Thanks to KR MLA T.S. Srivatsa, the event is organised in association with Govt. of Karnataka for the first time

Sangeetha Kalanidhi Mysore Vasudevacharya (1865-1961) is usually considered the most prolific among the post-Trinity Vaggeyakaras (those who compose lyrics and music together) in the field of Karnatak music.

He is credited with over 200 kritis, which are regularly sung in concerts and form the concert-highlight in many cases. Sri Acharya was a prominent Asthana Vidwan in the Mysore Palace and was among the most sought-after performers during his times. He lived in the house on New Sayyaji Rao Road in Agrahara, donated to him by the people of the city in 1933, where he taught music to many enthusiasts and developed the place into an active centre for music and literature.

Sri Acharya was persuaded by Dr. Rukminidevi Arundale in 1953 to shift to Chennai to serve at Kalakshetra, a centre for art and culture. He composed music there to Valmiki’s Ramayana, for the ballet produced by Dr. Rukminidevi, which went on to become the flagship presentation of Kalakshetra.

Vasudevacharya’s house in Mysuru has been under the ownership of his descendants ever since he left Mysore. Of late, the music fraternity of the city has developed this place, which remained vacant for about a decade, into a centre for music and it has now grown to be a much sought-after destination for all musicians visiting the city.

Ever since the former (erstwhile) residence of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Mysore Vasudevacharya was rehabilitated by a group of music enthusiasts and put open to the musicians for performance in 2017, there has been a steady growth in the number of artistes visiting the heritage house and performing concerts as a tribute to the legendary vaggeyakara.

The place has been host to more than 150 sessions of concerts during the last five years and hundreds of musicians from around the globe have relished the pleasure of performing in the house, where some of the greatest personalities in the field of Karnatak music, including Rallapalli A.K. Sharma, T. Chowdiah, Tiger Varadachar, GNB and M.S. Subbalakshmi, have spent their precious time learning and discussing music. Since the revival of activities at the house, Sri Acharya’s birth anniversary (May 28) and his death anniversary (May 17) are being celebrated there almost regularly, by different group of musicians or organisations, during the different years.

It has, however, been the desire of the musicians that the birth anniversary of Sri Acharya, the north star in the cultural history of the State, is celebrated annually and collectively on a grand scale, involving all the stakeholders, including the Government of Karnataka.

The clarion call of the music fraternity in recent years seemed to get a fillip when T.S. Srivatsa, the sitting MLA of Krishnaraja Constituency, raised this matter openly during the inauguration of Dasara cultural programmes at the Palace the last year.

Consistent efforts on the part of the MLA, in whose locality (Hale Agrahara), the Acharya’s house is located, have been successful in pursuing the Government to support a grand music programme marking the 162nd birth anniversary of the doyen.

Tomorrow’s (May 28) cultural programme, being organised by Sri Prasanna Sitarama Mandira, Mysuru, in association with the Department of Kannada and Culture, Government of Karnataka, at Bidaram Krishnappa’s Sri Rama Mandira on Narayana Shastry Road, forms the first step in making the dream of the musicians come true.

The programme presents a Lecture-Demonstration ‘Vasudeva Vaggeya Vaibhava’ by the renowned musician and acclaimed scholar Dr. T.S. Sathyavathi, from Bengaluru. Dr. Sathyavathi will be supported on vocals by Vidushis Archana Bhoj, Shilpa Shashidhar, Anjana P. Rao and Lavanya Krishnamurthy and accompanied by Vidu. Aditi Krishnaprakash on violin and Vid. G.S.  Ramanujam on mridanga.

The programme at Bidaram Krishnappa’s Sri Rama Mandira  will be starting at 10.30 am and is open to all music lovers.

KR MLA T.S. Srivatsa will inaugurate the event.

Artistes’ profile

Dr. Sathyavathi is an internationally acclaimed Karnatak vocalist, Sanskrit scholar, tunesmith, organiser and musicologist with over five decades of distinction in performance, teaching and research.

Her mentors include legendary gurus like Sangeetha Kalanidhi R.K. Srikantan. With a Ph.D in Sanskrit and proficiency in Music, her contributions in entertaining, educating and elevating the cultural sensitivity is praised as remarkable.

Her grounding in Sanskrit and musicology, combined with a doctoral degree in Sanskrit, uniquely positions her to bridge tradition with modernity, bringing rare depth and sensitivity to her creative interpretations. A lifelong mission to integrate music and Sanskrit has driven her efforts to preserve and promote India’s intangible heritage and cultural values.

Recognised with prestigious awards and a role model to upcoming generations, her work and life have enriched musical tradition, fostered meaningful pursuit and integrated approach to Indian fine arts.

To put her accomplishments in a nutshell, she has to her credit over a thousand concerts, hundred plus lec-dems, nearly a hundred workshops, more  than ten major musical productions, publications exceeding a hundred and awards over fifty in number.

Vidu. Aditi, tutored by Vid. H.K. Narasimha Murthy and Chitraveena Ravikiran, is an ‘A-grade’ artiste of AIR and has been accompanying front-line artistes for many years now.

Vid. Ramanujam from the famed PGL School in Mysuru is among the most renowned percussionists in the State and has accompanied almost all leading artistes in the field.