more-in “It’s a soul-stirring experience to play the veena,” said S. Mallika, Principal, Rani Lady Meiyammai Achi Tamil Music College, who, along with her students and colleagues, presented a Naada Sangamam on the third day of the Tamil music festival at the Tamil Isai Sangam on Thursday. Dr. Mallika’s team started with a Tiger Varadachariar’s varnam in Aarabi, “Anname.” She maintained the Karaikudi baani, which is characterised by a strong grip over laya. The taala strings are strummed religiously on every beat. The notable feature was that the percussionists played in unison throughout the concert. The audience applauded it. The second part of programme was a music concert by Pushpavanam Kuppusamy and Anitha Kuppusamy, who stole the show by singing/referring to folk elements in music of other languages. He invoked the blessings of Lord Ganesha through his song, “Pilliayare Pidichivacha.” The concert was almost a lecture/ demonstration-cum-singing to bring together the relevance of the song. The singer, who was ably assisted by his wife, maintained his explanation of the formation of ragas and how they are handled in different languages. It was an amazing experience for the audience, who had gathered in large numbers. He called his songs ‘Makkal isai paadal’ rather than ‘Nattupura paadal.’ He maintained that folk music was the mother of classical music and gave subtle references to folk music in film songs.

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