The feel of the music of the artistes at the samadhi of saint Thyagaraja seems distinct and soothing as it wafts in the air via the extensive audio system clipped to this neighborhood.

It would sound better if the heavy traffic on the Ariyalur-Thanjavur highway was diverted elsewhere.

I believe the aradhana is a tad loud. And it gets louder each year.

Rasikas, visitors and tourists may have to bear the mela that is built around the pandal where artistes offer their tribute to this composer at a fest that is unique. But the decibels screaming off the audio systems certainly does not make this a pleasant experience.

Imagine the tingle of your ear drums when saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath along with colleague violinist A. Kanyakumari takes the stage.

This the penultimate evening of the aradhana which began on January 9. The hawkers at the local markets are preparing for the arrival of sugarcane, ginger, flowers and plantain leaves. Pongal is round the corner. I have never seen bigger plantain leaves than the ones sourced from nearby Thirupoonthuruthy where the Kodamuruthi river flows by.

On this trip, I have with me G V Krishnan and his wife. The couple were here two decades ago and all that they take in now does surprise them. GVK retired as senior correspondent of the Times of India but continues to pen a blog and his camera keeps him busy.

Late evenings are probably the best time of the day to listen to a bit of the aradhana music. A perch on the banks of the Cauvery river, reduced to pools of water filled with plastic, paper, fabric and soap waste is not the best of places to sit down but one has to make do.

This is a big ticket evening though. Mridangist Umayalpuram with the Carnatica Brotherts with a special 'tani', T N Seshagopalan, flutist N. Ramani, still pleasing at 80 and Sudha Ragunathan, who seems to have a legion of fans here.

Towns keep changing. Thiruvaiyaru too looks different at night. And at dawn. It is the dawn when the gosti singing of the pancharatna kritis is to take place.

Standing on the bridge over the Cauvery, the heritage buildings on its banks make a great visual treat. There is time to visit the Thyagaraja memorial made out of what was once a simple Tanjore house where the composer is said to have lived for some time on Thirumanjana veedhi.

Last year, the Trust which manages the aradhana erected an arch at the top of this street. The expense was borne by businessman and arts patron, Deccan Murthy and union minister Jairam Ramesh had formally opened this arch.

By the time we arrive at the memorial, the idol of the saint has been taken out in a procession and a simple lit lamp stands in the cove. Rasikas pause to genuflect or pray and move on.

Next door, Prof. Kausalya and her team prepare for the final day's lunch they host at this old hall. This is a tradition that this team carries out year after year, with donations from diners and well-wishers. Kausalya says they have fed about 700 people every day at lunch time and they expect 1000 this afternoon, after the singing off the pancharatna kritis.

Aduthurai Gopalan is in charge of the kitchen and he offers us some tasty kesari. On the fringe of the aradhana are many people who make this unique event so special.

For the first time in the many years that I have been at the aradhana, I choose to park myself at the saint's shrine. Even as the abhishekam runs for a couple of hours - water, milk, sandal paste water and fruit juice . . .rasikas crowd around the sannidhi. Planned security here helps keep order. And one man who lends a hand here is Nagarajan from Tiruchi who is 80 and has been a Scout for 60 years.

Some of the policemen though are spoilers. All that they do is shoo rasikas who just want to sit and soak in. Or sing along.

I don't think mass singing is pleasant to the ear when a thousand voices join in. But the starkness of the un-musicality comes through the audio systems which transmit the music of the lead artistes who are the cynosure of the photographers, rasikas and state-run Doordarshan cameras.

When it is all over at about 10 a.m. there is a huge surge outside the pandal to spot the star artistes. Imagine people falling over each other to catch a glimpse of Mahathi.

Outside the arch to the shrine complex, families do brisk business offering steaming idlis and fresh chutney. And under the thatch of a house here, teenager Dhanalaksmi sits besides the rangoli-ish image of a colorful Thyagaraja image she has drawn on the floor.

"I took one of the handbills that had his image and did this in 30 minutes, " she tells us.

There are different shades to the aradhana. It means different things to different people.

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Aradhana 2010 Report