SAMPADA (Silicon Andhra Music Performing Arts and Dance Academy) is an academy through which overseas students learning Carnatic music, Hindustani music and classical dance forms like Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, get to enrol in academic credit-driven junior and senior-level certificate courses in affiliation with Potti Sriramulu University, where their performance is evaluated through a series of exams both in theory and practical as per the institution’s stipulated curriculum.
Even as the world is battling through testing times owing to the COVID-19 virus, SAMPADA left no stone unturned to come up with several initiatives and programs that have captured the imagination of several Indian children and adults residing in various parts of the globe.
Despite the uncertainty in the hour, SAMPADA took a timely digital turn adapting to the times, where over 1500 students of classical music and dance (Carnatic music, Hindustani music, Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, Andhra Natyam) enrolled in the junior and senior-level certificate courses, underwent online assessment while being virtually monitored by the staff of Sri Potti Sriramulu University on secure online platforms adapted by leading Universities across USA. The students who cleared the examination were awarded the certificates recently.
“It’s only with the help of university staff, timely cooperation from students and parents alike that the academy was able to conduct the exams seamlessly while staying within the four corners of our households. SAMPADA’s core team comprising Phani Madhav Kasturi, Santhi Konda, Usha Madabhushi in addition to the team of evaluators led by Dr. Y Reddy Shyamala, Controller of Examinations, Potti Sriramulu University made significant efforts to pull this off without any major hassle,” stated Deena Babu Kondubhatla, Dean and President, SAMPADA. Students keen to appear in the exams to be hosted for the next academic year are requested to enrol themselves on sampada.siliconandhra.org, he added.
In a bid to popularise the works of poets and composers like Annamayya, Ramadasu and Purandaradasu among the next generation residing in the USA, SAMPADA had flagged off a one of a kind virtual competition series recently. The competition was a true test of a student’s ability to sing the kirtanas of the aforementioned composers. “The first round of competitions hosted across five cities in the US witnessed the participation of over 550 students. Over 65 students selected in this round would later compete for top honours in the national-level competition to be held on July 11 and 12,” shared Vamsi Nadella, Vice President for the Vaggeyakara Charter at Silicon Andhra. Phani Madhav Kasturi, Vice President at Silicon Andhra would be in charge of the technical supervision in relation to the same.
“Buoyed by the terrific response to the virtual competition series (where budding singers were evaluated on their performance to the kirtanas of Annamayya, Ramadasu and Purandaradasu), SAMPADA is proud to announce a similar series in the classical domain, to foster the participation of aspirant classical music instrumentalists who could play the veena, violin, flute and mridangam. Participants are requested to choose the kirtanas from the works of the Trinity of Carnatic music comprising Tyagaraja, Dikshitar and Syama Sastri. Registration details and other information pertaining to the competition can be found on vaggeyakara.siliconandhra.org. The events would stream live on Facebook and YouTube as well,” mentioned Deena Babu, President, SAMPADA.
Among the many who are extending their help from various quarters to ensure the success of SAMPADA’s various endeavours through their timely leadership are Gauthami Maddali, Mallika Vadlamani from North Carolina, Madhuri Dasari (Vice President, Silicon Andhra, Ratnavalli Tangirala and Machiraju Subhramanyam from Virginia, Vijaya Turimella, Balu Pasumarthi, Lakshmi Nanduri, Sarath Veta (Vice President, Silicon Andhra) and Ravi Kamarasu from New Jersey, Malathi Damaraju, Shanti Chaturvedula, Sujatha Appalaneni (Vice President, Silicon Andhra), Padmarao Appalaneni from Chicago, Mamatha Kuchibhotla, Srujana Nadella, Narayanan Raju, Vamsi Nadella (Vice President, vaggeyakara wing of Silicon Andhra) from California.
