The Thyagaraja aaradhana, is a solemn tribute of all Carnatic artistes to one of the greatest composers ever - saint Thyagaraja - at his samadhi on the banks of the river Cauvery in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur district.

And this year, the 156th aradhana was inaugurated on January 18 by clarinet vidwan, A.K.C. Natarajan. G.K. Vasan, Secretary, All India Congress, G. Rangaswamy Moopanar, President, Sri Thyagabrahma Mahotsava Sabha (which hosts the fest), S. Kosalaraman, Collector of Thanjavur, violinist Kunnakudi Vaidhyanathan and thavil artiste Haridwaramangalam A.K. Palanivel, secretaries of the sabha participated.

For six days, from early morning to midnight, a string of artistes, famous and students spent about ten minutes on a stage close to the saint's samadhi, and sang his compositions. This is indeed a marathon event of performances. A homage in music.

The most important part of the event was the rendering of the pancharatna kirtanas. This took place on January 22 morning.

Over the years, what has to be a solemn homage may have turned out to be a social event, an occasion which, covered by television nationwide, makes everyone feel important!

Such events do have their flipside but the aradhana at Thiruvaiyyaru is sacred in a way, and a unique one.

This special section on KutcheriBuzz will feature a number of stories on Aradhana 2003. Information that will help you get closer to the event.