I M Vittalamurthy, Secretary, Department of Kannada and Culture, Information and Tourism, and Karnataka Bank Chairman Ananthakrishna presented the award to Dr Gopalanath, who was brought to the venue on a traditional palanquin, accompanied by a grand procession that featured the unique flavours of cultural India.

Addressing over 10,000 art admirers who were gathered at the scenic venue of the Shobhavana as “Endaro mahanubhavulu,” Padmashri Gopalanath went down memory lane and broke into tears.

The Alva’s Virasat, which is being conducted for the past 11 years under the chairmanship of Dr M Mohan Alva, has honoured eminent aristes like Zhakir Hussain and Sonal Mansingh in the recent years. The Virasat will continue till January 6.

Fusion
The first day’s cultural extravaganza included a fusion of Eastern and Western musical instruments with the participation of Dr Kadri Gopalanath, Rudresh K Mahantappa, Dr Haridwara Mangalam A K Palanivelu, Shivamani, V Selva Ganesh from Chennai and Vidwan Rajashekhar.