Spoorthi Rao
presents a lively Kutcheri in the Park at Nageswara Rao Park
Launched
on the first Sunday of February 2006, the monthly Sunday Kutcheri in the Park
organised by Sundaram Finance completed 13 years on January 13. Around 1300
children have so far presented the Mikeless Kutcheri at the Nageswara Rao Park. To
mark the occasion, 13 year old Spoorthi Rao, who is learning music from Guru
Ranjani and Gayathri, presented a lively one hour Kutcheri in the Park, without
mikes and speakers, at the Nageswara Rao Park in front of a big Sunday morning
audience that had gathered around the chess square. She was accompanied on the
Violin by Akilesh and on the Mridangam by A Rohith.
TT Srinivasaraghavan,
MD, Sundaram Finance said ‘When we launched the Kutcheri in the Park 13
years ago, our idea was to make this a stepping stone for budding musical
talent and to help young ‘unsung’ children aged below 15 years shed the initial
inhibition that we normally associate with stage performances by giving them a
platform to showcase their talent in an informal environment.
Many have gone on to the next level in their musical
career. That for us is very heartening; those for whom we provided a platform,
blossoming and moving on.’
On the Mikeless
Kutcheri concept, Srinivasaraghavan said, ‘During these 13 years, we have had
suggestions from the audience to convert this into the usual ‘Miked’ Kutcheri
but we have resisted the temptation and stuck on to the ‘Mikeless Concept’ for
we believed that an open-air kutcheri, amidst falling leaves and curious birds
chirping around the park, would bring out the best in the children if they
performed without the help of mikes and speakers.’
Srinivasaraghavan,
MD, Sundaram Finance presented certificates to the artistes.
Talented
children from the US, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Pune and Bangalore have
also presented mikeless kutcheri at the Nageswara Rao Park over the last 13
years.
No Mikes and Speakers are used at the Kutcheri. The
monthly Kutcheri in the Park is restricted to children aged below 15 years. A
committee from Sundaram Finance conducts audition to select the artistes. The
Kutcheri in the Park has also featured in the Limca Book of Records as the
longest open air Mikeless Kutcheri for children.
