FM Inaugurates Krishnaveni Sangeetha Neerajanam Celebrating Telugu Musical Heritage

Vijayawada: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman  inaugurated the first-of-its-kind Krishnaveni Sangeetha Neerajanam here on Sunday. She Recalled the glorious legacy of Telugu culture and notable contributions of Telugu language to classical traditions in creating a remarkable repertoire of timeless compositions.

The Krishnaveni Sangeetha Neerajanam was held at Tummalapalli Kalakshetram in the presence of state tourism minister RK Roja, finance minister Buggana Rajendranath, Secretary to Union tourism ministry V Vidyavathi, state planning commission vice chairman Malladi Vishnum Mayor Rayana Bhagyalakshmi, chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi Sandhya Purecha and other dignitaries.

Nirmala Sitharaman said, “I started to learn and understand the beauty of Telugu on listening to Tyagaraja and Shyama Sastri kritis. The towns and samsthanams of the region have immensely contributed to classical music. It is time that we bring those glorious traditions alive and to the younger generation.”

This, she said, should become an annual feature and be held in towns like Rajahmundry, Visakhapatnam etc.

Minister Roja expressed her gratitude to the central government for bringing the inaugural edition of Krishnaveni Sangeetha Neerajanam to Vijayawada and urged the youth to pursue classical music.

V Vidyavathi said the event endeavoured to commemorate the contributions of Telugu language in promoting classical music. “The festival aims to establish a cultural identity for the region by showcasing the local traditions and promoting local artisans, crafts and cuisine,” she said.

She explained that the three-day classical music extravaganza will host classical music performances by renowned musicians and an exhibition and sale of regional cuisine, local handicrafts and handlooms.

On the first day, the audience was enlightened by soul-stirring melodies of Nadaswaram by Gonuguntala Brothers, G Nagaraju and Saibabu from Andhra Pradesh, a soulful rendition of Veda Parayanam by the renowned duo of Andhra Pradesh, Dendukuri Sadasiva Ghanapati and Dendukuri Kasi Vishwanatha Sharma followed by a captivating Taal Vaadya Kacheri by Umayalpuram K Sivaraman from Tamil Nadu and captivating carnatic vocal music performance by N Vijay Siva from Tamil Nadu.

Musical performances in the afternoon session enthralled the audience with insightful lecture demonstrations on Kritis focussing on their form and content in Thyagaraja’s Telugu compositions. Another unique attraction of the event was an ancient musical instruments exhibition at Tummalapalli Kalakshetram.