Hamsadhwani’s NRI fest gets under way

CHENNAI 

Madras High Court judge Anand Venkatesh on Sunday appreciated the role of non-resident Indians in supporting and propagating Carnatic music. 

Inaugurating Hamsadhwani’s 27 th NRI festival of dance and music at the Youth Hostel in Indira Nagar, he said NRIs were the ones who were safeguarding Indian culture and classical music. 

He said it was sad that a section of people was more interested in the canteen offerings in sabhas than the music that was on offer. He said one need not formally learn music; it was enough to know how to appreciate it and the musicians. 

Art patron Revathi Subramanian from San Diego said she was glad that Hamsadhwani had rooted itself in Adyar and was making efforts to spread the classical arts in this part of the city. She recalled that her guru Neyveli Santhanagopalan would emphasise the importance of learning and promoting the arts. “Apart from practicing musicians, we also need people who research, support and propagate music,” she added. 

Sabha secretary R. Sundar said Hamsadhwani had encouraged at least 700 NRI artists over the years. This year featured 35 NRI artists from the U.S., Canada, U.K., Norway, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore with 25 programmes on 14 evenings, including Hamsadhwani founder R. Ramachandran’s birthday remembrance on January 1, 2023. The sabha will hold two concerts daily – at 5.15 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The inaugural event was followed by a dance performance by Srekala Bharat and disciples from the Thejas Dance School, titled ‘Veeram Vilaindha Bhoomi’.