The main activity of CTU is the utsavam or festival held every Memorial Day weekend, wherein students and amateurs render many of Tyagaraja’s 800 surviving compositions. In addition, there are several concerts, dances or dramas performed by top artists invited from India during the festival, as well as at several other occasions. In 2004, the festival lasted most part of three days and 300 amateurs performed and thousands attended. During the festival, CTU brings out a brochure, Tyagaraja Vijayam (in English), a photo album, as well as video and audiorecordings. Tyagaraja’s original works are published to make them easily accessible to the public.
Every effort is taken to re-create the Tyagaraja festival atmosphere as it is held in India. This includes the traditional observances, authentic food, dresses and costumes used by the attendees and performers, etc.
Why is the Festival Celebrated?
Tyagaraja’s life work and his spiritual message flow from the ethnic culture of India. Celebrating Tyagaraja’s memory and his works helps to preserve and communicate the values he represented. This is the reason for the Utsavam.
The Music is couched in Indian classical raga system. Tyagaraja’s lyrics express the traditional “nine emotions” springing from the Saint’s life experiences and thoughts.
Language: The compositions are in Telugu and Sanskrit languages, each cornucopian in its mythological and literary content. Telugu is spoken by 60 million people in India, and Sanskrit, along with Latin, is among the oldest of classical languages and the root of most of India’s languages.
Spiritual Message: Tyagaraja’s message is spiritually and morally uplifting.
Cultural Heritage: The lyrics interweave narrations, incidents and thoughts that reflect the fine culture of Indian society, then and now.
What are the Long Term Effects?
Great emphasis is placed on children’s direct “hands-on” participation in cultural performances. A majority of performers at the Utsavam are children, all taught by about fifteen teachers who are local residents. By this, CTU strives to pass on to the future generations, the greatness of Indian music, and to its cultural and ethical values.
This in essence, is preserving our heritage.
Pursuit of Excellence
Many of these amateurs who learned or practiced the music here, have risen to such a level of EXCELLENCE, that they have been repeatedly invited to perform concerts in the area as well as in concerts abroad. Several have begun to pass on the art to the next generation, by themselves becoming teachers.
The Community and CTU Growing Together
In recent years, there has been a considerable expansion in the community, and the knowledge and sophistication of these residents have improved greatly. In order to cater to these art lovers more comprehensively, more programs of a greater sophistication are planned and budgeted, to be offered throughout the year.The Utsavam strengthens and preserves the heritage via actual learning and performance by — primarily but not limited to — young students. To the community it is more than an event. It is almost a symbol that stands for the continuity between the old culture in the new environment. Hundreds of families are involved in it and are proud of it as their own cultural institution.
What is Traditional in the Festival?
The festival takes its lead from the original, first celebrated at the turn of the century in Tiruvaiyaru, India. The content and execution are kept faithful to the Indian traditions and customs. The language and the message of the lyrics, the food, the dresses and costumes (especially of women and children) — all these came into vogue decades or even centuries ago.
Community Involvement
The Indian community in the area consisting of the state of Illinois as well as the entire Midwest has recognized the value of the utsavam as a source of inspiration. Hundreds of volunteers cheerfully help to put up the events. Scores of group rehearsals involving over a hundred performers are conducted over eight weekends; more than 1,000 meals are prepared and served at the festival; activities such as publicity, and production are all done by community volunteers. The teachers, trainers, advisers, audience, and customers for all these events are also drawn from the community. It is the festival for the people and by the people.
Strengthen Understanding, Provide Access to Culture
- Public Performance: When amateurs are invited and provided a stage and an audience, and when they perform in public, it has direct and immediate impact on the performer as well as on the audience. It is an opportunity for all to practice, observe, understand and finally critique, enjoy, and internalize the art.
- Publicity: The Utsavam has a mailing list of over a thousand people, who are informed and invited well in advance. Ethnic press carries promotional articles about the Saint as well as programming details.
- Brochure: The Tyagaraja Vijayam brochure is a vehicle for local talent to put out thoughtful articles on the subject, including lyrics hand-written in Indian languages, by children. It does to the writers among us, what the stage does for the performers.
- Top rated artists are invited to perform for CTU, often from India. These may be concerts, dances, operas, skits or “musical story telling” sessions which is itself a uniquely Indian art. This allows exposure of local talent to the excellence from outside. CTU publishes some of Tyagaraja’s compositions in Indian languages and in English, which makes the work easily available to local practitioners of the art.