With the celebration of the 420th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Ranghavendra Swamy, the curtain came down on Guru Bhakti Utsav, a six-day annual event, at the Sri Raghavendra Mutt at Mantralayam, Andhra Pradesh, on Wednesday. The Naadahaara, a collective singing of devotional songs and kirtanas by over 300 Carnatic artistes in front of Sri Raghavendra Swamy’s statue on a swing seat, was the centre of attraction on the concluding day.
After completing the rituals, including receiving the Sesha Vastra (the clothes worn by Lord Venkateswara at the Tirumala-Tirupati temple and sent by the temple to the mutt) and dedicating it to the Moola Brindavan, Sri Subudhendra Tirtha Sripada, head of Sri Raghavendra Mutt, inaugurated the Naadahaara concert on the math premises.
The classical Carnatic vocalists and instrument players equipped with veena, violin, sitar, mandolin, flute, shehnai, mridangam, and ghatam, who had arrived mainly from Thanjavur, Kumbakonam and Chennai in Tamil Nadu, performed for the whole day.
The kirthanas of Purandara Dasa, the Pancharatna kirthanas of Tyagaraja and other devotional songs reverberated on the math premises till a late-evening Swasti Vachana, a concluding recitation to mark the end of the day’s activities.
Earlier, Sri Subudhendra Tirtha displayed 10 golden magalaarathi plates bought at a cost of Rs. 1.5 crore. Mutt sources said that the plates were bought from the mangalaarthi contributions collected at the mutt.
N. Vadirajacharya and mutt’s manager S.K. Srinivasa Rao were present.
