This Navarathri is a busy time for Anand Koushik. And that’s not because the software architect has a project deadline looming. A talented veena artiste as well, he is playing six concerts in Thrissur, Kannur and Payyannur, duets with his father, veteran veena artiste, A. Ananthapadmanabhan. “I’ll be taking work from home option for the coming week so that I will be free to play the concerts in the evenings. Throughout the rest of the year, concerts usually happen on the weekends, so I can balance work and music rather well,” says Anand. He is among a handful of techies in Technopark, among them Carnatic singers, instrumentalists and classical dancers, who will be giving concerts this Navarathri, usually in local temples and music festivals in their home towns. Navarathri in the state is soaked in devotion, with music festivals being held at many Devi temples. Senior software engineer and vocalist Govind P.N., who works in an MNC on campus, and winner of All India Radio’s national contest for Carnatic music in 2011, is part of a group of three vocalists who call themselves the Moovar Brothers. “Along with my friends Prasanth and Girish, I used to regularly perform concerts in and around our home town of Kuttamat, in Kasaragod. What’s special about Navarathri concerts is that keerthanams are given more importance, which I enjoy singing,” he says. It’s also a challenging season for artistes, say some techies. “Concert organisers and sabhas usually expect the artiste to sing Devi kritis or Swathi Thirunal’s Navarathri kritis. That’s not an easy task. For example, ragas like Nattakurinji are awesome on the ears but very difficult to execute and it takes hours of practise prior to the concert, which our work schedules might not always be possible,” says Aswin Vijayan, a senior systems analyst on campus, the headliner for NH 47 rock band and a veteran of many Navarathri concerts. “Also the audiences that come for the Navarathri concerts are special because they come not just to listen to the music but also expect to be carried along to the heights of serenity, which in my book makes it all the more challenging and exciting,” says Aswin. He has been singing since he was three years old and is still training in Carnatic music. “I love giving classical concerts because for two and a half to three hours you will be there up on stage cocooned in a kind of divine bliss of your own creation as the ragas flow out of your mind and soul. When it comes to Navarathri, that serene mood is heightened. I have mastered four Navarathri kirits, which I sing at local temples in my home town, Palakkad, during the season,” adds Aswin, who was also a finalist on Ragarathnam Yuva, a classical music reality show on Amritha TV. Praveen Nair, a software engineer at another MNC and a violin artiste, who grew up in the musically charged atmosphere of Kalpathy in Palakkad, also plans to take part in Navarathri concerts. “Classical music has always been a part of my life and now I’m part of a group of violin artistes, all of us students of a local music institute, and we often play concerts together. For Navarathri it will be mostly at Randumoorthy Bhagavathy temple, one of the biggest Devi temples in Palakkad and I hope to join them on Vijayadashami or Mahanavami. In that part of the state, I’ve noticed that Navarathri music concerts focus more on Tyagaraja and Dikshitar kritis, rather than on Swathi kritis. During the festival, I like singing ragas like Sree that are soft, mellifluous and poetic, filled with piety and with a touch of pathos,” he says. “There will be a bomma kolu at home, with bhajans in the evening and impromptu concerts for which I will accompany on the violin,” he adds.

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