Most of her photos are with her musician partner Palakkad Sreeram. But then Dr G. Baby Sreeram made a name for herself much earlier for her music, receiving the cultural scholarship instituted by the government, and a direct 'A' from AIR, Thiruvananthapuram where she was raised. It is with Baby Sreeram's kutcheri that the Swathi Sangeethotsavam will begin on January 4, at the Kuthiramalika Palace in Thiruvananthapuram.
The classical music festival, dedicated to krithis of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, put together by his descendant and musician Rama Varma, had been extended to 10 days from seven, a few years ago. He will, as usual, perform one of the days, and so will his student Amrutha Venkatesh.
Another concert to watch out for is a mother-daughter combination — Manda Sudharani and her daughter-disciple Sruthi Ravali. Yet another vocal duet will be given by Bangalore Brothers — S. Ashok and M.B. Hariharan. There will also be concerts by Tamarakkad Govindan Namboodiri and Palghat Ramprasad. A flute concert will be given by Amith Nadig. The last two days will see two of Rama Varma's regulars, Prof. TV Gopalakrishnan, his mentor, and Sanjay Subrahmanyan, his friend. The concerts begin every evening at 6 pm.
