Melodies and moves mark culmination of Swaralaya festival

The Swaralaya Samanwayam dance and music festival wrapped up on a high note, blending classical tunes and movements with film songs to usher in the New Year at Rapadi open-air theatre here on Wednesday night.

The final day featured a stellar lineup, including classical Veena and violin concerts, Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dance dramas, and a musical orchestra by renowned artistes.

Veena virtuoso Sivakami Natarajan and her students kicked off the programme with a captivating classical Veena concert featuring seven artistes from Swaranjali, Thiruvananthapuram.

Their performance, Veenalaya Tharangam, wove together traditional Carnatic music’s melody, rhythm, and emotion, giving the audience a different experience.

The magic of seven Veenas in perfect harmony. That was what made the programme special. “The seven Veena players represented the seven notes that form the foundation of music,” explained Ms. Natarajan.

A soul-stirring violin concert by Toronto A. Jayadevan and team took the evening to new heights. Despite his international and Hollywood credentials, Jayadevan stayed true to pure Carnatic classical tunes, performing in front of his revered guru Nedumangadu Sivanandan.

Nanji Arul accompanied him on mridangam and Thripunithura Radhakrishnan on ghatom.

The energy at Rapadi auditorium shifted gears when Avijith Das and his Bengaluru-based ensemble brought the open house alive with a stunning Kuchipudi performance.

Gopika Raj Pillai from Chennai then presented an elegant Bharatanatyam piece.

As the clock ticked down to midnight, a talented group of singers took the audience on a musical joyride through Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil songs, wrapping up 11 days of non-stop dance and music in style.