CHENNAI, August 5: The second edition of the six-day Svanubhava, an exclusive musical event for the students of Carnatic music, began on a colourful note at the serene and verdant surroundings of Kalakshetra here on August 4.

Girls and boys in traditional South Indian attire thronged the venue. The opening session, which commenced at nine in the morning, saw a full house. The musical extravaganza kick- started with a talavadya session by the students of Ganesh Tala Vadya Vidyalaya, an organisation run by ghatam artistes Vikku T.H. Vinayakram and T.H. Subash Chandran. It was a remarkable presentation by the student-artistes comprising Guru Aravind (konnakol), Krishna (ghatam), Swaminathan (kanjira), Sri Krishna (morsing) and Sunil Kumar (tavil). Aravind on Konnakol pleasantly surprised the audience with his prowess. The audience joined the musical ensemble by clapping to its rhythmic beats as the talavadya session was drawing to an end. An excellent presentation, marked for its neat execution and professional fineness. The kids deserved the kudos.

What followed was an interesting session in the form of a grand musical concert by the famed Rudrapatnam family. It was indeed a very rare sight. The entire Rudrapatnam family was on stage. It was indeed a coup of sort for the organizers to get them to the Svanubhava fest. Legendary vocalist R.K.Srikantan gave a comprehensive introduction of the Rudrapatnam family, sketching a note or two in the process on his grandfathers and other musicians in the family. It was an education, as the 90-year-old Shri Srikantan gave such a great intro before settling down to give a magnificent concert with his entire family members in tow. If the stage sported an aesthetic look, it gained elevation as stalwarts from the Radrapatnam family got on to it. On the center is seated the grand old Shri.R.K.Srikantan. On his right were seated his son R.K. Ramakanth and niece R.N. Srilatha. On his left were his nephews Rudrapatnam brothers - R.N. Tharanathan and R.N.Thiagarajan.

Rudrapatnam, according to Shri Srikantan, is known as the Tanjavur of Karnataka.

His Rudrapatnam family consisted of four brothers along with himself. He is the fourth. His eldest brother, R.K. Venkatarama Sastri, was a disciple of the famous violinist T. Chowdiah and a highly sought-after violinist himself. His other brothers, R.K. Narayanaswami (a disciple of Musiri Subramanya Iyer) and R.K. Ramanathan (an English professor) were good musicians. His father Rudrapatnam Krishna Sastri and his brother Shyama Sastri were Sanskrit scholars, poets, dramatists, harikatha exponents and musicians. According to Shri Srikantan, he got his early training from his father and later on from his brothers who were adept in vocal and violin. Violinist R.K. Shriramkumar is his grand nephew.

As Shri Srikantan held the audience captive during the over one-hour concert with his age-defying immaculate voice, a girl was curious to know from him the secret of his voice. Shri Srikantan said the list was a very long one. They were:

• Respect your body and maintain good health
  
• Good practice is a must
  
• Don’t be carried away by reviews and such other things
  
• Be humble
  
• Respect your gurus
  
• Finally, be careful in food habits

Svanubhava 2009 to begin on August 4

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