Trivandrum based acclaimed Carnatic music vocalist, Dr N.J.Nandini, regaled the audience with some select renderings on the finale of the Vasai Fine Arts Festival at the Prarthana Mandapam, Sabirigiri Ayyappa Temple, Vasai (West), Mumbai, on 9^th February 2025.

The two days festival attracted the attention of some well known classical performers of classical music and dance and also the presence of distinguished personalities from the media, literature, business and other social activists that graced the annual festival. Cultural personalities were felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement award too.

Known as a commendable singer, Dr Nandini impressed the listeners with the renditions of Muthuswamy Dikshitar, Irayimman Thampi in praise of Lord Ayyappa, another composition of lalithambika, a thillana and finally the salututaions to the Almighty. Her intensity while singing, covering a wide spectrum with effortless ease, was the highlight of her performance, she was ably assisted by Gokul A on violin, Bombay Ganesh on mridangam, Krishna Kumar on ghatam and Vishnu Kamath on Ganjira.

The GURU Lifetime Achievement award was presented to renowned Bharata Natyam danseuse, Dr Lata Surendra, singer Prasanna Warrier, musicians Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair and Kalakendram Ajayan Nair for their invaluable and outstanding contribution in the field of Indian classical music and dance.

After the felicitation, a discussion was organised inorder to discuss the relevance of classical performing arts in the contemporary society. The participants were Dr Lata Surendra, Dr N.J.Nandini, Keli Ramachandran, Iype Vallikadan, PR Sanjay and others. They commented that the classical arts should be like the flowing river, moving ahead with the time, evolving and enriching everybody in a larger spectrum. The guests of the two days festival were Ashok Mahendra, CA Anto, MG Arun of India Today, journalist Iype Vallikadan, Priyaraj of Asianet, cultural activist Surendra Babu, AB Nair, Dr Suresh Kumar Nair, Keli Ramachandran, Sachin Menon and PR Sanjay.

Secretary of Vasai Fine Arts, Girish Nair, thanked everyone for their continued support, hence the festival has been functioning for the last nine years, it has become more and more challenging to organise a festival of such a magnitude, the consistent support of the corporate sector is important to organise the festival in a bigger scale and the blessings of well wishers are really necessary.

By Guru Vijay Shankar