Margazhi Musings 2018

The major part of the Margazhi 2018 music season has come to an end. As usual, this year has been no exception with the multitude of sabhas competing with each other in hosting programs, lectures, demonstrations, discourses etc. It is really a feast to the fans. UNESCO has recognized and included Chennai in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for its rich musical tradition and contribution to music.

Do we know that the first season started in 1927? Many of the sabhas have been doing a yeoman service to music. The very first is the Mylapore based ‘Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha’ which began as early as 1896, by Mani Tirumalachariar. It was known then as ‘Sangeetha Vidwat Sabha’. The change to the present name happened in 1900. Of course, no discussion is complete without ‘Madras Music Academy’. It started off by hosting performances under a make-shift pandal. The “Academy” has grown into a magnificent institute with a rich history and patronage. At the same time, Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiyar started “Tamil Isai Sangam” to promote Tamil in music. It is well known today that Tamil has an excellent musical system, notations and precursors to the well-known ragas of today. Due to lack of patronage, support and practitioners, Tamil music did not become very popular. There was a period when the musicians shuddered to perform in Tamil! Credit goes to Chettiyar for his help in uncovering the music of Tamil maestros including the Trinity of Tamil – Muthu Thandavar, Marimutha Pillai and Arunachala Kavirayar. Enough about the history.

Here is my own take on the season 2018 after attending many concerts and interacting with musicians, sabha organizers and rasikas. Mind you, this is just my personal note!

Artistes

The morning / afternoon concerts are not ticketed and are mainly for veterans and budding artistes. Budding youngsters should focus on the choice of kritis, keeping in mind the venue and the timings. Some are not plainly suitable for the time of singing. The choice of ragas should reflect their passion. It is heartening to see quite a few coming out successful. Ashwath Narayanan, Vignesh Iswar, G. Abhilash, Kamala Deepti are extremely pleasing.

In the already-known-fast-climbers’ category, quite a few stand out – Sandeep Narayanan, Rithvik Raja, Sriram Parthasarathy, Bharat Sundar, Kunnakudi Balamurali and Ramakrishnan Murthy are amazing.  They bring out a unique selection reflecting their strength, practice and enthusiasm. Rithvik has a wider repertoire, and gauges the mood of the audience before spreading his wares. Sriram ensures the rasikas don’t go away disappointed. Bharat Sundar is not afraid to sing more Tamil kritis. His own composition on “Pancha Bhoothas”, during the inaugural concert of Chennai Fine Arts, was breath-taking. Such an amazing talent. Kunnakkudi’s alapanaas and brigas are mind-boggling. Ramakrishnan Murthy brings a sense of calmness to the concert. I, personally, would like to see more prominence to Tamil kritis to spread music and bring in more rasikas who can experience it along with the singer.

On the top, “Thalaivar” Sanjay Subrahmanyan sits. The energy and enthusiasm he brings in and takes the entire audience along with him is to be seen to be believed. If “standing ovation” is the yard stick of a musician’s popularity, Sanjay will win it hands-down. Sanjay and his team – fondly called “Men in White” comprising Varadarajan at Violin and Venkatesh at Mridangam receive deafening applause every time.  Sanjay brings out more Tamil compositions into the open than any other. The hours of practice he puts in yield the desired outcome. He brings out rarely-heard ragas and kritis and polishes them in his concerts. Manodharma sangeetham is his forte. A set of his hard-core fans go sabha-hopping...

I wish the either the sabhas or the vocalist introduces the team. Usually, everyone knows the vocalist and primarily troupes in to listen to him/her. Credit should go to the entire team for the performance. As a courtesy, an introduction will go a long way.

I also noticed some singers interact during the concert more than others. Akkarai sisters quip in now and then. So, does Ranjani & Gayathri more to explain the Marathi abhang. Sanjay cracks a joke about the song or brings an unknown fact.  A word about the composition, author, ragam/ thalam as appropriate, if shared by the musician, will go a long way.  More importantly, it will also be a tribute to the author to announce them and thereby convey a sense of gratitude. This is more so when the singer brings out a rare kriti.

