Margazhi Mahotsav begins

Constellations may not come together; but this dictum stood disproved at the inaugural of the 26th Margazhi Mahotsav of the Bharat Kalachar, where artistes — veteran and upcoming alike — came together on one stage, which kicked off in all zest at the Sri YGP Auditorium on Thirumalai Road, T Nagar, on Saturday.

The musicians and dance exponents were honoured. Noted violinist Prof T N Krishnan was conferred with the title ‘Gnana Kala Bharati’. Similarly veteran saxophone exponent Kadri Gopalnath, was conferred the ‘Vishwa Kala Bharati’ title. Uma Sriram, a disciple of noted Bharatanatyam dancer Padma Subramanyam, and thavil artiste Thanjavur T R Govindarajan were presented with special commendation awards.

Eleven junior artistes were presented with the ‘Yuva Kala Bharati’ awards. They included Sriranjani Santhanagopalan, daughter of Carnatic vocalist Neyveli Santhanagopalan; Rithvik Raja, a disciple of the noted artiste T M Krishna; and T Suresh, grandson of the veteran flutist Dr N Ramani.

The Margazhi Mahotsav is a 40-day event and will end on January 15. Performances by eminent musicians have been arranged for the 40-day period, noted among them being a percussion performance by Tabla exponent Ustad Zakir Hussain, son of veteran artiste Ustad Alla Rakha Khan. Noted Carnatic musicians Sanjay Subramanyam, Bombay Jayashree and Mandolin U Srinivas will also perform during the festival. Noted actors Lakshmi and Y G Mahendran were among those present.