It had always been on my bucket list.
Thanks to the prompt of my friend Veeraraghavan, I decided to attend the programmes (at least some) of the Margazhi Music Season December 2024 to January 2025 in Chennai. Though I had witnessed some Carnatic music programmes in the past, they were not live performances.
Having been brought up in an environment surrounded by popular film music during childhood, I took to it, like duck to water- naturally. Like all kids my age, I was attracted to the Guitar and wanted to desperately learn it and play my favourite film songs.
My Guitar Master Mr. Albert
(who is no more), was a friend of my Dad. It was he who taught me the rudiments - the
parts of the guitar, how to hold a guitar, the names of the strings and a few basic chords. During every class it was the same routine. I had to practice playing the chords and never got to play the lead. This went on for some time and then, due to
some unforeseen circumstances, I had to give up my Guitar classes. Thus my guitar learning was aborted before it actually took off. Life took me through different twists and turns and playing a song on the Guitar stayed a distant dream.
My love for the Guitar never died. In 2013, I slowly started practising playing songs on my own, picking bits and pieces along the way. As I did not learn notes (the basic alphabets of music), I started playing by the ear and started uploading the songs on YouTube. It is simple – if a particular song impresses me enough, I listen to it closely a few times, try playing it on the Guitar, practice it, perfect it (to the best of my ability), record and upload. Now, I had grown to a stage where I do guitar covers of old Tamil film songs on my YouTube channel( Link to my YouTube channel 'Melodies n' Nostalgia' is on the right).
The film songs which I had listened to during my childhood were based on Carnatic style as well as other styles(aka Light music) and thus I knew that South Indian film songs are based on Carnatic music and here was an opportunity to know more than what little I knew of Carnatic music.
I have heard a lot about Margazhi Music Season and I wanted to have a feel of what the Margazhi Music Season was all about and in the process enrich my knowledge about Carnatic music. Nowadays there are so many resources on the internet, but I wanted to see performances live. So, I decided to treat myself with a fair spread of all genres - instrumental music, vocal renderings, academic discourses and traditional dance performances, not to mention the sumptuous food at the Sabha Canteens and incidentally cover some interesting moments through a photo-feature for my Blog.
Where do I start? Mylapore - the musical hub of Chennai, of course. Almost all the Sabhas which conduct cultural programmes are located in Mylapore and during the Margazhi Music Season, I found them bursting with high energy and activity which is very contagious.
Before I begin, I would like to thank M/s.Rasika Ranjani Sabha, M/s.Mylapore Fine Arts Club, M/s.The Music Academy, M/s.Narada Gana Sabha, M/s.Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, M/s.Bharat Kalachar, M/s.Gayathri Fine Arts, M/s.Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and M/s.Sastra Satsang for providing uninitiated people like me the opportunity to appreciate Carnatic music and traditional dance in all its beauty and glory without spending much.
19-12-2024 - Rasika Ranjani Sabha – There is a first time for everything, they say. This Margazhi Music Season, the first Sabha I had the opportunity to visit was the Rasika Ranjani Sabha. As I entered this Sabha, I was struck by a very beautiful statue of Goddess Saraswathi, gracefully sitting and playing the Veena, before the entrance. With a calm and pleasant smile on her face, it is one of the most beautiful statues I had ever seen. I just stood there for sometime just marvelling at the statue. Then as I entered the Sabha, my attention turned to the Nataraja Statue in the foyer. The official there informed me that both are works of Mr. Raja, the sculptor, an assistant of the famous art director Mr.Thotta Tharani. Hats off Mr. Raja!
19-12-2024 -I went to the Sabha early that day and therefore had the pleasure of enjoying another vocal concert by Sunil R Gargyan .
The vocal concert by Sudha Raghunathan (This concert was my prime purpose), one of the leading Carnatic singers, enthralled the entire hall.
20-12-2024 - When I stepped into the Auditorium at the Mylapore Fine Arts Club on 20-12-2024, Shishir Kumar had just started his performance on the Saxophone.
Being a wind instrument, in my view, Saxophone is a difficult one to handle and playing embellishments and nuances particular to Carnatic music, is a challenge, let alone the lung power it requires.