On the Harikatha / discourse side, the world is ruled by Smt. Vishaka Hari and Sri Dushyant Sridhar. Vishaka has formulated her own style. You know what to expect. You will get a liberal does of music. In some discourses, I see “Thani avarthanam” goes on for a long time making you wonder if that was a music concert or discourse! 

Kudos to Dushyant, his knowledge, diction and appropriate usage of words are amazing. It will be a question of time before his rasikas form a club. I could see the audience enjoying his discourse on “Mata Saraswati” in Pethachi hall along with Carnatica brothers. On a humorous note, I became richer with Sri Ramanujar, Sri Koorathazhvar and other Vaishnavite titbits more than “Saraswati” at the end of the concert. Mind you, I don’t have anything against all those I have mentioned. It is just that simply the topic was on Saraswati! I wish he also dwelt on Kumara Guruparar who composed "Sakala Kalavalli Malai" in praise of the Goddess. 

On the lecture side, V.Sriram is unbeatable. His trademark research and documentation on whatever topic comes to the fore. His lecture on temples visited by Purandara Dasa at Vani Mahal was very informative. Please do not forget to visit the exhibition on one of the greatest musicians – S.Rajam. Adorning the three sides of the walls is a poster depicting the complete Sishya-Parampara of the musical trinity complete up to the present ages.

Being Margazhi, it is expected that Tiruppavai would feature in the concerts either as something “compulsory” or “relief-provider”! What about Manickavachagar’s Tiruvempavai? Is it relegated? Didn't hear a single concert featuring it.

Venues

The top venues are still Academy, Narada Gana Sabha(NGS), Krishna Gana Sabha and Vani Mahal. Mylapore Fine Arts(MFA) has been refurbished. The only sad thing is that the side walls have been closed. One of the beauties of MFA was the open sides. Now, we cannot long for it anymore!

Some avenues have permanent chairs numbered, labelled, tape affixed or plastic wrapped to indicate either their number or the donor or the intended participant. For example, the first row in Academy is reserved for the President, his guests and other officials. One doesn’t wander around generally in that direction. Some others have used ropes and wooden planks to ensure all the seats move together in one direction and no rasika can readily distort the topography. I could sympathize with the organizers as this, perhaps, has been wrought after some eager-minded rasikas who treat the venue following Rousseau’s principles of equality and liberty!

The same goes in NGS and Vani Mahal too. Some sabhas still use plastic chairs. Some have good bases whilst others do not. You can take some at face value and place your bulk on it without fear or fervour. But I would recommend you always take the precaution as you cannot vouch for the floor evenness.

Some sabhas indulge in measures beating those rasikas who cannot sit quietly in one row and are in constant search of a better seat. For them, even if the hall is near empty, they cannot keep still. They will wander around constantly in search of utopia. The only problem is that when they find the right seat, the original concert would be over the next set of artistes start trouping in! To tackle those, between every band of ticket (Rs 600 to Rs 1000, Rs 1000 to Rs 1500 etc.), there suddenly springs a massive chair tied using all material including iron chains, tape, clothes etc. to prevent rasikas jumping in. Not that, it has deterred the over enthusiastic ones! I heard that in a few sabhas they plan to increase the height of that blocking chair. Perhaps, they have taken a cue from the Chennai traffic police whose sole duty is lay medians in streets that don’t have and raise the median height where they are.

I wish the sabhas pay attention to acoustics more seriously. Except a few, it is difficult not to notice the constant struggle of the performing artistes. If the vocalist is satisfied, the violinist is not. He or she wants to assert the unique place of the instrument and wants sound tested properly. Not to be outdone, the mridangam artiste steps in to check his mike. This disrupts the serene atmosphere and plays spoilsport.

Food

Clearly, Chennai follows a set pattern. The only change this year is at the Music Academy. It is not Mint Padmanabhan but Thaligai Pattappa at the Academy – one giant being replaced by another! No relief on the prices though!  

