Vikku Vinayakaram and Party's Lil' Rasika

Today evening I had gone to Taj Connemara to attend a dinner hosted by my Uncle and Aunt for my Uncle’s 60th birthday. They have four grandchildren, between 2-8 yrs of age. I was looking forward to a good time with my nieces and nephew. And to an aural extravaganza, courtesy Vikku Vinayakaram and his sons.

I am a big fan of instrumental music, and sat through the whole kutcheri with my mom. For the most part, it was aural bliss, until my stomach started rumbling. However, I didn’t want to miss any part of the kutcheri.

Vinayakaram and party made some excellent music. They even punched their ghatams lightly for a few moments to create a particular sound. Vinayakaram’s eldest son did an awesome job with the ganjeera. The music was quite experimental however, and would probably not have appealed to many who were present. We felt sad when the hall became half empty in an hour or so.

But some members of the audience thoroughly enjoyed the show – the kids! Apart from my nieces and nephew, Vinayakaram’s grandkids and other kids were there. The younger kids who were 2-3 yrs old loved the musical beats and started waving their hands and jumping to the ghatam rhythms. But some truly unforgettable moments were created by my niece Tara, who showed some people how one should enjoy the music.

Sometime before the kutcheri ended, Vinayakaram’s son was drumming on the ganjeera for a good 5 minutes. While I was telling my mom how one of the sounds he produced reminded me of the thumping sound one can hear inside a moving train, Tara started dancing delightedly in front of the stage, cackling, her face glowing with happiness.

Great rasanai! Young lady, keep it up. Hope you learn to play some musical instruments and sing in the future. Thanks for showing us the way.

Another thought crossed my mind. Maybe Vinayakaram and party should conduct special kutcheris for kids. But will the parents understand and have him play at a kiddy party?

Anyway, I had a wonderful evening. I am hoping to attend more Vikku Vinayakaram kutcheris.

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