20-12-2024-The Academic Session at the famed Music Academy on TTK Road on 20-12-2024 on the ‘Hindustani Ragas in Carnatic repertory’ with Vidwan Sundareswaran, Dr. Pantula Rama and Dr. Subhashini Parthasarathy as panellists, was technical and was peppered with beautiful examples. I could understand only to a very limited extent.
The session was moderated by historian V. Sriram and was presided over by Carnatic vocalist T M Krishna, who was recently presented the M S Subbulakshmi Award.
Here are some interesting nuggets from the discussion:
- There is evidence of two ragas in Sekkizhaar’s Periyapuranam – ‘Nattapaadai’ and ‘Indhalam’
- The raga you get when you play the open holes( notes) on a flute is Harikhambhoji
- The names for ‘Aarohanam’ and ‘Avarohanam’ in Tamil are ‘Aarosai’ and Avarosai’.
- The distinction between the rendering of Ragas in the Carnatic and Hindustani styles lies in ‘Kampitham’ or movement, also known as ‘Gamaka’, that is hovering around a single swara(note) or oscillation between two notes.
- Examples
of Desi(North Indian) ragas which were absorbed into Carnatic system – Saaveri,
Sahaana , Dharbaar, Behaag, Sindhu Bhairavi, Khamaaz, Yamuna Kalyani
- Examples of Carnatic ragas which have been adopted into the Hindusthani system - Hamsadhwani, Charukesi, Keeravaani.
20-12-2024 -The Veena recital of Smt. Nirmala Rajasekar on 20-12-2024 at The Sastra Satsangh, AVM Avenue, Vadapalani Centre was very dynamic. The first thing that fascinated me was the tremendous energy flow that emanated as she played the Veena. Secondly, she was at ease with both vocal rendering of the song, as well as while playing the same on the Veena and at times she was doing both( which, in my view, is very difficult). The nuances she was able to bring out of the Veena were extraordinary. Her mastery of the Veena was so flawless that it looked as if she was able to increase or decrease the volume, depending on necessity and the feel she wanted to convey, at will. I had the pleasure of witnessing her magic starting the concert with Ragam Vasantha followed by Ragam Begada and then Ragam Varaali. Speaking of Varaali, she said Varaali is not usually taught to students by Gurus due to a notion that it spoils the relationship between the Guru (Teacher) and the Shishya (Student). However, according to her, her Guru had indeed taught her Varaali and she was with her Guru for 29 years. Apparently, the said notion appears to be a myth, after all.
The highlight of my rendezvous with Margazhi Music Season was on 22nd December @ Rasika Ranjani Sabha. Though the programme was to begin by 6.00 pm, it started around 7 pm, but the wait was worth it. The Bharathanatyam and Kathak performance by Nandini Jayakumar and Meghranjani Medhi respectively to the beautiful compositions of Dr. L. Subramaniam was class. While the compositions themselves were out of the world, the dances carried the audience to a different level.
Next followed, Sarod performance by the great Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, starting with raag Shamagowri, his own creation followed by renderings in raag Miya ki Malhar and then by raag Darbari.
Then, there was a performance by violin maestro Dr. L. Subramaniam, and I just sat glued watching him create beautiful music with his fingers.
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was honoured and awarded the prestigious ‘Lakshminarayana International Award’. The honours were done by the Maestro Ilayaraja in the presence of Dr. L.Subramananiam, Dr.Kavitha Krishnamurthy.
23-12-2024 - The concert by Sivasri Skandaprasad on 23-12-2024 at Sastra Satsang, Vadapalani was predominantly bhajans rather than krithis or kirthanas. What was amazing was the way she carried the rasikas with every rendering. The rasikas swayed to the beat, clapping their hands and were singing along.
25-12-2024 - One of the entertaining concerts I attended on 25-12-2024 at the Mini Hall of Narada Gana Sabha was by Iyer Sisters, Dr.Sudha and Smt.Srividya.
