SAPNA - A Cultural Phenomenon in America  BYLINE

Dr. L. Subramaniam & Ambi Subramaniam with Mahesh & Satish in concert.

The inexhaustible repertoire of Saint Composer Tallapaka Annamacharya for any musician, singer, dancer, speaker, researcher, choreographer, or drama and ballet groups, is a source of inspiration, spiritual and aesthetic, to all Indians and other creative minds, wherever they may be - Europe, Asia, Africa or the continents across the Atlantic.

The thread of God intoxicated devotion, the power of creative movement and the need for spirituality binds one and all. The primary instrument for transmission of any tradition is the trained, educated, and inspired human voice.

We can consider Annamacharya an epistemic spokesman responding to the historical changes and developments that occur in culture and tradition. Music can be the perfect sanctuary where souls find consolation and a song can be felt as intimately alive lit up by mysterious transcendence.

Sri Annamacharya Project of North America (SAPNA) founded by Drs. Saradapurna & Sriram Sonty of Flossmoor, Illinois, in 1989, is the result of an idea conceived and pursued for many years. SAPNA’s mission is “to preserve, promote, propagate and perpetuate Indian Classical Fine Arts.” As an institution for arts, SAPNA has been investigating many dimensions and fundamental concepts of Indian classical art traditions.

Through a series of seminars, conferences, exhibitions, dance ballets, music concerts, East-West fusion performances, invited guest lectures, demonstrations, publications, multimedia presentations, and audio visual materials, within the framework of multi disciplinary and cross cultural studies, SAPNA is making an effort to promote, propagate and perpetuate Indian classical music, dance and literature. The theme of SAPNA incorporates the philosophies of great maestros of Indian classical music.

South Indian music popularly known as “Carnatic Music” is gaining stronghold in today’s world. SAPNA’s efforts represent a conceptual plan where by certain fundamental and perennial ideas presented by maestros like Padmavibhushan Dr Managalampalli Balamuralikrishna, Padmabhushan Dr L.Subramaniam, Sangeethakalanidhi Padmabhushan Dr Sripada Pinakapani, Sangeethakalanidhi Nedunuri Krishnamurthy, Mahamahopadhyaya Dr Nookala Chinasatyanarayana, Srikalapurna Dr C.Chittibabu, Padmabhushan Dr Vempati Chinasatyam, Padmabhushan Umayalpuram Sivaraman, Padmasri Adayar K Lakshman Padmasri Yella Venkateswara Rao, Padmasri Kavita Krishnamurti, Padmasri Viswamohan Bhatt, and other stalwarts, Indian classical traditions are fostered. 

Numerous interviews, chamber discussions, and prolonged conversations with leading classical musicians, musicologists, and scholars have helped the formation of this theme. Ideas were discussed and planned within the overall holistic approach of the institution. However the context is not just merely the performance but also to establish primal eternal factors and a scope for constant growth and evolution of art in the global village. This movement, systematically implemented, allows an access to certain universal and cross cultural experiential categories.

SAPNA is established to explore the growth processes, the transmission patterns, and cultural creativity involved in Indian classical traditions with the help of teachers and disciples in Greater Chicago land and across the United States. The strides of electronic media, modern urban living conditions, and technology can overwhelm the teachers and the pupils in this endeavor, and this is where SAPNA steps in, says. Dr. Sriram Sonty. “While retaining the pristine character of performing art forms, there is a need to create a platform for young artists of future generation to understand this philosophy through performances.”

Through a humble beginning keeping the above preamble in mind and after being inaugurated by Dr Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna and Consul General of India to Chicago.KR Sinha, SAPNA registered in 1993 with the State of Illinois and started its journey.

During the 20 years from 1989-2009, SAPNA has presented over 160 major programs, facilitated performers’ visas for Indian artists for national tours at reputable venues like the Chicago Symphony Center/Orchestra Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, the Field Museum, Harris Theater, Trinity College Auditorium, the United Nations auditorium and at various renowned institutions like the Harvard and Yale and many Indian universities.

Performances have also been organized at the Hindu temples of Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington, New Jersey, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston as well as many social organizations including, the Council for Parliament of World Religions Chicago in 1993 & Cape Town, South Africa in 1999.

In 2008 SAPNA celebrated the 600th Birth Anniversary of Saint Annamacharya on a grand scale with participation of 175 young brilliant students from various music and dance Schools of Greater Chicago. It also organized the 1st Veena Conference and Festival in North America, the XXth Annual Annamacharya Festival. And in 2009, it organized the prestigious “Freedom Symphony” where audiences were enthralled by the performances of Dr. L.Subramaniam, Kavita Krishnamurti and Dr. Michel Koehler along with the Leipzig Philharmonic Orchestra performing with the Chicago Global Orchestra. SAPNA felicitated Indian maestros by conferring Lifetime Achievement Awards to Dr Sripada Pinakapani, Sri S. Gopala Sastri and Sri PVRK Prasad.

From 2000-2006, SAPNA has collaborated with Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University of Hyderabad and the Andhra University of Visakhapatnam, to establish outreach programs for the next generation of Indian Americans. The perennial grant support from the Illinois Arts Council, corporate support from Air India and Met Life, foundation support from the Sonty Renaissance International (SRI) Foundation and student support from the 40 plus schools devoted to Indian fine arts is a testament to the relentless pursuit of high quality programs and presentations by SAPNA.

During the past 20 years of yeoman service, SAPNA has managed to overcome all hurdles and today stands tall as a well established and respected organization that presents and preserves the classical Indian fine arts.

SAPNA would like to thank all the distinguished guests, performers, artists, participants, parents, teachers and patrons for their continued help and support. In the coming years, SAPNA will strive to realize its long term dream of establishing a “sanctuary for Indic cultural traditions – Chicago Kala Bharathi” to pay tribute to the great 15th century Saint Composer Annamacharya and to all those who revel in the art of sound and movement.

For more information, please visit www.annamacharya.net or send an email to Dr Sriram Sonty - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it - or Dr Saradapurna Sonty at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .