Marathon concert to usher in ’16

CHENNAI: At least 100 Carnatic musicians will perform a marathon concert to welcome the New Year, from 10pm on December 31 to 3.30am on January 1, at Vani Mahal in T Nagar.
Vocalist K N Shashikiran, who with brother P Ganesh form the Carnatica Brothers and organises the event every year as part of the Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, said the programme to usher in 2016 will start with Vikku Vinayakram playing his magical ghatam.
“Various artists will sing well-known songs after Vikku Vinayakram’s performance,” he said. “Some artists will swap roles. T V Gopalakrishnan, for example, will sing as well as play mridangam. Similarly other artists who have normally play instruments will be singing or playing other instruments.”
At midnight, the musicians will pray for peace.
“At 12am we will sing Thyagaraja’s song Endaro Mahanubhavulu in Sri Raga,” Shashikiran said. “The artists will then perform Maithreem Bhajatha in Ragamalika. The last song will be D K Pattammal’s Shanthi Nilava Vendum.”
Paramacharya Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi composed Maithreem Bhajatha in Sanskrit and M S Subbulakshmi performed it at the United Nations in 1966. At the end of the songs’ session, the organisers will distribute prasad to the musicians and the audience.
At Krishna Gana Sabha, Sri Vittaldas Maharaj will sing bhajans from 10pm till 12.30am.
“Vittaldas Maharaj and his students will sing bhajans for world peace and to protect our city from natural calamities like the recent floods,” sabha secretary Y Prabhu said.
Admission will be free for rasikas at both sabhas.
Other sabhas have extended the music festival is being extended though in past years it would end at this time of the year and a dance festival would commence and continue till Pongal. Many sabhas started the Margazhi festival late this year due to the floods and others sabhas have extended the music festival for some more days some senior artists decided to perform only in January.
Presiding officials of various temples in this city of shrines are making special arrangements for New Year pujas, a senior official of the Hindu religious & charitable endowments department said. “We will also take steps, such as in crowd control, to ensure members of the public stay safe,” he said.
Temples and mutts have lined up special pujas and abhishekams on January 1 to welcome the New Year, which will mark the first day that the dress code comes into effect at these shrines. Men will have to wear dhotis and women either saris or churidars on a Madras high court order.
“We expect a record crowd from early morning at all famous temples in Chennai,” the HR&CE department official said. “We have asked all officials to check if devotees are complying with the dress code and also to control the crowds. Temple officials will sell special tickets for darshan.”
Ramakrishna Math will celebrate Sarada Devi Jayanthi on January 1, for which officials are making special arrangements for distribution of prasad to devotees after puja.