Date:16/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/16/stories/2008111651160200.htm

Kerala - Kochi

Music fete to mark Sai Baba birthday

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: The Sree Sathya Sai Seva Samithi will mark the 83rd birthday celebrations of Sathya Sai Baba with a music festival, which will also be offer a platform for young and aspiring classical singers.

K.S. Radhakrishnan, Vice-Chancellor, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, will inaugurate the festival at the Samithi building at Vaikom on November 18. P.K. Harikumar, chairman of Vaikom municipality, will preside.

The inaugural session will be followed by Sopana Sangeetham by Baby M. Marar, Veena recital by Mudikondan S.N. Ramesh with Vaikom R. Gopalakrishnan on mrudangam and vocal led by Alapuzha Haridas.

The next three days will have vocal concerts in the evenings. On November 22, the concert will start at 8.30 a.m.

The vocal concert by G. Bhuvaneswari will be followed by one-hour concerts.

More than 30 singers like N.P. Ramaswami, P.R. Kumarakerala Varma, Arakkulam Devarajan, Ponkunnam Ramachandran, Ayamkudi Mani and Sreevalsan J. Menon will come together for Sri Thyagaraja Pancharatna Keertha Alaapanam on Sunday at 10.15 a.m. Concerts will follow through the day.