Two thousand artistic works featuring Lord Ganesha is one of the attractions of the Vinayaka Chathurthi celebrations organised by cultural organisation Soorya at Ganesham, Thycaud.

For 30 years now, cultural activist Soorya Krishnamoorthy has been organising Vinayaka Chathurthi celebrations at his residence at Thycaud.

On September 7, from 6am to 12 noon, Soorya Krishnamoorthy’s prized collection of paintings, relief works, sculptures etc, all on Ganesha, will be open to the public. At the same time, various musicians and groups of singers will be presenting recitals of bhajans and songs. Prasad will be also be offered to all visitors.

Soorya Krishnamoorthy. | Photo Credit: MAHINSHA S

Says Krishnamoorthy: “Included in my collection are rare and valuable art works of Ganesha that I have collected from India and abroad.” He has stopped collecting as he receives many such works from friends and admirers and during public functions.

At 6pm, Ganesham Art Gallery will be inaugurated. This will be followed by a screening of Njanum..., a documentary on the characters created by Krishnamoorthy. Directed by Arun Kishore, the documentary depicts the characters interacting with the playwright and theatre director.

Listen to Divine Echoes, a concert at 7.15pm by playback singer and Carnatic vocalist Abhirami Ajai, a student of Perumbavoor G Ravindranath.

Abhirami will be singing compositions of Bhakti saints from across India. She says she has chosen Marathi abhangs, compositions by Surdas, Tulsidas, Kabir Das, Meerabai, Annamacharya, Andal, Villumangalam Swamiyar, Basava and so on.

Abhirami Ajai | Photo Credit: Special arrangement

“I will also be giving a short explanation of the context in which a piece was composed and the essence of it,” says the singer.

She points out that although they lived in different places in India, composed in different languages and followed different philosophies, the soul of the compositions laid emphasis on oneness and acceptance. “During the roughly 90-minute concert, I would like to highlight how they all spoke about the same idea,” says Abhirami, a student of public policy and governance at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

All programmes are open to the public.