| Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu ! (Let there be happiness all over the worlds) Many of you have sent New Year Greetings by telephone, email, regular letters, SMS/text messages etc. We reciprocate all that, wish we could have personally or by at least regular mail responded. But we are forced to send you this email along with all our good wishes and also thanks for thinking about us (even those who have not yet managed to send greetings). We pray for happiness, peace and harmony right across the world. We think we try our best to see the world grow more and more wall less whether they are made of iron or bamboo or stronger mental blocks. A music festival honouring a composer, a Maharaja Swathi Tirunal (1813-1846) who faced the music of wrath from the British because of his independent nature - despite that he tried to introduce all that was modern and good in their administrative system to Travancore - his frustration and helplessness driving him close to Almighty and that produced such gems of compositions in all the different formats of the two great Indian Classical Systems viz. Hindustani & Carnatic (no other composer has to this day done that). His not having a shishyaparampara (series of students) unlike St Thyagaraja and the other two of the Trinities was a handicap in popularising his music, they were known mainly to dancers all over the world. Some two decades ago the Kerala Govt decided to give an award "Swathi Puraskaram" and conducted a festival at the Puthen Malika (popularly known as Kuthiramalika or horse palace because of the 122? wooden horses supporting the South side of the beautiful mansion built just a couple of years before the Maharaja passed away - now run as a museum) Unfortunately, as govts do after a few years when they announced the festival would be at the same venue and same days year after year in 2000 January they decided that the Maharaja was too big a person to be tied down to his palace and the festival was moved at extremely short notice of three weeks to mofussil places like Wayanad & Kannur. Lots and lots of overseas visitors to Kerala had started timing their visit to Kerala to include this festival. So in 2000 January my son and my wife decided to conduct a festival just for that year so that those visitors who planned to be at Kuthiramalika would not face a blank week. From then it has been a privilege to conduct the Swathi Sangeethotsavam at the PuthenMalika (dates were re-adjusted taking into account feedback both fromk artists as well as overseas visitors to a slot of seven days 6th to 12th January every year. While there are some formal committees the actual work is done by my son a musician, teacher and organiser Rama Varma with some assistance of his mother and a handful of volunteers, small financial help from a few banks etc and some individuals and institutions - but strictly on condition that the atmosphere or ambience of the venue is not marred by the sponsors displays. Whilegreat concerts are presented free to the lovers of music and expenses born by the organisers we think of this as a token of a New Year gift to the lovers of music from anywhere in the world. If you are unable to be here 6th to 12th this year please do try next year or year after that and make it a habit like many from England, Holland, Germany, Italy and France have. Or better still tell about this to other friends who may be able to be in Trivandrum Jan 6th to 12th every or any year. A very happy new year to all Jan 06 Thu to 12 Wed Kuthiramalika Concerts - SWATHI SANGEETHOTSAVAM - 2011 Kuthiramalika - Fort Palace Complex THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 695 023 Kerala State, South India Thu Jan 06 Vocal :Sri Sanjay Subrahmanyam Violin : Sri S.R.Vinu Mridangam : Sri Nanjil Arul Ghatam : Sri Manjoor Unnikrishnan Morsing : Sri Kottayam Murali Fri Jan 07 (Violin Duet) Sri SRMahadeva Sarma & Smt SRRajasree Mridangam: Sri B.Harikumar Ghatam : Sri Vaikom Gopalakrishnan Sat Jan 08 Vocal : Smt Vidya Kalyanaraman Violin : Kumari K.P.Nandhini Mridangam: Sri Trivandrum Balaji Ghatam : Sri Uduppi Sridhar Morsing : Smt Bhagyalakshmi Sun Jan 09 Vocal : Prince Rama Varma Violin: Sri S.Varadarajan Mridangam: Sri Patri Satheeshkumar Ghatam : Dr.S.Karthik Morsing : Sri. Payyannur Govinda Prasad Mon Jan 10 Vocal :Kumari Amrutha Venkatesh Violin : Sri Edapally Ajith Mridangam: Sri Palakkad Mahesh Kumar Ghatam : Dr. S.Kathik Morsing : Sri Payyannur Govinda Prasad Tue Jan 11 (Hindustani Vocal) Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty & Party Wed Jan 12 Vocal : Sri RKPadmanabha Violin : Sri C.N.Chandrasekharan Mridangam : Sri Cheluvaraj Ghatam : Sri P.L.Sudhir Organised by HH Sir Rama Varma Maharaja of Travancore Trust Kaudiar Palace, Thiruvananthapuram - 695 003 These great concerts are FREE !! EVERY YEAR Same dates - Same venue - Same timimg ===================== Chemprol Raja R VARMA Kaudiar Palace, Thiruvananthapuram - 695 003 ...deleted
Please visit my son Rama Varma's website His music lessons from 4.30pm to 5pm Indian Standard Time from Monday to Friday on PLEASE DO VISIT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM EVERY YEAR FROM 6th to 12th January for the Annual Kuthiramalika Concerts (Swathi Sangeethotsavam) from 6pm each evening at the Puthen Malika (Kuthira Malika) Fort Palace Complex, East Fort,Thiruvananthapuram Please plan now to be there in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and EVERY YEAR AND IT IS ALL FREE!!!! | 
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