Compositions inspired by renowned places in India

The 33rd annual day of the Groupe de reflexion franco-indien (GRFI) – Indo-French Reflection Group was a delight during this sweltering French summer. As I walked into the Indira Gandhi Hall in the Maison de l'Inde at Cité Universitaire, Paris, on 18 June 2023, I was greeted by some friendly, familiar faces and many new ones.

The program started with a welcome speech by Rasika Sowmya Lakshmi (Director of the Maison de l'Inde), and Lalitha Badrinath, President, Indo-French Reflection Group, welcomed the Chief Guests of the evening, the Varthamans.

Badrinath explained the association's main activities (monthly conferences), listing some of the important ones that were held in 2023 and the future ones. Chief guests Shobha Varthaman has done great work as a humanitarian with 'Doctors without borders' in Africa and the Middle East. Air Marshal (Retd.) Simhakutty Varthaman was the Air Attaché at the Embassy of India in Paris from 2004 to 2007.

Shobha Varthaman took us down memory lane when she talked about the history of the association and its humble beginnings. It was interesting to note that the monthly conferences and annual days were originally held in private at the residences of the members of the association, and the invitations were handwritten and sent through the post. Today, with Lalitha Badrinath's relentless efforts, the association has evolved, enriching the Indian culture through monthly conferences and music on a grand scale. The conferences were held at the Chateau de Buc, a small, picturesque town close to Versailles, while the thematic concerts were held at the Paris Cité Universitaire.

Lalitha Badrinath unfurled the concept through an enchanting poem penned by her. The poem describes the transition in ancient texts, starting from the period of the Vedas through Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads, to the period of the Puranas. Singers Aparna Sreedhar  and Akilandeshwari introduced the Kshetra :Temples Of India program. Divided into two parts – bhajans and Carnatic compositions, the program began with a bhajan by Aparna on Sree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir. Shagor ably accompanied her on the harmonium and Anuvab on the tabla. She also presented compositions on the Vittal Rukmini temple and Kedarnath.   

Singer Namita and her group presented compositions on Vrindavan. The first song was a Meera bhajan on Rag Bhoopali. The second and third song invoked the Rasleela. I was pleasantly surprised to see the next group of septuagenarian and octogenarian singers led by Jayashree Majumdar. Together they sang a bhajan on Dakshineswar Kali. The bhajan session concluded with Gurbani Sangeet by Bittu Banger.

The Carnatic group commenced with a viruttam evincing the kshetra Tirupati.  The group also rendered select kritis of Dikshitar, Papanasam Sivam, Purandara Dasa, Balamurali Krishna and a few verses from Tirupugazh. Srividhya, along with Akilandeshwari and Aiswarya (the Carnatic group), were accompanied by Gautham Bharadwaj (violin) and Hudson (mridangam).

The north and the south groups embarked us on a musical virtual tour of some of the most fascinating as well as prominent places of worship from Kedarnath, Uttarakhand and Punjab to Maharashtra, Karnataka, Trivandrum and the south, Tamil Nadu and finally to the east coast via Andhra Pradesh to Kolkata.

For 33 years, GRFI has constantly promulgated the Indian culture in France. Through their monthly conferences, they have produced some erudite audiences. The evening concluded with a vote of thanks by the Badrinaths. The octogenarian couple go pillar to post to make these events memorable for each of us. Kudos to them for their efforts.

By

Cynthia Srikanth