The results of The Hindu Margazhi Music Contest, which received 654 entries, are out. The judges listened to each of the entries with great patience and finalised a total of 90 prizes across all categories.
A total of 25 prizes were awarded by gurus M. Lalitha and M. Nandini in the instruments category; 28 prizes under the thukkada category by guru Varalakshmi Anandkumar; nine prizes each were awarded by guru and mridangist Erode Nagaraj and writer and musician Sujatha Vijayaraghavan; and under the Hindustani style, nine prizes were awarded by guru and vocalist Lalita Sharma.
Ms. Vijayaraghavan said out of the 49 candidates, nine were of a good standard and worthy of a prize. “There were a good number who were beginners and a few who showed potential. To render a song with a full awareness of raga bhava and sahithya bhava, sustained training under a good teacher and years of listening to great masters are the prerequisites. Such competitions bring out those who are well trained and committed to the pursuit of this art,” she said.
Mr. Nagaraj said he had given marks under five heads — kaalapramaanam, sol suddham, naadham, gathi bedlam and presentation. “The marks scored by participants are out of 50,” he said.
Ms. Anandkumar, who also teaches French, said judging gave her an opportunity to listen to so many kritis and vidwans in the making. Judges Ms. Lalitha and Nandhini said they had to be rather generous in the child talent and junior categories. Ms. Sharma said it was nice to see so many youngsters perform very well.
Though the last date for submission of entries was December 31, 2021, it took time to comb through all the presentations. Entries could be sent in either under the Carnatic Classical or Hindustani styles, split into three categories — under 12 (children), 13-19 years (juniors) and 20-40 years (seniors). This is the second year of the competition, and last year, there were around 850 entries, including international participants.
V. Vetriselvakkumar CGM (Corporate Communications), Southern Region, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., said this was the second year that the PSU was joining hands with The Hindu for this competition, and they were glad to be able to encourage many young talents. Indian Oil was the co-sponsor for the event.
Carnatic Krithi Vocal - Child talent
First prize — Advay Venkateswaran; Anvitha Savithri; Vaibhav Vasanth
Second Prize — Rohith; Shivanga Hasyagar
Third prize — Srinath Kartik
Consolation prize — Srihari Venkataraghavan
Carnatic Krithi Vocal - Juniors
First prize — Jhanvi Shankar
Second prize — Nanditha Kannan; Sreya S.
Third prize — Madhura Sriram
Consolation prizes — Arjun Sai; V. Yadushree; (special mention) Ashapmai Dellang
Carnatic Krithi Vocal - Seniors
First prize — Govind Balakrishnan
Second prize — Meera
Third prize — Suhasini Srirangam
Consolation prizes — Brinda R.S.; Jayashree Aditya
The complete results of the The Hindu Margazhi Music Contest can be viewed on: https://forms.thehindu.co.in/margazhi-Music/
