The Glorious Heritage of the Godavari by Sreemathi Ramanath and Shreya Ramnath

Great rivers spawn great civilizations. The Godavari, India’s second-longest river (termed the Dakshina Ganga) is one such glorious example. Originating in Maharashtra and flowing along several states before draining into the Bay of Bengal, Godavari is redolent with historical, cultural and literary splendour and the ideas and ideals of sages, statesmen, writers and artists. In her talk, Sreemathi Ramnath will provide glimpses into the luminous heritage of the Godavari with words, visuals and music highlighting a few extraordinary temples of both Shiva and Vishnu. The Siva temples include the kshetras at Bheemaaramam, Somaaramam, Kumaararam and Drakshaaramam, the Vishnu temples are the Jaganmohini Aalyaam in Ryali and the Sri Rama temple of Bhadrachalam. The fertile belt of Godavari, so alive to new ideas, also witnessed social reform movements like the Andhra Brahmo Samaj. Songs commissioned in the 1930s by the P.R College of Kakinada became musical landmarks. Top musicians set to music the works of poets from this region: these led to the unique musical tradition, the Bhava Sangeetham. Shreya Ramnath who specializes in this school of music, will introduce us to the charms of Bhava Sangeetham. About the Speaker and the Singer Sreemathi Ramnath wears many hats – she is a Consultant, Coach, Media Person and a Literature enthusiast who works in three languages: Telugu, English and German. Born in a family of Sahitya Academi winning Telugu scholars, writing was a natural choice for her. As the member of the Panel of Script Writers and Commentary Speakers for the Films Division of India, she has written and spoken for several documentary films. Sreemathi has worked alongside Telugu literary luminaries like Devulapalli Krishna Sastry and Sri Sri. She became a casual artiste with the AIR as a child and went on to become the first Doordarshan anchor for telugu programmes telecast from Madras. Sreemathi had her higher education and professional development at various Universities and Institutes in Germany, U.K, Switzerland, Singapore, China and the United States. She has taught German language and culture before moving to the specialised field of Cross cultural Communication and Management. She has co-authored a book for the Goethe Institut, Munich on teaching methodology and adult learning techniques. As the Founder and Principal Consultant with ‘immer besser’ Cross cultural Management Consultancy, she has consulted and delivered programs in 25 countries for fortune 1000 companies. She also delivers Guest Lectures at the IIM Ahmedabad for the MBA students. Shreya Ramnath Shreya, a graded artiste of All India Radio (B-High )has a Diploma in Music from the Madras University . She has sung for several CDs and has given a number of devotional music and Bhava Sangeetham concerts both in India and in the United States. She is the recipient of the prestigious prize of the Music Academy Annual Music Competitions in the devotional music category amongst others. Shreya has 2 Masters degrees one in Media studies from Cardiff and the other in Sociology from the CEU in Budapest. She is currently on a fellowship from the Central European University, Vienna, Europe.