Indian Fine Arts Academy of San Diego 2026

Heading off to the Annual Festival of the Indian Fine Arts Academy of San Diego (IFAASD) is always an experience. The city itself is a beautiful place, renowned for its clement weather, sunny skies, and beaches. There is much to see and do there. 

The IFAASD festival has grown over the years into a week-long event. Remarkably, despite the growth, the organisation has managed to keep the community actively engaged, and there is a sense of personal involvement in all they do. This is the 19^th annual festival in March 2026. This event usually precedes the Cleveland Aradhana by a week, as many of the artists who perform here go on to participate in Cleveland as well.

The events begin on a Monday, with two or three on weeknights and full days of programmes on the weekend, for a total of about 25 events with 45 artists, plus an award ceremony. This year’s awardees at the festival included Malladi Suri Babu, S.Sowmya, T.M. Krishna, Jaikishore and Padmavati Mosalikanti, Vidhya Subramanian and Vishakha Hari. Indian Fine Arts also recognises individuals from across the US for their contributions to supporting the performing arts of India.

Another feature of the festival in San Diego is the number of local artists and teachers involved in the organisation, and given performance opportunities. This is perhaps as much a part of their success as an organisation as it is of the community flavour and pride that are palpable at all times. Kudos to the organisers and leadership for creating and nurturing this spirit of local community involvement despite their growth.

The Indian community in San Diego is certainly one of the many such prosperous enclaves in North America. The board members and volunteers hold important positions in the management and leadership of companies based in this area. It is all the more remarkable that such busy individuals take time to volunteer and take part in every necessary activity, from hosting to driving and more, that it takes to pull off an event of this magnitude. Your driver and host may be a medical doctor, a research scientist, an entrepreneur, or a combination of these.

As with any festival of this extent, it is not possible for one person to attend every event. However, there are some performances that stay in the mind for some time. As I share a few of these, this is no reflection on any of the programmes I missed or do not mention. Apart from the festival, there are many parties at host families. I attended one where, after a sumptuous meal served to 50+ attendees, vidwan Malladi Suri Babu gave an impromptu solo rendition of rare Annamaiyya songs.

On my first evening, the second day, I had the good fortune to listen to an exquisite performance by VVS Murari on violin and Ashwani Shankar on shehnai. Unlike a jugalbandhi with a competitive spirit, these artists worked together to produce plaintive notes that delighted the audience. The concert began GNB’s composition  Saraswati namosthute, which was followed by a dhun in misra khamaj. Tyagaraja’s Ninnada nela in Kannada was one of the highlights, as was the pallavi in the raag Parameshwari, composed by V.V.S. Murari as a tribute to sitar maestro Ravishankar.  The violin and shehnai flowed across the gamut of Hindustani and Carnatic prayogas effortlessly and melded together in a single style of music.  The collaborative spirit was also evident in the tabla and mridangam of Amit Kavthekar and Sai Giridhar, respectively. 

The second concert of the evening was similarly mellifluous, by Ajoy Chakrabarty, a regular performer at the San Diego festival. The concert, featuring Hamsadhwani, followed by Keeravani, was also a tribute to Ravishankar, who lived in San Diego for many years and was a regular attendee of concerts at the Indian Fine Arts Academy.

The next evening featured dance. The evening began with a Kathak exposition by the East Coast-based Ariake Dandawate. Her programme included a number of demonstrations, including bits on an antelope being hunted by a lion and other scenes witnessed by a group on safari, as well as the walk of an ant (pippilika yati). She also presented the familiar Purandaradasa composition, Jagadodharana. Her essays on gath bhav and other features of the dance form engage the audience and enhance their appreciation and understanding of Kathak.

After dinner, we had a dance programme by students from several San Diego dance teachers - Srimeenakshi Srinivasan, Sufi Raina, Aparna Kaushik, Aler Krishnan and Aarthi Narain - who collaborated with groups of students each representing the style of their teachers’ banis. 

Day four of the festival begins with an erudite lecdem on the Vazhuvoor tradition in Bharatanatyam as a legacy and not merely a style by Vidhya Subramanian with Navia Natarajan and Medha Hari. Vidhya explores the establishment of the Vazhuvoor tradition and the contributions of Ramaiah Pillai. Together, these three dancers celebrate the form, exposing the ‘arcs’ in every movement and the ulhaasa nadai, and showing how the music and movements come together seamlessly, a characteristic feature of this tradition.  Vidhya also draws attention to the extinction of the nattuvanar tradition and changes in pedagogy. The margam by Medha Hari that followed includes an exquisite rendering of Dikshitar’s Jamboopathe. One can almost hear the sounds of the water in Medha’s delicate movements.

Enchantment, the bioplay on Ravishankar followed. This play, written by Gowri Ramnarayan, with music recorded by Bombay Jayashri, Vignesh Ishwar, and others, is a riveting exploration of the life and the struggles of the iconic sitar player who propelled India’s music to the world stage.

Saturday morning tradition at this festival is the group singing by students of C.M. Venkatachalam (CMV) and Revathi Subramanian. Both these music teachers are active members of the IFAASD board. Each year, they have their students prepare and sing specially curated songs. This year is no exception. Revathi’s students present the Natakurinji varnam, as well as several Dikshitar kritis, in celebration of the renowned composer’s 250th anniversary. They ended their session with a nottuswaram and asked the audience to sing along. C.M. Venkatachalam’s students present a varied fare with the younger children singing Chidambara Natarajamurthim, a Lalgudi jathiswaram in Rasikapriya and a Dasavatara ragamalika slokam. The more advanced students begin with Sree Naathadi Guruguho followed by Rakshamaam saranagatham. As is his wont, CMV students also present a rather complex raga-and-talamalika Ramayana composition, tuned by Lalgudi Jayaraman.  With over fifty children in the two groups, the hall is packed at this early hour.

Other notable events include vocal concerts by R. Suryaprakash with R.K. Shriramkumar, Neyveli Narayanan, and K.V. Gopalakrishnan; K.N. Shashikiran and P. Ganesh with Raghavendra Rao; Thanjavur Murugabhoopathi and N. Guruprasad. Saturday events conclude with a concert by three Sangita Kalanidhis – T.M. Krishna, R.K. Shriramkumar and T. Bhakthavatsalam.  Three very different concerts but each one was satisfying to both the ear and the mind. Suryaprakash’s tanam in Nata, Varali, and Sree ragas, followed by Entharomahanubhavulu, stood out, as did his Karpagame reminiscent of his guru T.V. Sankaranarayan and, for those with longer memories, Mani Iyer.  The Carnatica Brothers presented the Swathi Tirunal Ramayana opus in a leisurely manner with brief alapana for each of the seven ragas.

T.M. Krishna  began his concert with the Dikshitar magnum opus Sree Subramanyaya namaste replete with a neraval at Dhiraya nata vidhatre. This was followed by a tanam and Jagadanandakaraka and expansive Bhairavi alapana and the Syama Sastri swarajati. All this is fairly standard TMK fare. What stood out for this listener in this concert was the gentle and restrained tones of Bhakthavatsalam on the mridangam. This was a new Bhakthavatsalam indeed. Before the tani, he did announce that he had played to that point for Krishna and then proceeded to produce his inimitable fireworks in a magnificent percussive solo.

All told, the festival stands out for its thoughtful curation, warm hospitality, and the way it brings together multiple dance forms alongside Hindustani and Carnatic music. The events are consistently well attended, with both familiar faces and new audiences drawn to the varied programming.