CHENNAI: The Dwaraka Auditorium at Dwaraka Doss Goverdhan Doss Vaishnav College was lit up in hues of yellow.
Jerbaras of the same colour were arranged around the periphery of the stage. By 4.15 pm on Friday most maroon seats in the vintage auditorium were occupied.
The college’s Srinath Fine Arts, organised Margazhi Mahotsav 2020.
“Ragam, Talam, Bhavam and Natayam are the four elements we celebrate during Margazhi. We not only pass on our traditions, myths and legends via stories, we also use depictions as an art to convey the stories. We have developed a very strong connection with the fine arts to convey the essence of our culture,” said the emcee, before he introduced the first performer onto the stage.
Dressed in a blue silk shirt and a white veshti, Vishnu R began his first performance with Shankarabaranamo.
His mellifluous performance hitting the high and low notes with grace and perfection had people peeping into the auditorium, to get a listen and glimpse of the professor’s voice.
The next act was by a group of Bharatnatayam dancers from Srinath Fine Arts. They performed a series of seven skits based on Lord Krishna’s life and teachings. The evening came to an end with classical renditions by award-winning singer, Laxmi Priya.
Day two of Margazhi Mahotsav commenced with a music performance by the college’s in-house cultural team Srinath Fine Arts.
The troupe comprising boys and girls rendered a medley of well-known semi-classical songs. Some of the songs were Alaipayuthe kanna, Dhanashree thillana and Bantureethi kolu. Accompanists complemented the musicians with their background score.
Awed by the presentation, R Ganesan, principal of the college said, “I’m impressed by the efforts that have been put by the cultural team of the college. It’s a different feeling to experience Margazhi music inside a college instead of a concert hall.
The faculty and I were enthralled by the compositions. The college will support this effort and will make it a month-long celebration in the future. After all, life is incomplete without art.”
The event was compered in Sanskrit by a student, which created the perfect mood. The two-hour programme concluded with college alumnus K Sathyanarayanan’s mesmerising keyboard concert. From AR Rahman’s to Ilaiyaraaja’s compositions, Sathya’s choice of songs was exciting and crowd-pulling. His Anjali Anjali, Thendral Vanthu and a song from the film Sankarabharnam were an instant hit.