It is Ramanavami season and Bengaluru is basking in melodies. Besides the 40-odd mandalis and samithis in the city lauding Lord Rama with music, dance, discourses and Yakshagana, ‘Vande Mataram’ turning 150 years is also a vital part of the celebrations this year.
The Chamarajapet Fort High School grounds is the venue for Sree Ramaseva Mandali’s Ramanavami celebrations. Now, in its 88th year, this musical jamboree will feature 27 days of concerts, that will begin on March 27 with as many as 200 artistes participating. Musician Sridhar Sagar will inaugurate the festival with a piece on his saxophone, which will be followed by a Carnatic presentation by vocalist Abhishek Raghuram.
“My father SV Narayanaswamy Rao was a Gandhian and would insist on a rendition of ‘Raghupathy Raghava Raja Ram’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ during Ramanavami. We still follow this custom,” says SN Varadaraj, son of SV Narayanaswamty Rao, also known as SVN.
According to Varadaraj, this year marks the birth centenary of legendary flautist TR Mahalingam, who with violin Chowdiah supported SVN and the Mandali in establishing this unique Ramanavami festival.
“The centenary tribute will feature a panel discussion by scholars on Mahalingam’s music, followed by a flute recital by JU Jayanth on April 15. Every connoisseur of classical music knew Mahalingam (known as Flute Mali) stayed in Chamarajpete’s Malabar Lodge in his latter years to help Narayanaswamy cultivate his musical interests.”
SV Narayanaswamy Rao with Flute Mahalingam
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Special Arrangement
The story goes back to 1962, when Flute Mali was expected to perform at the Mandali’s Ramanavami concert. Due to a miscommunication, he had not arrived in the city and when the organisers realised the error, SVN drove down to Chennai to pick him up. “That evening, the 7pm concert started only at 10pm; the audience hadn’t stirred and waited to hear Mali perform,” recalls Varadaraj.
Such congregations, SVN believed, would provide a platform for devotional as well as cultural proceedings. He reasoned the propagation of culture and music would aid in building a united India. “My father conducted over 10 Ramanavami festivals during the British Raj; he started the Ramothsava in 1939,” says Varadaraj.
Ramanavami celebrations 2026
In keeping with tradition, the Mandali will present its annual awards this year too. The SV Narayanaswamy Rao Memorial National Award will be bestowed on Hindustani violin expert N Rajam who will grace the stage with her daughter Sangeetha Shankar and grand-daughter Nandhini Shankar, after being felicitated on April 12.
“Three generations of the family will enthral audiences with Hindustani flourishes; it will be a rare treat,” says Abhijith Varadaraj, third-generation SVN family member, involved in the activities of the Mandali.
U Rajesh at the Visakha Music and Dance Academy at Kalabharati Auditorium in Visakhapatnam on August 18, 2016.
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CV Subrahmanyam
The Rama Gana Kalacharya Award of the Mandali will be given to Mandolin U Rajesh on April 22, “for tirelessly been propagating the cause of Carnatic music on the mandolin as a music ambassador,” adds Abhijith. Rajesh will present a jugalbandi in an unusual pairing with vocalist Hari Shivaramakrishnan at the festival.
The Mandali’s diverse programming will see Carnatic vocalist Sai Vignesh of ‘Varaha Roopam’ Kantara fame also performing this year. “We have a good representation of young artistes from Karnataka with vocalist Yoga Keertana; Abhishek NS, a student of S Shankar; a veena recital by Balu Masti, and Suma Sudhindra with her students. Mandali’s special jugalbandi will see Jayanthi Kumaresh on the veena with flautist Pravin Godkhindi, and Mylai Karthikeyan on the nadaswara and violinist HK Venkatram.”
Other artistes who will be performing include Rahul Vellal, Dushyant Sridhar, Vishnudev Namboodari, Sivasri Skandaprasad, Vinay Varanasi and duo Archana and Samanvi from Udupi, besides the daily rendition of Upanyasas in the morning. “In keeping with our goal of making music accessible to all, the Mandali has built Kala Saketa, an open air theatre in Bidadi and a Centre of Performing Arts gurukula,” says Abhijit.
Sree Ramaseva Mandali Ramanavami Celebrations will take place at Fort High School Grounds, Chamarajpet, from March 27 to April 22. Program and ticket details on ramanavami.org
Published – March 25, 2026 11:38 am IST
