The title of 'Sangeetha Choodamani' was conferred on Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashree Ramnath by the Sri Krishna Gana Sabha (KGS) at the commencement of the Sabha's Gokulashtami music festival recently. The title of Acharya Choodamani was also conferred on veena exponent Kalpagam
Swaminathan.
The KGS, one of the premier institutions in Chennai, confers these awards to deserving artistes ever year in recognition of their contribution and service in the field of fine arts. The recipients are decided by a committee set up by KGS.
The titles were presented by SPIC chairman A C Muthiah, who called for efforts to promote traditional forms of music, especially Tamil music, and take them to the masses. Music critic K S Mahadevan and musicologist Dr V V Srivatsa felicitated them.
Bombay Jayashree's guru, Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, the internationally renowned violin maestro, was the first recipient of the Sangeetha Choodamani title by KGS. Mahadevan pointed out that Jayashree was fortunate to get the guidance of Lalgudi Jayaraman. Dr Srivatsa said the two artistes richly deserved the honour bestowed on them.
Devaki Muthiah gave away prizes to the winners of the Gokulashtami Talent Promotion concerts.
"Every award or award function brings together the entire family that the sacred art comprises of. It is the celebration of the power and reach of the music. In recognising an artiste for contribution and service to this art, an institution, especially a much revered and respected institution such as Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, is sharing the moments of evolution and growth of Carnatic music with the artiste. It is a privilege and I feel fortunate and honoured to receive this recognition this year," says
Jayashree.
Born into a family of musicians with rich lineage and steeped in pedigree music, Jayashree represents the fourth generation of music practitioners in her family. Besides the guidance of Lalgudi Jayaraman, Jayashree received training from T R Balamani (vocal- Carnatic music) and G N Dandapani (Carnatic, veena).
The Sri Krishna Gana Sabha is celebrating its golden jubilee this year. The sabha was started by Maharajapuram Santhanam in 1954, with Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer as its president. Concerts were held in the Hindi Prachar Sabha premises in T Nagar to start with. In 1957, Yagnaraman took over and conducted performances temporarily near Panagal Park. In 1961, the Sabha moved to its permanent premises on Griffith Road. Yagnaraman has been the secretary of Sri Krishna Gana Sabha uninterruptedly ever since for nearly 49 years.
Sangeetha Choodamani title for Bombay Jayashree
