Moodbidri: Alvas Virasat Gets off to a 'Classic' Start
Daijiworld Media Network – Moodbidri (RD)
Pics by Dayananda Kukkaje
Moodbidri, Jan 8: The week-long Alva’s Virasat, an annual music and dance festival, got off to a colourful start in Moodbidri on Wednesday, drawing thousands of youth and families.
At the venue, flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia was brought on to the dais in a palanquin accompanied by pancha-vadhya people carrying colourful umbrellas, as has been the traditional at the Virasat. He was honoured with the Alva’s Virasat Award for 2009.
Writer and Chairperson of Infosys Foundation Sudha Murthy inaugurated the event. She inaugurated the festival of cultural events by lighting the lamp along with Pt. Chaurasia.
The flautist, after being honoured, said “I have travelled all over the world and received many awards. But this one I shall cherish a lot. He also said he had been playing the flute for 65 years now. He voiced his love for the people of the State and called them “true lovers of art.”
On her part, Murthy quoted the examples of Mozart and Yanni and said music had great power to inspire people and bring them together.
Presiding over the function, Editor of Kannada magazine Taranga, Sandhya Pai, asked the gathering to give a standing ovation to Mohan Alva, the organiser of Alva’s Virasat. The entire gathering, in response, stood up in appreciation for the man who single-handedly has been organising this festival for the past 13 years. Remembering her visit to Chennai once during the annual music festival organised by the Sangeetha Kala Academy, Pai said Virasat was one of a kind and such programmes should be held in Bangalore too.
A unique Carnatic and Hindustani jugalbandi by Mysore Manjunath, Mysore Nagaraj and Tejendra Majumdar N. followed the inaugural function.
Maestros such as Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhat (Mohana veena), Shahid Parvez (sitar), Hariharan (ghazal exponent) and S.P. Balasubramanium (playback singer) will perform during the six-day festival. A painting exhibition and interactive sessions with artists has also been arranged for throughout the festival.