The historic town of Thiruvaiyaru in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur district witnessed the grand culmination of a five-day spiritual and musical extravaganza this Wednesday. The 179th annual Thiruvaiyaru Thiyagarajar Aradhanai Music Festival drew to a close with the soul-stirring, traditional mass rendition of the Pancharatna Keerthanai, also known as the Pancharatna Kritis.
A Sacred Tradition Honouring a Musical Saint
This revered annual event, dedicated to the legendary saint composer Thiyagarajar (Tyagaraja), commenced on January 3, 2024. The festival was formally inaugurated by Justice R Suresh Kumar, a judge of the Madras High Court, on Saturday. Over the following days, the town transformed into a global hub for Carnatic music, as hundreds of musicians, vocalists, and ardent devotees from across India and the world gathered to pay their musical tributes.
The festival serves as a living memorial to Saint Thiyagarajar, one of the Trinity of Carnatic music, whose compositions form the bedrock of the classical tradition. For nearly two centuries, artists and lovers of music have converged at his samadhi (memorial shrine) in Thiruvaiyaru during the Tamil month of Thai to celebrate his legacy through devotional performances.
The Grand Finale: A Unison of Voices and Instruments
The concluding day was marked by a powerful and poignant spectacle. Hundreds of vocalists and instrumentalists assembled in unison at the Thiyagarajar Samadhi to perform the saint's iconic Pancharatna Keerthanai. This set of five timeless compositions is traditionally sung collectively as the festival's pinnacle event, creating an atmosphere of profound devotion and shared musical heritage.
The gathering featured a constellation of Carnatic music stars. Renowned vocalists including Sirkazhi Sivachidambaram, Sudha Raghunathan, Mahathi, O S Arun, and Cuddalore S J Janani lent their voices to the chorus. They were joined by celebrated instrumentalists such as Haridwaramangalam A K Palanivel and Srimushnam Raja Rao. Alongside these maestros, a vast assembly of other musicians and music lovers participated, singing and playing instruments in a collective offering to the saint.
Rituals and Cultural Processions Mark the End
Following the monumental musical tribute, a special abhishekam, a sacred ritual bathing ceremony, was performed for Thiyagarajar. The day's events further enriched the cultural tapestry with a Harikatha performance by the Suchitra Balasubramanian ensemble and an upanyasam (discourse) delivered by Tamil scholar S Ramakrishnan.
As the sun set on Thiruvaiyaru, the festival reached its visual and ceremonial climax. A grand street procession carrying the idol of Saint Thiyagarajar wound its way through the town, accompanied by vibrant musical concerts. This procession symbolically carried the blessings and the resonant echoes of the Pancharatna Keerthanai into the community, marking a fitting end to the 179th edition of this unparalleled cultural and spiritual gathering.
The festival not only reinforced the enduring legacy of Saint Thiyagarajar but also showcased the unifying power of Carnatic music, drawing artists and audiences into a shared experience of devotion and artistic excellence that continues to thrive in the heart of Tamil Nadu.
