Ram Gopal

B V.K. Sastry passed away in Bangalore on the 22nd September. He was 87 years old. His passing has left the world of music and dance significantly poorer. A highly respected critic of music and dance, BVK (as he was popularly known) had been associated with journalism and the fine arts for over six decades. He was one of those somewhat rare critics who was liked not only by rasika-s but by artists themselves as well.

The twentieth anniversary of Sruti was celebrated at a meeting held in the Narada Gana Sabha Hall on the 11th of September. The occasion was availed of to present the Vellore Gopalachariar award instituted by mridanga vidwan Vellore Ramabhadran in memory of his father to vidwan S.V. Parthasarathy.

The function started with a musical invocation by Carnatic vocalist Geetha Raja. Her fatherin-law the late R. Sethuraman (father of Aruna Sayeeram) was connected with Sruti as its first Bureau Chief and Representative in Mumbai.