As the night crawls in, a mild mridangam sound rises from one of the walls of the Reserve Bank quarters. A sincere banker and an eager percussionist, Mannarkoil Balaji found a way for his passion and creativity within the confines of reality. Born in a family with no musical lineage, Mannarkoil Balaji today, is one of the most sought after mridangists.

If melam processions can raise aural storeys of towering architecture, the diminutive Thrippekulam Achutha Marar lorded over their grandest of varieties. Positioned in the middle of the front row with 15-odd men playing the chenda, the ethnic drum’s five-foot tall emperor made no showy gestures to state his pre-eminence in traditional Kerala orchestras. The concerts would feature no less than 120 artists and often span four hours.

The annual Tyagaraja aradhana was celebrated by Sri Mannargudi Sambasiva Bhagavatar Cultural Trust on 12 February 2022 at Mylapore in Chennai; it was organised by S. Rajaraman, the Managing Trustee. A host of eminent vidwans and vidushis – including several vocalists, violinists, mridangists, flautist, and vainika—participated in the celebration and diligently rendered the pancharatna kritis.

The venue was a temple in Mavelikkara, a small town in Alappuzha district of Kerala, where thousands of music lovers had gathered to drench themselves in the music of nagaswara chakravarty Tiruvaduthurai T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai (TNR). Before the concert began, a boy was brought to TNR with the request that he bless the music student.

The birth centenary of vidwan Calcutta K.S. Krishnamurti (KSK as he was known to all) occurred on 21 December 2021. To commemorate the occasion, his disciple, Sangita Kalanidhi Sanjay Subrahmanyan put together a series of events, including several posts on his social media channels, culminating with a concert on 25 December 2021, at the Music Academy, Chennai.

The inaugural session of the Music Academy conference and concerts 2021 was marked by a nagaswaram concert by S. Kasim and S. Babu accompanied on the tavil by G. Rajan and M. Vijayakumar. The vidwans began with Tatvamariya tarama in Reetigaula (Papanasam Sivan) with a compact swaraprastara in the pallavi. Hiranmayeem Lakshmeem sada bhajami in Lalita followed.