25-12-2024 -By the time I reached, the musical discourse on ‘ Acharyargalum Aranganum ‘ by Visakha Hari @ Vidya Bharathi Hall , Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha had already started. Here, rather than a discussion, I found the artiste speaking on a religious topic, interspersed with musical renditions of a shorter duration.
26-12-2024 -The Music Beyond Borders’ at Bharat Kalachar, YGP Auditorium on 26-12-2024, was a totally different experience altogether. With music from Africa, Spain, Persia and India, it was a unique blend. What added beauty and gaiety were the dance performances, which included individual performances as well as group-dances.
27-12-2024 - I had heard very highly of singer Sanjay Subrahmanyan and so had wanted to see his performance. However, only when I landed at Sri Krishna Saras Hall, Mylapore, on 27-12-2024 for the concert organised by Gayatri Fine Arts, I came to know that the singer was not Sanjay Subramanyan, but Dr. Sanjay Subramanian.
Having come, I decided to see him perform for some time. However, once I listened to one of his rendering, I was hooked and sat through the performance. It was excellent.
27-12-2024 -Violin with Flute is a wonderful combination and I saw two artistes, namely Sanjay Suresh and Atul Kumar display their mastery over these instruments on 27-12-2024, at Bharat Kalachar, YGP Auditorium.
On 28-12-2024, I was at Sri Krishna Saras Hall, Mylapore for a vocal duet performance by Subathra and Sujiethra Jayaseelan organised by Gayathri Fine Arts. As per ‘Sugam Karnatica’ website they are based in Malaysia and are established performers in the Malaysian Music circuit.
28-12-2024 -The ‘Katha Katchery’ by Revathi Subramanian on ‘Subramanyena Rakshithoham’ on 28-12-2024 organised by Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha at Sri Vedanta Desiga Vidya Bhavanam, Mylapore was a discourse on Lord Muruga and was informative.
29-12-2024 -The performance by Arjun Suresh on Chitraveena and Sanjay Suresh on the Violin on 29-12-2024 organised by Sastra Satsang, Vadapalani was impressive. Both the Chitraveena and the Violin are very difficult instruments to master (unlike the guitar, these instruments do not have frets or markers) and I was able to appreciate the years of hard work both of them would have put in to deliver such a brilliant performance.
30-12-2024 – ‘Vibrations’ by Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan and his team organised by Padhdhathi @ Sri Vedantha Desiga Vidya Bhavanam, Mylapore on 30-12-2024 was fantastic. The compositions by Raghavendra Rao, the violinist in his team were mellifluous.
31-12-2024 - The Lecture Demonstration on ‘The Maya and dimensions of Raga Mayamalavagowla’ by Nityashree Mahadevan @ Vidya Bharathi Hall organised by Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha was enlightening. With examples, she explained how different composers over time have handled the Raga to bring out its beauty, its various shades and colours to convey various moods and feelings.
On 31-12-2024, I was there at the lively vocal concert of Vijay Siva, organised by Sastra Satsang, Vadapalani. I learn that Vijay Siva is also an accomplished Mridangam player.
01-01-2025 – The New Year began with a fantastic instrumental ‘Heartbeat Ensemble’ by Ghatam Karthik and his team at organised by Sastra Satsang, Vadapalani on 01-01-2025. Though every artiste on the Ensemble was excellent, I was bowled over by Vigneswar on the Keyboard, and Sarvesh Karthick on the Mridangam.
02-01-2025 – Veena and Mandolin duet by Charulatha Chandrasekar and Viswas Hari on 02-01-2025 organised the Mylapore Fine Arts Club was pleasant. Viswas Hari’s nimble fingers moving up and down the fret board on the Mandolin is mind-boggling.
02-01-2025 – The Vocal concert by Dr. Radha Bhaskar on 02-01-2025 organised by Padhdhathi @ Sri Vedantha Desikar Devasthanam was delightful.
02-01-2025 -The Violin Duet by Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi organised by Sastra Satsang, Vadapalani on 02-01-2025 was amazing.
