THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Before a packed audience of artists, connoisseurs and music lovers, the inaugural “Nishagandhi Sangeetha Puraskaram” was presented to eminent musicians Padma Shri Parassala B Ponnammal and Padma Bhushan Dr. T V. Gopalakrishnan by Minister for Tourism, Cooperation and Devaswom, Kadakampally Surendran, for their outstanding contributions to music, on Wednesday.
Instituted by Kerala Tourism, the coveted honour, which carries Rs 1.5 lakh, citation and memento, was given away at the valedictory function of the five-day music festival Nishagandhi Monsoon Ragas at Nishagandhi Auditorium, Kanakakunnu Palace, here.
In his address, the Minister noted that in the coming years the music festival will be organized in a grand scale, which would help increase tourist footfall in the state. “The Tourism Department is implementing a plethora of projects across Kerala. The upcoming Champions Boat League (CBL) will be one of the unique attractions among them,” the Minister added.
Receiving the award, Ponnammal said she considered the honour from her home state as the most precious one than the other awards she had received. Dedicating the award to his mentors, Dr. Gopalakrishnan said music would grow only if the right kind of encouragement was given to it.
Poet and lyricist Sreekumaran Thampi; and former Chief Secretary and lyricist K Jayakumar, who had been members of the selection committee, were the Chief Guests at the function. In his felicitation speech, Thampi said both the awardees are the perfect choice for the maiden “Nishagandhi Sangeetha Puraskaram”.
Jayakumar said the two legends of Carnatic Music had dedicated their lives to art sans expecting any reward. M. Vijayakumar, Chairman, KTDC presided over the function. Rani George, Tourism Secretary, welcomed the gathering. P. Bala Kiran, Tourism Director; and Palayam Rajan, Councillor, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, were also present.
The five-day music festival has brought rare treat of classical and ethnic musical traditions of the sub- continent, featuring both vocalists and instrumentalists of various streams. Contemporary Flute Fusion by Rajesh Cherthala and a Classical Fusion Band performance led by Ustad Rafiq Khan (Sitar) marked the end of this year’s Nishagandhi Monsoon Ragas Music Festival.
