Music Mania

Every year people queue up in the wee hours of the morning to get the coveted tickets to Chennai’s annual December Music Festival. T E Narasimhan gets to the heart of the excitement.

December 2, 4.30 am: A crowd of 150 has gathered at Chennai’s famous Music Academy. An hour later, this number swells to 400 and keeps growing as more and more music lovers keep pouring in. While other cities across the world see similar frenzied queues for the latest offerings from the Apple stable or for rock concerts, in Chennai it is the annual December music festival that excites this kind of enthusiasm. This year, the person at the head of the queue— a 77-year-old former railways official—got his prized spot by landing up just after midnight outside the season ticket counter that opens only at 9 am. That’s the kind of fervour that Margazhi Utsavam or the December festival evokes in Chennai. It is a time when music lovers are spoilt for choice as close to 2,000 music and dance concerts are held across the city between December 15 and January 15.

 

The season ticket, for which people make a beeline, is the most sought after for a reason. It entitles the holder to watch any programme in the sabha throughout the season after making a one-time payment. If not for this ticket, avid music enthusiasts would have to come a day before every concert to buy tickets. The sabhas are of utmost importance in the music world as these are organisations that help conduct the concerts and also bestow titles and awards on artists.

The Music Academy is one of the oldest sabhas in the city and, according to most music connoisseurs, it is also one of the most organised. The enthusiasts who gather in the wee hours of the morning are greeted with the comfort of chairs and a hot cup of coffee. The first 250 lucky souls are taken into the academy’s mini hall where each person is allowed a maximum of two season tickets, the price of which varies from Rs 1,000 to 10,000. The rest turn away disappointed, waiting to try their luck a day before the concert.

According N Murali, president of the Music Academy, the highlight of this year’s event is the fact that after nearly two decades, the Sangita Kalanidhi— considered the highest award in carnatic music— is being given to an artist living outside India. The winner this year is Tiruchi Sankaran who lives in Toronto.

Also, the sabha has introduced morning slots for veteran musicians, while the afternoon slots are for budding artists and the evening performances are for the most sought after musicians. The other novelty factor is the paid webcast that has been introduced for the first time ever by leading vocalist TM Krishna.

According to Murali, the seven concerts to watch out for this year include those by Krishna, Aruna Sairam, Nityashri Mahadevan, Sudha Raghunathan, Bombay Jayashree and Sanjay Subramaniam. The other encouraging aspect of the current festival is the presence of more and more younger musicians. “We have seen IT professionals, chartered accountants and other leaving their professions to embrace music as a career,” he adds.