05-01-2025 -Instrumental music by Rishabh Ranganathan and his team organised by Bharat Kalachar at YGP Auditorium on 05-01-2025, as I could make out, were not rendition of krithis per se but a spontaneous improvisation of various ragas. The team also rendered a composition of Raga Charukesi in honour of veteran actor Y Gee Mahendra, who was present during the concert, as a tribute to his upcoming movie ‘Charukesi’.
05-01-2025 -The vocal concert by Sikkil Gurucharan on 05-01-2025 organised by Sastra Satsang at Vadapalani was superb.
11-01-2025 - Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Natyotsav provided me an opportunity to cover three forms of South Indian dances on 11-01-2025.
Here are some mesmerising moments from the Bharathanatyam performance by Ms.Gopika Raj Pillai, a personification of grace, beauty and talent. Lest I forget, Brijeesh Krish, the singer needs special mention. What a voice it was!
Here are some moments from the Mohiniyattam performance by Smt Shruthi Shobi and her disciples. Covering five stories from Hindu mythology, the presentation was enthralling.
The following scenes are from the Kuchipudi dance recital by Sailasudha( Smt.Shailaja & her disciples). I noticed that in Kuchipudi there was more of leg work along with abhinaya and there was a marked difference in costume, when compared to Mohiniyattam.
The last programme I attended of the Season was an instrumental
performance by Vigneshwar and his team @ Sastra Satsang on 13-01-2025.
This was one program I was able to relate since the renderings were
mostly Carnatic-based songs from Tamil films. The Team obliged by playing
some request of the rasikas like ‘ Mannavan Vandhaanadi’ from the film
‘Thiruvarutselvar’ and ‘Paattum Naane’ from the film ‘Thiruvilayadal’
which were outstanding. The medley in Ragam Hindolam and Ragam Charukesi
was superb. The dedication in Ragam Khamaaz and a Medley of Waltz based
songs in honour to Ghatam Karthik, who was present during the performance, in
Ragam Lathaangi were soothing.
This piece would be incomplete without a word about the food festival that is held in conjunction with the Music festival at the Sabhas. My wife and I decided to savour a sample and had a lunch at the Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha by Arasu Arusuvai Caterers @ Rs.650/- per lunch. The canteen was more crowded than the Auditorium. There was a huge queue and everyone had to wait for their turn. The organisers would call out the token number and then you take your place. The fare was fair with a variety of regular items including two types of payasams and the taste was good. Noticing some flotsam in one of them, I asked the person serving, ‘What is this?’ Pat came the reply, ‘Poori Payasam’. Poori Payasam? When did they start making payasam with Poori? Interesting and at the same time amusing! When we came out after lunch, my wife said, ‘I think the rate is very high. The rate could be Rs. 350/- max’. I could not agree more.
After having attended the above programmes during this Margazhi season and observing the behaviour of rasikas at the various Sabhas, I just thought of some basic etiquette we all (me included) can follow. It is nothing new and many of us are already following it. I am stating these here as a matter of reiteration:
Be punctual:
Let us always try to be in our seat before the performance begins. Arriving after the performance has begun is certainly a disturbance to the artiste as well as the audience.
Observe silence:
Before entering the Auditorium let us all put our cell phones on silent mode and observe silence during the performance.
Concentrate:
Having decided to attend the performance, don’t let anything disturb us and let us give our undivided attention to the performance on the stage. Consider it as a form of meditation.
Appreciate:
Once a particular piece is over, let us appreciate generously by applauding the performance. We all crave for appreciation (Don’t we?), and artistes are no exception. For all the practice and hard work they have put in to for the performance, they deserve it. It will certainly prompt them to perform with more vigour and energy. This is something we can give freely. It costs nothing to us but means a lot to the artistes/ performers.
Emergency:
Let us avoid leaving the auditorium in the midst of a performance, unless it is a case of emergency.
Aisle seats:
In case we expect to leave midway for some reason, let us chose an aisle seat so that we can leave without disturbing the other rasikas. Let us take care to leave only after a particular piece or performance is over, that is, in the interregnum between the end of one piece and the starting of another.
