Gokulam: The Go-to event for Classical Music lovers
Bangalore– Art is about celebration of life, manifest in its creativity. Art is also about celebration of creative excellence in artistes, manifest in their joyful performance. Doing both in equal measure is Gokulam, which had humble beginnings as a music school but fired by the talent and virtuosity of reputed flutist Vidwan HS Venugopal, with other musicians. They had multifaceted talents but were wedded with a single goal: of sharing and propagating classical school.
Today after 20 years of dedicated service, Gokulam has grown by leaps and bounds. Their initial claim to fame was the Golukashtami celebrations conducted annually where their Thyagaraja – Purandara Aradhanas and Flute festivals created a mellifluous – and audible – buzz in Carnatic circles. For upcoming and talented musicians Gokulam has been a godsend boon for their flowering. Of course, they are also popular for their music concerts by reputed musicians.
2007 saw Gokulam first hit the limelight with their Kalaarnava (Ocean of Art), a daylong festival of performing arts. Music lovers responded big and it went on to become an annual event on the first Sunday of June every year. The event became bigger and bigger every year and soon, Gokulam decided to incorporate all popular art-forms and also lesser known art forms like ‘Ritualistic Archery’, ‘Ashtaavadhana’, ‘Kavya Kuncha’ etc.
In Kalaarnava 2008, two awards, ‘Vidyaarnava’ and ‘Kalaavatamsa’ were introduced to acknowledge and appreciate talents in various fields.
While the ‘‘Vidyaarnava’(Ocean of Knowledge) is a thanks giving appreciation awarded to legendary personalities who have rendered yeoman service in their respective fields and inspired the youth to become better human beings, the ‘Kalaavatamsa’ is awarded to young promising leaders in various fields, for their contribution to their respective fields.
The previous awardees for ‘Vidyaarnava’ include Shatavadhani Dr. R Ganesh, Dr. T S Satyavathi, Vid. K S Gopalakrishnan, Dr. Gururaja Karajagi & Dr. B K S Verma. The previous awardees for ‘Kalaavatamsa’ include Vid. Vivek Krishna (Student of Gokulam), Vid. Tejasvi Raghunath (Student of Gokulam), Vid. Ashok Kumar, Vid. Vinay Sharva, Vid. Shrutiranjani, Vid. Praveen D Rao, Ustad. Faiyaz Khan, Vid. Annada Prasanna Patnaik, Vid. M D Pallavi Arun & Vid. Sreekantam Nagendra Shastry.
Come this 2nd of June 2013, Kalaarnava 2013 will confer the ‘Vidyaarnava’ to Padmashree Dr. B Jayashree ‘Kalaavatamsa’ to Surmani Pandit Pravin Godkhindi & Premakavi Sri. K Kalyan. At JSS auditorium, Jayanagar 8th block, Bangalore.
Highlights of Kalaarnava 2013:
* Vachana and Dasarapada by Vid. Ambayya Nuli
* Navrang (an audio – visual treat) by Vid. Praveen D Rao, Vid. H S Venugopal and Vid. Raghavendra Hegde
* Theatre production by Sri. Mandya Ramesh
* Hindustani Classical flute recital by Pandit Pravin Godkhindi
* World Fusion by Mr. Stephen Devassy, Mr. Gino Banks, Mr. Sheldon D’Silva, Ms. Varijashree
* Contemporary music and dance production by Vid. Nirupama Rajendra, Vid. Praveen D Rao, Vid. Pramath Kiran, Antardhwani.
If you are a lover of classical music Gokulam is definitely the go-to event.
For more details contact Prashanth on: 9845824725
