Classical Choir Voices Soar in Gitanjali to Raise Funds for MTS

Anuradha Subramananian, Carnatic music expert poses with the members of the Meenakshi Temple Society Board of Directors as her team of 33 singers and 7 instrumentalists take their bows on stage.

Anuradha Subramananian, Carnatic music expert poses with the members of the Meenakshi Temple Society Board of Directors as her team of 33 singers and 7 instrumentalists take their bows on stage.

PEARLAND: The summer of 2016 had been brutal as The Meenakshi Temple Society has launched an initiative to renovate, expand and upgrade its Kalyana Mandapam, a performance auditorium where many of the large events are held and the adjoining dining hall. The nearly 20 year-old facility needs to be modernized to meet the growing needs of the community.  

MTS Board Chair, Dr. Padmini Ranganathan requested Anuradha Subramananian, an acclaimed local Carnatic music expert to organize a fund raising event to help the project.  Anuradha has such a wide range in her voice that one would hardly expect to emanate from one of such petite stature. Both she and her supportive husband Mani have hearts generous in the service of their faith. Both readily agreed to undertake this task and she sought the co-sponsorship of Classical Arts Society of Houston. In her opening remarks before the event, Anuradha noted that she and Chandrakantha Courtney did the first fund raising event for MTS in 1990 and that it gave her immense pleasure to give back to the Temple in a befitting way again 28 years later in 2018.

Anuradha, an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna, explained that she got the idea of developing a program that emphasized the element of Bhakthi and went about engaging all her students to perform the vocals and various local artists to provide the instrumental accompaniment.

With an ensemble of 33 singers and 7 instrumentalists, Anuradha set out to develop a repertoire of bhajans, popular light songs and pure classical songs that would be within the reach of diverse talent levels of her students, and also be enjoyable to the audience.

The result was a 13-song choir starting with a beautiful Ganesh Bhajan and ending with a divine song on Lord Venkateswara in Tirupathi. The entire musical experience lasted 90 minutes with songs and bhajans interspersed with alapana by Anuradha and preludes by artists on violin and veena and the saxophone. The songs offered homage to Lord Ganesha, Lord Subramanya, Lord Shiva, Goddess Meenakshi, Lord Krishna,  Hanuman, Aiyappaa and  of course, Lord Vishnu.

The ninety minute program was well attended by music lover and temple supporters. Dr. Ranganathan summarized her impression of the evening, saying it was a “divine journey”.  Anuradha was delighted with all her students and the instrumental artists. “They all performed the pieces flawlessly,” she smiled, “in spite of the fact that they had only one group rehearsal.”

The function started with a short welcome by Dr. Ranganathan and Parthasrathy Krishnaswamy, the MTS Joint Secretary, succinctly described the need for the renovation project and its key features. Many volunteers helped with the performance, notably Rama Pakala who produced the video of images of the deities appropriate for each song which enhanced the enjoyment of the audience. The event raised over $15,000 for the renovation project and brought in many first timers to the Temple.