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Lucy Duran and World Routes Academy protege Hari Sivanesan visit the northern Sri Lankan province of Jaffna to hear how music is faring following the end of the civil war.

For the 2011 World Routes Academy, London born veena player Hari Sivanesan, retraces his family's roots in the Northern Sri Lankan province of Jaffna, and discovers how music is faring now that the civil war is over.

Making the tricky journey to Northen Sri Lanka, along the bumpy A9 highway flanked by military checkpoints and gun posts, Lucy Duran and Hari Sivanesan head to the lively town of Jaffna, where Hari lived briefly as a baby before spending the rest of his life in London. They visit a riotous Temple Chariot Festival as the country celebrates New Year, and Hari meets and plays with one of the foremost performers in the Carnatic tradition, violinist Radakrishnan.

They watch a performance by a troupe of Vasanthan Koothu dancers, who have not been able to return to their village because of the strict military control over certain High Security Zones, and are now the sole custodians of this rural song and dance tradition. As night draws in, Hari and Lucy meet with a group of women who sing a disappearing lullaby tradition, and who also sing mourning songs. The painful reality is that each of the women has lost a husband or a son in the civil conflict that tore the country apart, and as they talk they perform these heart rending laments bringing Sri Lankas recent past into sharp focus.

The World Routes Academy is a 麻豆社 Radio 3 initiative which aims to support and inspire young UK based world music artists by bringing them together with an internationally renowned artist in the same field and belonging to the same tradition.

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1 hour

Last on

Sat 23 Jul 2011 15:00
麻豆社 Radio 3

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Hari Sivanesan in Tamil NaduWorld Routes Academy, 2011: The Music of South India

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Music Played

  • Inuvil Kandasamy Temple Musicians

    Katpaga Valli - Ragamalika - Tala Adi

    Performers: Chinnarajah Raveendran (tavil) Balakrishnan Narmadan (tavil) Ganesan Bhavapriyan (nadaswaram) Kumaradas Nagadeepan (nadaswaram)

    • 麻豆社 Location Recording.
    • Inuvil Kandasamy Temple.

  • Thaavadi Pillaiyaar Temple Musicians

    Chariot Festival

    • 麻豆社 Location Recording.
    • Thaavadi Pillaiyaar Temple.

  • Vasanthan Koothtu performers

    Mallaka Chetty (Vasanthan Koothtu)

    Performers: Murugesu Sivapragasm (voice) Uthayasutharshini Kuganesan (voice) Kurusamy Srithar (mridangam) Thairiyanathan Justin (harmonium)

    • 麻豆社 Location Recording.
    • Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

  • Vasanthan Koothtu performers

    Kurathi (Vasanthan Koothtu)

    Performers: Murugesu Sivapragasm (voice) Uthayasutharshini Kuganesan (voice) Kurusamy Srithar (mridangam) Thairiyanathan Justin (harmonium)

    • 麻豆社 Location Recording.
    • Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

  • Hari Sivanesen

    Innikka Innikka Paaduven - Raga Durga - Tala Adi

    Performers: Hari Sivanesen (voice)

    • 麻豆社 Location Recording.
    • Tellipalai Durga Amman.

  • Valliyama Kalimuthu

    Lullaby

    • 麻豆社 Location Recording.
    • Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

  • Thavamani Myvahanam, Sellamma Iyaththurai, Punithavathy Tharmalingham

    Mourning song

    • 麻豆社 Location Recording.
    • Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

  • Hari Sivanesen, Radakrishnan

    Ananda Nadamadum

    Performers: Hari Sivanesen (veena) Radakrishnan (violin)

    • 麻豆社 Location Recording.
    • Inuvil Sivakami Ambaal Temple.

  • Hari Sivanesen, Radakrishnan

    Mattu Nagar - Raga Desh - Tala Tisra Adi

    Performers: Hari Sivanesen (veena) Radakrishnan (violin)

    • 麻豆社 Location Recording.
    • Inuvil Sivakami Ambaal Temple.

Broadcast

  • Sat 23 Jul 2011 15:00
    麻豆社 Radio 3

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