Avoidable behaviour:
Let us not meddle with our cell phones, or engage in chatting with our neighbour while the performance is underway. By indulging in such avoidable practices, let us understand that
a) we are disturbing the other rasikas from enjoying the performance.
b) we are disrespecting the artiste.
c) we are insulting the art form itself.
So let us shun such practices.
Photography:
Some of the Sabhas do not permit photography inside the Hall/ Auditorium. Let us respect it. Where photography is permitted, let us try to compose the shots from our seat with least disturbance to our neighbour (All the shots appearing in this article were taken from whichever seat I had occupied in the Auditorium).
Honouring of artistes/ performers:
Sastra Satsang has a beautiful practice of honouring every artiste on stage with a memento, after the performance is over. However, I observed that the rasikas rise from their seats and start to leave even as the mementoes are being handed over to the artistes. Every time, the official of Sastra Satsang, patiently requests the audience to please be seated till the mementoes are handed over to the artistes. I think we are matured and cultured enough to wait for a few more minutes to appreciate the adorable gesture of Sastra Satsang. Let us not put Sastra Satsang to such an embarrassment, atleast next time.
A word about the Auditoriums/ Halls:
I found that the Auditoriums I visited have excellent sound systems and in most cases the ambience was fine though stage lighting can be enhanced in some Halls. In some Auditoriums I found that the seating arrangement was not conducive to comfortable viewing since the seats were all almost at the same level. In some, there were plastic chairs and since most of the concerts/ performances were more than an hour and a half, it would be uncomfortable to be seated for such long durations, particularly since most of the rasikas were in their late 50s and 60s and beyond. In some, there was very little leg room, making it difficult for rasikas to get inside a row, if some seats are already occupied.
Most of the programmes I had attended during this Season were at the Sastra Satsang, Vadapalani. I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to Sastra Satsang and its Team for its efforts it has taken to arrange such wonderful programmes, with some outstanding performers. The ambience of the Auditorium is fantastic with excellent acoustic, on par with the best of the Auditoriums elsewhere in our city. The programmes start exactly at the appointed time and always end on the dot. I find that most of the Sabhas are concentrated in Mylapore making it the musical hub of Chennai. Sastra Satsang is doing a great service to the rasikas in and around Vadapalani by providing this Auditorium to enjoy the concerts without the trouble of travelling all the way to Mylapore. I have a small suggestion to make. Sastra Satsang can please consider adding dance programmes and dramas also next year, if it is feasible.
Best practices:
I noticed that in some of the Auditoriums/Halls, once the screen on the stage is up, the lights on the audience side is switched off. In my view, it serves two purposes:
When the lights are on, when anybody enters the Auditorium, the focus of the audience is attracted to such movement and thus disturbing the attention of the rasikas. If the lights are off, this is minimised to a considerable extent.
In some of the auditoriums, I noticed that the audience were scanty, in fact, very few in number and for the artiste who has taken hours to practice before the performance it surely is a letdown and can impact the performance since the incentive is lost. However, if the lights on the audience side are off, the visibility is poor and therefore even if the Auditorium is half–empty, it may not bother the artiste much. In such Auditoriums, however, I observed that there are guiding lights at the bottom of the aisle seats to guide the rasikas who arrive after the performance has begun.
Honouring the artistes/performers:Sastra Satsang has a beautiful practice of honouring every artiste on stage with a memento, after the performance is over. I did not find this practice in any of the other Sabhas I had visited.
To sum up, my brush with Margazhi Music Season Dec 2024 to Jan 2025 was a beautiful and a memorable experience. In my view, every artiste, whom I had the opportunity to see them perform was extremely talented, their hours of hard work, dedication and practice manifesting wonderfully on the stage. After having seen the above performances, as I was pondering as to how the artistes were able to bring out such articulations and the embellishments in their voices or on their instruments, and fluid bodily movements flawlessly, two words flashed across my mind – dedication and passion.
As for me, I was able to have a taste of Margazhi Music Season, capture some memorable moments of the Season which I can cherish for a lifetime, discovered some ragas I have hitherto never heard of, was awed by astounding performances, had good food and saw a lot of smiles and happiness all around . What else can I ask for?
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