Second Largest Thyagaraja Festival is in the Midwest

The Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival is the second largest in the world. Marking the anniversary of Hindu Saint and Carnatic Composer Thyagaraja Swami's death, the Thyagaraja Aradhana has been celebrated in India since 1846. Rooted in the works of Thyagaraja, the celebration is a showcase, competition, and akin to a homecoming for some attendees.

V.V. Sundaram and Haylie at the Cleveland Thyagarja Festival

Upon learning about the Cleveland Thyagaraja, the immediate thought was 'in Cleveland?' V.V. Sundaram, Co-Founder of the Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana, shared that being his home, Cleveland was the obvious backdrop for this event. With humble beginnings in the basement of a church in 1978, the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival now hosts over 100 artists from India who perform at the annual Thyagaraja. "In 2019 from 75 people [attendees at first Cleveland Thyagaraja] it grew to 5,000 people," Sundaram said.

Visitors aren't just from the United States. V.V. Sundaram shared a story of attendees who came from Australia. He recalled that when he mentioned to them India was closer, their response was - "This is something very unique, this is where we want to be."

Over 100 Programs

Ranging from musicians and vocalists to dancers, there are over 100 programs scheduled throughout the 12-day Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival. The first week leans in on the music presentations and the second week crescendos into more dance performances.

Kicking off the first weekend of events is the traditional dance form Bharatanatyam. Attendees make way for the group to parade through the Cleveland University Drinko Recital Hall. "Today you saw the dancers perform with sticks; that is a very folk type of dance that is done before a festival just like this to bring the crowd in," Sujatha Srinivasan Founder and Choreographer of Shri Kalaa Mandir -Center for Indian Performing Arts, said.

Nirmala Rajasekar and Veena players

The Veena

This stringed instrument is a symbol of Indian musical heritage. The veena makes an appearance in most of the performances at the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival.

Nirmala Rajasekar is a professional veena player and instructor who shared that every genre operates differently but the classical genre is expected to be performed from memory and without music. "I feel very blessed to be in this community where they value the arts as a connector. Not only has our level of performance grown but our folks have understood the value of excellence," Rajasekar said.

Competition

In addition to the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival being a celebration of the compositions of the Hindu Saint, it also serves as a competition for the youth studying the classical genre. "It is not easy to win a competition in the festival because it's highly competitive," Ganga Rajkumar, Festival Organizer, said.

Deepa Vedavyas

Impact

The most beautiful part of the annual Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival is its impact on attendees. "This was the only window of opportunity my daughter had when she was a four year old to connect to those cultural talents from India," Deepa Vedavyas said. Attending an annual Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana inspired Deepa's daughter to begin studying the classical genres of dance performance from India. "These annual festivals really cheers us up, I look forward to those and we make sure we work our travel plans around it so we don't miss it," Deepa Vedavyas shared.

The Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Festival is a culturally dense event that will enrich attendees from within. All are welcome to attend and most of the performances are free. Check out the schedule here and watch Finding Festivals for a view of the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival.