Madura Ganalaya presents Group Sunday Kutcheri

Sundaram Finance Sunday Kutcheri in the Park completes 14 years
Around 1400 children have presented the Mikeless Kutcheri  at Nageswara Rao Park since February 2006

15 students from Madura Ganalaya present a lively Kutcheri in the Park on Sunday Morning

Launched on the first Sunday of February 2006, the monthly Sunday Kutcheri in the Park organised by Sundaram Finance has completed 14 years on Sunday ( Jan 12). Around 1400 children have been part of the Mikeless Kutcheri at the Nageswara Rao Park during this period. To mark the occasion and on the final morning of the Sundaram Finance Mylapore Festival 2020, 15 students from Madura Ganalaya 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. 

The students presented songs that included Karimuga, Mayilmeethu, Raghuvamsa, Pandurithiko and Venkatachala

TT Srinivasaraghavan, MD, Sundaram Finance said ‘When we launched the Kutcheri in the Park 14 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.’ 

On the Mikeless Kutcheri concept, Srinivasaraghavan said, ‘We have resisted the temptation to use Mikes 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.’

S Dhandayuthapani, GM, Sundaram Finance presented certificates to the artistes and a memento to the Guru.

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 14 years.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.