Chennai: Launched on the first Sunday of February 2006, the monthly Sunday Kutcheri in the Park organised by Sundaram Finance has completed 13 years today. Around 1,300 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, 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, a press release said.
Sundaram Finance managing director T T Srinivasaraghavan 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.” Later, Srinivasaraghavan presented certificates to the artistes.
No mikes and speakers are used at the kutcheri. The kutcheri is restricted to children aged below 15 years. A committee from Sundaram Finance conducts audition to select the artistes.
The Sunday Kutcheri has also featured in the Limca Book of Records as the longest open air mikeless kutcheri for children, the release said.