OS Arun at Swati Sangeethotsavam

The major event in Trivandrum at the start of the New Year is the Swathi Sangeethotsavam at Kuthira Maalika. As we were travelling, we missed most of the kutcheris except on the last day . We could get a flavour of OS Arun towards the end of his kutcheri on the 13th of January.I also missed the Nishagandhi events. Hope I can make up after I return from the US. 

Tall flagpole: but where is the flag?

Trivandrum could boast of having one of the tallest flagpoles in India. Standing 206 feet tall,  the flag mast at Kanakakunnu was one of the tallest in India, along with the ones at Hissar, Bellary ( Jindal steel)  and a few others. It was my understanding that the flag will never be brought down. This morning, however, I found the mast standing forlorn without the tricolur. Is it because a taller mast (216 ft.) has been erected at the National Military Memorial at Bengaluru? Or is it to stop Modi, who is visiting the city today, from saluting it? :-) Or is it just poor maintenance management? 

Roller skaters of Kawdiar

 

Roller skating is catching on like wild fire in Trivandrum. A small group of enthusiastic kids with their parents and coach were seen outside the Kawdiar palace gates. With the schools closed for summer, there is spurt in the number of skaters as can be seen from the pictures above. 

By the way, there was another small group near Enchakkal on the bypass service road. Whatever happened to them?

Tallest Flagpole in India

The tricolour flutters from the tallest flagpole in India at the Kanakakunnu palace grounds, Thiruvananthapuram.
This was due to the efforts of Mr. Naveen Jindal and The Flag Foundation of India. 
The flagpole, 206 feet high is perhaps the tallest in the country and was inaugurated in February 2013 after several uncertainties.

Veena concert at Levee Hall

Anantha Padmanabhan and Anand Kaushik on the Veena at the Swati Sangeetothsawam conducted by Doordarshan Kendra, Thiruvananthapuram, at Levee Hall, fort.

OS Arun at Swathi Sangeethotsavam

On the last day of Swati Sangeethotsav, OS Arun regaled the audience with his unique style. here he is singing "Shyama Mohana" 

Swathi Sangeethotsawam 2013 at Kuthira maalika

The generally sleepy Kuthira maalika comes alive every January with the Swathi Sangeethotsavam.- a week long festival of concerts. It was inaugurated on Friday, the 4th January this year  with a concert by Sanjay Subramanyan.

On 5th January, Price Rama Varma was the artiste. Here are some pictures of the concert and the venue.

This being the Bicentenary of Maharaja Swati Thirunal, it is a 10 day festival from 4th January to 13th January, instead of the usual 7 days. The detailed programme is given below: (courtesy: kuthiramalika info)

Swathi Sangeethotsavam January 4th to 13th ,2013

              At Kuthiramalika Palace , East Fort , Trivandrum

 

4-1-2013                   Sri Sanjay Subrahmanyan              -    Vocal                     

Friday                       Sri S.Varadarajan                          -    Violin

6pm to 9pm              Sri S.J.Arjun Ganesh                     -    Mridangam

                                Udupi Sri Srikanth                         -    Kanjira

                                Dr S.Karthick                                -    Ghatam

                              

 

5-1-2013                   Prince Rama Varma                      -     Vocal

Saturday                   Sri S.Varadarajan                          -     Violin

6pm to 9pm              Sri B.Harikumar                            -     Mridangam

                                Dr S.Karthick                                -     Ghatam

 

 

6-1-2013                   Master Siddharth                            -     Vocal         

Sunday                     Sri Sampath                                   -      Violin

5 to 6:30pm              Dr G.Babu                                     -      Mridangam

 

6:30pm                     Sri J.B Sruthisagar                         -      Flute

                                Sri Sampath                                  -      Violin

                                Sri N.C.Bharadwaj                        -     Mridangam

                                Nerkunam Sri Shankar                   -     Kanjira

                                Sri Hariharasubramaniam               -     Ghatam

 

 

7-1-2013                   Ms Amrutha Venkatesh                 -     Vocal               

Monday                    Avaneeswaram Sri S.R.Vinu         -     Violin 

6pm to 9pm              Dr G.Babu                                   -    Mridangam

                                Perukavu Sri P.L.Sudheer             -    Ghatam

                                                                                          

 

8-1-2013                   Sikkil Sri Gurucharan                     -    Vocal

Tuesday                   Sri V.Sanjeev                                 -    Violin

6pm to 9 pm            Poongulam Sri Subramaniam          -    Mridangam

                               Manjoor Sri Unnikrishnan               -    Ghatam          

 

