CHENNAI: The third day of the eight-day long music festival, ‘Chennaiyil Thiruvaiyaru’, was held at Kamaraj Arangam from 7 am to 10 pm on Thursday.  

Now in its 14th season, the festival featured a discourse session by Varsha Bhuvaneshwari, which was followed by a Bharatanatyam performance by Tejaswini, Carnatic music performances by Ameya Karthikeyan and Ganesh, and a dance performance titled ‘Layam – Lasyam – Layanyam’ by Utsav Music. Carnatic musician Abhishek Raghuram and singer Sid Sriram performed in the evening.

The afternoon session saw a Carnatic performance by Kashyap Mahesh on vocals, Agusthiar G Girish on the ganjira, K Vishnupuram K Ragu on the morsing, Srirangam Ananth on the vocals, and Hari Prasad on mridangam. The chemistry between these Tiruchy-based performers was a sight to behold, as they struck each note with ease. “We have known each other for a long time. We came down specifically to perform at Chennaiyil Thiruvaiyaru. We did not practice as much as we just told each other of the songs and arrangements we were going to perform. At the end of the day, the language of music is universal and there is a beauty in performing with your friends,” said Mahesh.

The performers visited Chennai to perform at Chennaiyil Thiruvaiyaru in 2011. Back then, Mahesh said the crowds were not as large or receptive as they are now. “There is a lot of encouragement for Carnatic and classical artists now. There is a lot of support given to these musicians by artists and the audience, which is very necessary for the art to grow,” said Mahesh.

The Chennaiyil Thiruvaiyaru will be held at Kamaraj Arangam from 7 am to 10 pm till December 25.