Festival to honour Raju’s memory

Disciples of Raju Ananthaswamy, Madhu Manoharan and Karthik Pandavapura, are organising a five-day music festival to honour the late artiste. It is on from April 14 to 18. The brother-sister duo are founders of Naakuthanti Sangeetha Guccha, a city-based charitable music trust, and have been organising ‘Raju Gaanothsava’, an annual series to pay tribute to the stalwart music composer and director. “This is the 14th edition, and it would’ve been his 50th birthday on April 19. So we’re doing an event spread across various venues. We want to keep his legacy alive,” says Madhu. He died at the age of 35 in 2009.

A professional singer herself, Madhu will perform multiple times throughout the event. “Each day is themed, and we have something different happening every day. We have performances scheduled by many of his students,” she informs.

The event kicks off this evening at JSS Public School Auditorium, Banashankari, and will be inaugurated with ‘Ratan Padagalu’ by GP Rajarathnam. “This is a popular set of poetry, which has been set to tune by Mysore Ananthaswamy, Raju Ananthaswamy’s father. Raju sir was very popular for his rendition of the poems. We will present the poetry in a theatrical manner,” Madhu says.

‘Ranga Gowrava’ is the theme for the second day. “Raju sir was active in theatre as well. Three theatre compositions by him will be performed,” she adds.

For day three, the duo have brought together major musical institutions in the city including Alapana Kala Samsthe and Suraaghavi Foundation among others. “Students and teachers of these institutions will stage a performance,” says Madhu. Day three and four will be hosted at Samsa Bayalu Ranga Mandira, Sampangi Rama Nagar. The fourth day’s festivities are dedicated to Mysore Ananthaswamy, whom the erstwhile composer shared a special bond with.

Day five will feature a performance of various popular compositions by Raju Ananthaswamy. It will be held at Ravindra Kalakshetra. The event is funded by students and fans of the artiste. It is free and passes can be collected from various locations in the city.

‘Raju Gaanothsava’, April 14 to 18. For details, contact 86181 23756.