The city’s cultural scene reaches a zenith during Dasara and it’s universally acknowledged, given its royal pedigree and government patronage since the 1970s.

But there is another facet to the cultural scene of Mysuru – of organisations and individuals keeping alive the musical heritage and it comes to the fore during the Ramanavami season.

A purely voluntary initiative with individual contributions and devoid of any government patronage, the city plays host to scores of classical music concerts.

The princely state of Mysuru under the Wadiyars was a patron of classical music and great composers and artistes thrived and flourished here thanks to their encouragement.

A majority of them were court musicians of whom Mysore Sadashivarao, a composter who lived during the rein of Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar (1831 to 1868), started the Ramothsava celebrations in Mysuru, according to the Mysore Gazetteer.

Among the cultural organisations, Bidaram Krishnappa’s Sri Prasanna Sitarama Mandira has a 102-year history and tradition of conducting music concerts and hence is a heritage site given its association with cultural personalities. The venue is also an important repository of classical paintings and has a rich collection of 45 works of art in the traditional Mysuru stule, Thanjavur style among others.

Its hallowed precincts has played host to legendary musicians who constitute the who’s who of Indian classical music. Built by Bidaram Krishnappa, (1866-1931), a great exponent of Carnatic music and who adorned the court of Krishnaraja Wadiyar 1V, the festival this year features 11 concerts including by Mysore M Nagaraj and Mysore M Manjunath, Malladi Brothers, R.K.Padmanabhan, Pandit Hafiz Khan among others. The Aralikatte Sri Ramamandira on the Jayalakshmi Vilas Road too has a similar pedigree but over the years, the classical music concert has paved the way for devotional singing by various bhajana mandalis of the city. This year, the cultural programmes, which began on Sunday, will be held till April 11.

Sree Ramabhyudaya Sanha, established in 1890, is one of the oldest institutions and has lined up a series of musicians for the Ramanavami music festival. To be held at the Allamma Choultry Srirampet, the line-up includes Pandit Venkatesh Kumar, Malladi Brotehrs, Ganesh and Kumaresh to name a few. The festival which commenced on Sunday, will conclude on April 4.

These apart, Sri Ramaseva Charitable Trust, whose concert series commenced on March 18 will conclude on March 27. The Krishnamurthypuram Sri Ramamandira is conducting the Ramanavami for the 89th year and its programme line-up includes both devotional renderings and classical music concerts – which commenced on March 18 – will conclude on March 29.

Sri Ramaseva Mandali established in 1954, Sri Sitarama Temple Trust at Railway Colony, Sri Rama temple, Jayanagar (52nd year) are among other places to which devotees and music aficionados will flock to satiate their appetite.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by R. Krishnakumar / Mysuru – March 28th, 2018