Annual homage to Dikshitar conducted by Guruguhaamrta on March 1st 2015 @ Ettayapuram

[mahesh_narayan]

Guruguhaamrta, the organization started by Shri G Ravikiran to propagate the divine compositions of Muttuswamy Dikshitar, conducted its annual homage to the vainika gayaka vaggeyakara at his samadhi @ Ettayapuram yesterday. It was truly a magnificent Dikshitar akhandam from 10 AM - 7 PM.

Several eminent artistes graced the occasion with their presence and presented a mixture of rare and popular Dikshitar kritis as their musical offering to the great composer:

Here is a list of participating vocalists:
TS Sathyavathi Madam (disciple of RKS Sir) - accompanied by her student Anjana P Rao
Cherthalai Ranganatha Sharma
Students of Madurai Sadguru Samajam
Students of Madurai Amritavarshini school
Sumithra Vasudev (student of Vedavalli Amma)
Aarthi and Archana (students of Vedavalli Amma)
Rithivik Raja (student of Vidwan TM Krishna)
G Ravikiran (student of RKS Sir and Vidwan TM Krishna)
Mahesh Narayan (student of G Ravikiran)
Sahana
I forget the names of a couple of ladies who sang a couple of Dikshitar's kritis (apologies for the same).

Performing on the veena:
Ramana Balachandran (student of B Nagalakshmi and his father)

Accompanying on the violin were:
Aditi Krishnaprakash (student of Sri N Ravikiran)
Meera Sunder

On the Mridangam:
Thanjavur Praveen (student of Guruvayur Dorai Sir)
Valangaiman Thyagarajan Sir
Sri Gopalan from Hyderabad
Sri Thyagarajan from Kanchipuram
Ramana

More details can be found at the following FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/Guruguhaamrta

Thanks,
Mahesh.

[Rsachi]

Seems to be an inspired initiative with much effort and organisation. Kindly help me understand-
Does Ettayapuram have any significant relics or temples associated with Sri MD apart from his samadhi(?)
Where was this held?
How did people travel there?
What was the audience apart from the musicians and rasikas who travelled along?
Are there some de riguer songs for the akhandam (like Navavarana etc.) ?
Were there talks? What topics please?

Sorry if I sound dumb, that's because I AM dumb. My efforts to take people to such places has failed so far. I couldn't muster either critical level of audience or performers or experts.

Thanks

[sodafireja]

I was afraid to make a mistake I would like to ask you a little guidance.

[mahesh_narayan]

Rsachi, please find answers to your questions inline:

Does Ettayapuram have any significant relics or temples associated with Sri MD apart from his samadhi(?)
- None that I know of. There is a house where MD was supposed to have lived. It is near Subrahmanya Bharati's house, close to MD's samadhi

Where was this held?
- This was held at Dikshitar's samadhi only. There is a trust that currently manages the samadhi and we do it with their cooperation

How did people travel there?
- Mostly by train to Kovilpatti and an arranged van from there to Ettayapuram. It is about 15 Kms from Kovilpatti. Koviilpatti is on the Chennai - Nagercoil route, after Virudunagar and Satur

What was the audience apart from the musicians and rasikas who travelled along?
- Mostly the goshti that had traveled there to pay the musical homage . I did not see anyone other than our group. Maybe 1-2 local connoisseurs.

Are there some de riguer songs for the akhandam (like Navavarana etc.) ?
- No, nothing at all. Some people did present rare pieces, but we also had vatapi ganapatim in the list. Artistes are free to present whatever kritis they choose to. Luckily, so far we haven't had too many repetitions.

Were there talks? What topics please?
- None as such. Madam TS Sathyavathi, being a fine orator, and a scholarly music and sanskrit expert, spoke briefly about Dikshitar's legacy, his works, the power of his vak, his musical acumen etc. For about 20-30 mins. The idea was a day long musical homage primarily, and Sathyavathi Madam's participation in this edition led to the talk impromptu.

Hope that helped

[Rsachi]

Thank you!