnatic music and Finance Minister of Hyderabad's Nizam. The association has since organised more than 1,000 concerts. It has provided a basic platform for upcoming artistes amongst whom are 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 Govt. of AP) is the current president of the association, and R Chakrapani is the General Secretary.

Entry is by donor passes. Season passes cost Rs. 400 / Rs. 300 per head and are valid for for all the 9 days of the festival. Daily passes cost Rs. 100 / Rs. 50 / Rs. 30 per head. Please contact R Chakrapani at 98491-24675 for further details.