Mandolin Duet By UP Raju & Nagamani: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR MANDOLIN DUET BY UP...

These two had peaked in their careers by the times others were starting theirs. Thereafter, they did the only thing possible - redefine peaking. And you, have got SICA to thank for letting you know what that means.

The South India Cultural Association (SICA), one of the oldest cultural associations of the twin cities, is organising its 47th Annual Festival of Music and Dance from 17th to 24th February, at Ravindra Bharathi. The week-long festival will witness some of the best Carnatic musicians and classical dancers of the country, like Sanjay Subrahmanyam, U P Raju and Nagamani, Sudha Ragunathan, T V Sankaranarayanan, P Unnikrishnan, Dr Ananda Shankat Jayant, Gopika Varma, Revathi Ramachandran and Deepika Reddy, sharing the stage.

Today, the second day, U P Raju and Nagamani will be rendering Carnatic music on the mandolin. U P Raju learned from a young age under R Subbaraju, undergoing 7 years of rigorous training through the Gurukulavasam system. Thereafter, he received advanced training from Calcutta K S Krishnamoorthi. He received many prizes and awards, including a special prize by the Krishna Gana Sabha for distinguished performance, the K S Mahadevan endowment for the best junior artist playing a foreign instrument by the Narada Gana Sabha, and the Yuva Bharati from Bharat Kalachar.

P Nagamani, as a precocious teenager, ranks on par with many Carnatic exponents much senior to her in age. Under the loving and careful guidance of her uncle and mentor, Mandolin U P Raju, this prodigal child has developed into a fine artist. By the age of 9, she had performed as a seasoned soloist in the hallowed portals of the grand music sabhas of Madras. She has had advanced training under Calcutta K S Krishnamoorthi. She was declared Best Junior Artist by the Krishna Gana Sabha. She was also the recipient of the Ambujam Krishna award from the Madras Music Academy in 1994.

Together, they have performed extensively around the globe in countries like South Africa, USA, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Dubai, Sri Lanka, France, Switzerland and Germany, besides all over India.

SICA was founded in the year 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 Govt. of AP, is the present president of the association, and R Chakrapani is the General Secretary.

The entry is by season passes for the members and daily tickets of Rs. 100 & Rs. 50 per head per day are available at the venue. For further details, please contact R Chakrapani at 2742-5374, 2383-5222, 2351-6399 and 98491-24675.