A confluence of dance and music on stage

CHENNAI : The Music Academy was packed with about 800 music lovers, during the Sivananda — Festival of Music, recently. The annual event was spearheaded and hosted by The Temple of Fine Arts International (TFA), Sivananda Trust, and Annalakshmi Restaurant, to promote the arts as envisioned by TFA’s founder Swami Shantanand Saraswathi, and his guru Swami Sivananda Saraswathi. 

The evening began with a rendition by Ustad Usman Khan, a renowned sitar maestro from Pune, accompanied by Vickneswaran Ramakrishnan on tabla. Their hour-long rendition of Raag Kirwani lifted both the uninitiated and knowledgeable alike. Talking about his practice, Khan said, “Even at this age, I practice everyday. The music you learn to master doesn’t leave your mind; it stays there. So, I need to keep my fingers working.” 

Following this rendition in Hindustani, was a Carnatic kutcheri by OS Arun, and dance recitals by artists from Malaysia, Singapore and other centres of TFA. The festival was a testimony to the idea that art can bring people of different identities together. Arvind, director, Annalakshmi Restaurant said, “It was a celebration of our gurus’ love for music. Our effort was to sustain the arts, and inspire young art lovers to stayed engaged to these forms.” 

The event was free for all, and the performances included mangalacharan, a traditional invocatory item in Odissi; a Kathak repertoire set in a complex time cycle of 11 beats; another reworked Kathak piece with western contemporary music; and a Bharatanatyam repertoire exploring the relationship of Shringara within the voice of a solo performer. There were points during the Kathak confluence when  the audience were at the edge of their seats, holding their breath at crescendos. The final piece ended with audience identifying with the dancer’s love for Shiva. The hour-long pieces left the audience contended.