The inaugural ceremonies were initiated on the morning of the 26 September, with the arrival of Dr. Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna, the newly appointed Cultural Advisor to the Andhra Pradesh Government. He was received with great pomp, to vedic chants by eminent priests and Nadaswaram.

After he unveiled a plaque commemorating the occasion, he was honoured with garlands and a citation. The Collector of East Godavari District Jawahar Reddy presided over the event. In his reply, Dr. Balamurali, praised the efforts of the sabha where he started his career some four decades ago. He congratulated the present organizers for the renovation at Suryakala Mandiram, and made an appeal to get the hall air-conditioned. He said that this would be conducive to better performances by artistes and add to the listening pleasure of the audience. If the hall is air-conditioned, Dr. Balamurali promised that he would be the first person to sing in that Sabha and that he would do it for "free".

In the evening, Dr. Balamurali Krishna kicked off the ten day Music and Dance Festival. Tickets were at a premium and the hall was packed. To accommodate the overflowing crowd, the organizers arranged a closed circuit live broadcast in a Kalyana Mandapam next door. Balamurali sang for two hours, enthralling the audience with his characteristic rendition of many of his own compositions.

The next day, Madurai T. N. Seshagopalan gave a classic 3-and-a 1/2 hour performance, which reminded one of the olden days, when no performance was complete without adequate number of krithis of several composers, ragam, tanam, pallavi, thillana and some light classical compositions.

On the third day, it was Sudha Raghunathan and on 29 September the Priya Sisters, Shanmukha Priya and Hari Priya, gave a lively performance of the audience's favorite ragas and compositions, followed by Bombay Jayashree on the 30th.

One of the high points of the celebrations came on the sixth day when M. S. Gopalakrishnan and his daughter Narmada gave a violin duo performance, half Carnatic and half Hindusthani. At the start of the programme, Gopalakrishnan was honored with garlands and a citation. In his reply, Gopalakrishnan recalled his kutcheri with his father, Parur Sundaram Iyer on that very stage several years ago. He recalled with fondness the blessings Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu, the all time great violinist, bestowed on him on that occasion.

These performances were followed by a Telugu drama about Kavisaarvabhowma Srinadha (a poet who wrote many epic Kavyas), a Bharatanatyam dance drama on composer Annamacharya by Parvati Ravi Ghantasala and her group, a Kuchipudi dance drama 'Sarvajna Adisankaracharya' by Swati Swaminath's troop. Vocalist Nookala Chinna Sathyanarayana, provided a fitting finale for the ten-day celebrations.

This report will not be complete without a mention of the thoughtfulness and generosity of the young artists who won prizes in several statewide competitions conducted by Saraswati Gana Sabha on this occasion. These children all in their early teens, some even younger, have donated their prize money to a newly organized fund for the retired and needy artistes.

All in all, it was an enjoyable celebration of Dasara in a long time put together by Saraswati Gana Sabha, the patrons who sponsored the programmes, the donors who provided the funds for the renovation of Suryakala Mandiram, the organizers who made it all possible, and people of Kakinada in general.