THUREEYAM -THE UNIQUE MUSIC FEST

One of the enchanting cultural events of the month at Payyanur was ‘thureeyam’, the 21 day long music extravaganza by Pothankandam Ananda Bhavanan led by Swamiji Krishnanada Bharathi. Even though Payyanur could boast of a rich cultural past, the present scenario is disheartening with mimicry and music nights holding the reigns as cultural masterpieces. The 21 days of pure classical music has cleansed the atmosphere along with the karkadakam rains. The fest usually held during July for a period of nine days with the captivating title thureeyam - meaning the state of the mind in unison with the cosmic soul - brings veteran musicians to Payyanur every year. During the ten years it has proved beyond doubt that there is no comparison with other festivals in payyanur. That is why Sri. M A Baby, the guest of honor for the concluding day expressed his feelings when he said I repent Payyanur is not in Trivandrum or Delhi where I could have frequented fro the festival in some pretexts. This year, being the tenth year of its existence, the festival lasted for 21 days . The list of musicians performed will enthrall any musical enthusiast- the mighty Chourasya, Ramesh Narayanan, T. N. Krishnan, Kudamaloor Janardanan, Kadri Gopalnath, R. K Sreekandan, Rajan Misra & Sajan Misra, T. V. Sankara Narayanan, Sikil Gurucharan, Abhishekh Raghuram, T. M. Krishna, Sanjay Subramanyam, Ramakrishnamoorthy, Patabhirama pandit, Kannatika Brothers, Vani Satheesh, Jayaraj & Jayasree, Rudrapatanam Brothers, Malladi trio, Dr.Radha Bhaskar and Dr. Pandula Rama. It was an event in which generations met. Abhishekh Raghuram, the promising youngster and R. K. Sreekandan at 93. (It is a miracle to see him singing in his unabated sweet voice untouched by time. Hariprasad Chourasya started to shiver all over when the concert began. He could not hold the flute properly due to shivering. But when he brought the flute to his lips the entire atmosphere changed. The melody transformed the entire audience into a whole. He sung ‘Megha Malhar’ and immediately there was a down pour which lasted for hours. T. N. Krishnan and Kadri Gopalnath mesmerized the audience. The youngsters proved their mettle and demonstrated that there is ample scope for classical music to the new world infested with cricket and rock music.

Swamiji paid great pains in arranging the fest. The stage decoration was ideal for an event with such galore. Each day the stage settings were changed and even lot of fresh flowers were used for the purpose. The entrance to the fest with a large idol of siva in thandavam with flames raising in the background and fragrant smokes raising up told everything. Every day when the music is over and the stomach complain of delayed supper there was a liberal supply of ‘payasam’ to all . Besides snacks were placed at the entrance for those who require it for enjoying good music. On the last day there was a good feast also.

 Music is a passion for many. Why ? Even Einstein at the top of his fame repented that he could not get time to listen more of Bethovan. Music is produced from harmonious vibration of wires, air, vocal chords and the like. The basic form of nature is owing to the vibration of subatomic particles, the music of which could not be heard by mortals because of their high frequency. Microcosm and macrocosm are identical. The magic of music works when the external music synchronises with the internal music. That is why a keerthana in mohana ragam changes the entire mood of an individual.