The courtyard of the Diwan Wada, a beautiful ruin-like remnant of the Maratha Husoor Palace in Thiruvaiyaru, forms the perfect backdrop against which to pay obeisance to mystic maestros like Amir Khusrau, Meera, Dikshitar, Rabia al Basri and more. And, Thiruvaiyaru, the place where Saint Thyagaraja, one of the members of the Trinity of Carnatic music, composed some of his greatest works, was a fitting venue. We are at the Festival of Sacred Music (FOSM), an annual extravaganza organised by the Prakriti Foundation, in association with the Marabu Foundation and INTACH from February 21 to 23.
On the first day, Hindustani vocalist Vidya Shah and her talented accompanists took to the makeshift stage, accentuated by an ancient, gnarled tree in the background. Just diagonally opposite, the beautiful dovecote, painstakingly lit up, creates a picture of charm. Vidya’s dulcet voice crooned Mohe apne hi rang mein rang de, a timeless composition by Amir Khusrau that is an ode to his teacher, Nizamuddin Aulia.
The perfect rendition set the stage for the rest of the evening and as the piece ended, cries of ‘Bravo’ were heard amidst thunderous applause. The last piece was a favourite sufi qawwali, made popular by Bollywood films — Dama dam mast qalandar. The piece, which is a tribute to Jhule Lal, was the perfect finale, as the initially shy crowd joined in later with much enthusiasm.
On the second day, the silt-laden banks of the river Cauvery played host to a scintillating concert by mridangam exponent, Padma Vibhushan Umayalpuram K Sivaraman. Meera Krishnan, Program Coordinator for Prakriti Foundation, says that the annual ‘Clean the Cauvery’ initiative is an integral part of the festival. “Every year, we have volunteers from various colleges coming together for this initiative. This year we had around 400 from five colleges taking part in the ‘Clean the Cauvery’ project. We are also hoping to make this a sustainable initiative all through the year,” she explains.
The last day had flautist Shashank enthralling music lovers in a magical setting near the Amman Sannidhi of the Panchanatheeswara Temple. Apart from a handful of people coming in from all parts of the country, the rest of the audience was made up of the local residents, who clearly appreciated the fine nuances of music.
The sixth edition of the FOSM was as much about what was happening off the stage as the proceedings on the finely orchestrated spaces. There was a bhajan competition for students of the schools and colleges in the vicinity, with the winners getting a chance to perform before the stalwarts.
Cultural expert V.R Devika kept us intrigued with her tales, as she conducted a heritage walk around the charming town. “We are planning to introduce heritage walks by students as a regular highlight of this place. There was much enthusiasm and many colleges were even interested in creating a Heritage Club,” she adds, with a hint of pride.
Inspired by the World Festival of Sacred Music in Morocco, FOSM was an endeavour to create a similar event on a smaller scale, working with the local communities. Meera reminisces, “When we started off, there was hardly any crowd. We didn’t want it to be something that was done by a group of people from Chennai. We wanted it to be a festival owned by the people of this town. So, we collaborated with Dr Rama Kausalya’s Marabu Foundation and also the Thanjavur chapter of INTACH, both of whom were quite enthusiastic.
The idea wasn’t only about the concerts, but also cleaning up the ghats and more. We are also planning to create a museum for musical instruments in the vicinity. Now, there is much enthusiasm from the local people and the FOSM has become a part of their life too. We want to make this a bustling cultural centre,” she says.