 

9-1-2013                 Ramakrishnan Murthy                     -    Vocal

Wednesday            Avaneeswaram Sri S.R.Vinu            -    Violin

6pm to 9pm            Palghat Sri Maheshkumar                -    Mridangam

                              Perukavu Sri P.L.Sudheer               -    Ghatam

 

 

 

10-1-2013                Smt Ranjini Guruprasad                 -    Vocal

Thursday                 Sri R.K Sriramkumar                     -    Violin

6pm to 9pm             Sri B.Ganapathyraman                  -    Mridangam

                               Udupi Sri Sridhar                          -    Ghatam

11-1-2013                 Sri Debapriya Adhikary                 -    Hindustani Vocal

Friday                      Sri Samanwaya Sarkar                   -    Sitar     

6pm to 9pm              Sri Nitin Mitta                               -    Tabla                                                               

 

 

12-1-2013                 Sri Vighnesh Eashwar                   -    Vocal

Saturday                   Sri S.R.Mahadev Sarma               -    Violin

6pm to 9pm              Sri K.V Prasad                             -    Mridangam

                                Udupi Sri Srikanth                        -    Kanjira

                                Sri Guruprasad                             -    Ghatam

                               

 

13-1-2013                 Sri O.S. Arun                                -    Vocal

Sunday                    M.R.Gopinath                                -    Violin

6pm to 9pm             Sri J.Vaidhyanathan                        -    Mridangam

                               Dr S.Karthick                                 -    Ghatam

                               Sri Ganapathi                                 -    Tabla    

Swathi sangeethotsavam where royalty and divinity meet

The much awaited Swathi Sangeethotsavam 2012 started on Friday, the 6th January at the Kuthiramaalika palace built by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal. The royal courtyard reverberated with the divine voice of Sanjay Subrahmanyan. Truly an unforgettable experience.

The programmes to follow:
7th January: Prince Rama Verma
8th : Bangalore S Shankar
9th : Venkataraman
10th : Master G Abhilash
11th: Abhradita Banrjee - Hindustani Bhajans
12th: Akkarai Sisters

Hay Festival in Kerala

The Hay festival comes to Trivandrum again.


Pictures show award winning illustrator, Ed Verve, enthralling the audience - children and adults alik - with his story telling, story making, and drawing sessions.

Anosh Irani, Canada based novelist and playwright (left) and Farrukh Dhondy, author and screenplay writer for films and television (3rd from left) in conversation with Sanjoy Roy and Bina Paul

The lawns of the Kankakunnu palace, where the festival was held

Liminal Space - a bronze work by KS Radhakrishnan

KS Radhakrishnan, the renowned artist, exhibited his magnum opus in bronze, 'Liminal space' at the Kanakakunnu palace, Trivandrum. Though this was smaller than the exhibits at Mumbai and Kolkata, it did not fail to impress. For Radhakrishnan, who spent his early days at Shantiniketan, the muse is the Santhal couple, Musui and Maiya who appear in all his works in various sizes and shapes. More details at: http://beta.thehindu.com/arts/art/article407754.ece
and
http://ksradhakrishnan.com/images/Liminal_Figures_catalogue.pdf

Film Festival

There is a feast for the film buffs in Trivandrum. In additional to the several film clubs, the Government sposored Film Festival held every December is also very popular. The films are screend in several venues. One can register as a delegate on-line and also reserve seats for particular shows. The above image greets visitors to the 14th International Film Festival of Kerala, in front of the Kanakakunnu Palace, one of the venues in 2009.

Ruined 500 year old palace at Eraniel, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu

Floral motif on a stone pillar

Staircase to the upper floor

Nadu mittam - Central Courtyard

Verandah

Ruined 500 year old palace at Eraniel - 1

Eraniel is situated about 50 Kms from Trivandrum and 15 Kms from Nagerkoil, in Tamil Nadu. The palace was believed to be built by Marthanada Varma of the Venad Dyansty ( precursor to Travancore) about 500 years ago. After the the consturction of the nearby (5 kms) Padmanabhapuram Palace the capital was shifted there, but Eraniel continued to be a sub capital. The structure is dilapidated and nearly completely ruined due to ignorance, indifference and vandalism. Peridiocally, one hears about restoration plans by different agencies but nothing has happened on the ground. Any further delay will mean complete loss of this piece of heritage.
What a shame!



Entrance to the Palace


The roof and rafters


Royal Bed


Crumbling woodworks