Some caterers are very clear about the audience. They are very conscious about the notice board, venue arrangements and the photos. Same ink. Same colour. Same photos. Same position year after year. High marks for consistency across the years.

Mountbatten Mani Iyer rules at Parthasarathy Sabha. The usual specials in the form of Vazhaipoo vada, Cauliflower vada, Kanchipuram Idly are all there. The price doesn’t seem to deter the crowd. I went on the inaugural day and was welcomed with kesari (Don’t get me wrong. I am not a dignitary. Everyone was welcomed in the same way). After the senses have been lulled, what does one do? One ventures further. I succumbed to that and went to order quite a few items – nothing special though just Idlis/ Dosas/ Vadas not minding the protests of my wife. That day, the digestion of the food was extremely swift upon seeing the bill. Meals are charged at Rs 390!

Pattappa charges Rs 300 for full meals. Of course, for the uninitiated, there is choice in the form of set meals that lessens the burden. Narada Gana Sabha continues its tryst with Sastha caterers. They stead-fastedly stick to tiffin items and mixed meals throughout the day catering to all pockets. They avoid getting into the full-meals section Sivagami Pethachi hall is served by Mr Venkatesan of Sri Sastha catering. Most definitely value for money. His meals are priced at Rs 225. New year lunch is a treat to have and comes at Rs 250/-. Other tiffin items are very delicious and not pricey. Oh! I have forgotten about the Mylapore Fine Arts served by Bhaskaran & Co. Usual tiffin items and meals at Rs 170. There are no fringe elements in the meal and it delivers. Gnanambika continues its position at Vani Mahal. I also tasted Lakshmi catering serving at Ethiraj hall. It is definitely worth a visit.

Rasikas

The demography of the rasikas spans wide, ranging from youngsters, eager learners, students to the usual music enthusiasts cutting across age barriers.  It is heartening to see youngsters and students debating, discussing and devouring music. I can notice some changes for the better. For example, there is hardly any disturbance when the mridangam artiste starts his “Thani Avarthanam”, unlike in the past when rasikas chose to step out for a break during this time!

However, the indiscriminate usage of mobile phones inside the hall during a concert is simply unacceptable. In most concerts, the audience can be spotted speaking quietly by bending down in their seats! Also, mindless chatter during the “alapanaa” is a distraction to other “rasikas” and the artistes themselves. I was personally a victim to a “Mama” whose morphological movements during the alapanaa of Rithvik Raja at Academy invaded my seat imprisoning me! Some rasikas start clapping a little prematurely anticipating the conclusion of a song or the alapanaa only to be met with more of the same. Reminds you of the college days when clapping is used to signal the artiste to shut down his wares at the earliest?

One suggestion that can be considered is giving a 10-minute interval for concerts longer than 1.5 hours. Look at the advantages. For the artistes, it provides a welcome relief. The artistes can stand up, refresh themselves, rub themselves to restore regular blood circulation after sitting in the same position for hours with numbness setting in, walk around a bit and start afresh more energized. For the audience too, the break may come in handy for the same reasons. Sometimes, a coffee can restore the juices of the rasikas to go back and resume with more fortitude. 

Summary

• The Superstar - Sanjay Subrahmanyan
• Best Traditionalist – Vijay Siva
• Most Underrated Performer - Maharajapuram Ramachandran
• Upcoming Superstar – Ramakrishnan Murthy
• The group that is going to rock – Bharat Sundar and Kunnakudi BMK
• Best Canteen (Overall Quality and value for money) - Sri Sastha at Pethachi hall
• Best full meals (Value for Money) – Bhaskaran caterers at Mylapore Fine Arts
• Best full meals (Spread and value for money) – Sri Sastha at Pethachi hall
• Best mini meals – Sri Sasthalaya caterers at Narada Gana Sabha
• Shouldn’t miss - Ammani Kozhakattai at Mylapore Fine Arts, Vazhaipoo vada at Mount Mani Iyer’s, Ilaneer Payasam at Sasthalaya and New year meals at Sastha, Pethachi hall. If you didn’t try this year, next season is not too far behind.