Kanyakumari’s star-spangled career
The Hindu
Violinist Kanyakumari has now been honoured with a mention in the Congressional Record in the U.S.
Leading Carnatic violinist and guru A. Kanyakumari was recently mentioned in the Congressional Record, the official written record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. Raja Krishnamoorthi, of the House of Representatives, representing the state of Illinois’ 8th District, incorporated this recognition on August 6, in the Extensions of Remarks section, “to honor the life and talent of Avasarala Kanyakumari, a revered master violinist, composer and teacher”. After providing a background of Kanyakumari’s training and her renown as a soloist and accompanist, Rep. Krishnamoorthi mentioned some of the awards she has received — Padma Shri, Kalaimamani and Sangita Kalanidhi. Then, referring to her teaching, he said, “She offers her services without charge, as her way of paying it forward and honouring the contributions made by her teachers to developing her talents. And Kanyakumari is a wonderful musical ambassador, sharing the beauty of the Carnatic tradition with music lovers all over the world.”
The municipal bus stand auditorium in Malappuram was packed. But nobody quite knew what to expect. After all, a new event was making its debut at the State School Arts Festival. The moment V.G. Harikrishnan started his rendition of Pyar bhare do sharmile nain..., everyone was convinced that Ghazal was here to stay. The student from GVHSS, Atholi (Kozhikode), was applauded loudly for his rendering of the timeless ghazal sung originally by Mehdi Hassan.

For the last few weeks, several wards in Madurai city have been getting piped drinking water through a new drinking water scheme. The sweetness of the generously supplied water has led to loss of business to several suppliers of canned drinking water in the city. But, not many know that the water supplied to the houses in Madurai is directly drawn from Lower Dam of Mullaperiyar Dam in Idukki district of Kerala.











