86-hour-long music programme from November 17

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In connection with the 86th birthday celebrations of Sathya Sai Baba, Sai Gramam, Thonackal, will host an 86-hour-long music programme from November 17.Ports Minister K Babu will inaugurate the programme at 11 am. The music programme will have a 68-hour Carnatic music concert and 18-hour bhajan sessions. The arrangement for the event is that there will be Sopanasangeetham recital from 6 am to 7 am, Carnatic music concert from 7 am to 12 midnight and bhajan sessions from 12 midnight to 6 am. Nearly 350 artistes will be part of the non-stop programme, which is considered a first-of-its-kind in the state. Some of the artistes who will be taking part in the programme are Ranjini Varma,  Varkala C S Jayaram, Bhavana Radhakrishnan, Ayamkudi Mani,  Vanaja Shankar and Kavalam Sreekumar. The valedictory function of the mega music programme will be held on November 20 at 3 pm. Speaker G Karthikeyan will inaugurate the valedictory session. Actor Suresh Gopi will be the chief guest.Veteran musicians will be honoured at the function including Parassala B Ponnammal, K Sivaramakrishna Iyer,  Mavelikkara Velukutty Nair, Kadakkavur S Ratnakaran, S Rugmini Goplakrishnan, Mavelikkara S R Raju, Palkkulangara K Ambika Devi, K Omanakutty and R Subbalakshmy. It will be followed by the recital of the Thyagaraja Pancharatnakeerthana.   After that, there will be concerts by Parassala B Ponnammal,  Mavelikkara K Velukutty Nair and Anayadi Prasad.