The advent of December heralds
the grand and oldest music festival season in Asia, the Margazhi Carnatic Music
season in Chennai. Music lovers are in for a treat. They make a beeline for the
various venues waiting to be entranced by well known musicians who present
their brilliant repertoire. I am in Chennai for five days and I want to make
the most of it. My feet drag me to the venue of the inauguration of the music
season at Brahma Gana Sabha by the Governer of Tamil Nadu. The function was to
be followed by a concert by the tremendously talented vocalist, Abhishek
Raghuram. For the uninitiated, Abhishek is the grandson of the legendary
Mridangam artist, Palghat Raghu and has a connection with the violin maestro,
Lalgudi S. Jayaraman on his maternal side. With these genes, it is not at all
surprising that Abhishek is one the most talented musicians of the present
generation. As usual, the audience was treated to some majestic ragam alapanai
and breathtaking kalpana swaras. His
rendering of the ‘Bhavayami Raghuramam’ was the cream on the cake, to be
relished and cherished by the music fans. I had another reason for making it to
the Brahma Gana Sabha inauguration ceremony. They release their booklet which
contains relevant details of all concerts held by the various Sabhas for the
entire season. This makes it easy for a visitor with a short span of time at
their disposal to pick and choose the concerts by the artists of their choice.
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| The ready reckoner for Chennai Music Season |
The second day, I chose to
go to Kamarajar Arangam, where Sheshank was to give a flute recital. The
concert was really good but I was astonished by the sparse audience that would
not have numbered more than a couple of hundreds in a hall that has a capacity
of more than a thousand.
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| Sheshank on Flute |
The genius of Sheshank’s music saved the day, though
it set me wondering about the lack of interest displayed by the younger
generation in Carnatic music. But that illusion was partially set right, when I
attended the concert of the Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna the next day.
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| Kunnakudi Balamuralikrishna |
Though
the audience was predominantly of the older generation, there were some
youngsters in the audience giving their undivided attention to the exquisite
nuances, great voice range and purity of music displayed by the young artist.
The
concert by Sid Sriram on the following day had maximum youngsters in the
audience probably because he is a well known musician in movie circles too.
The fifth day was a veritable
musical treat. I had the occasion to hear both Vishaka Hari’s stunning musical
discourse as well as Abhishek Raghuram’s brilliant concert, both at the same
venue one after the other organized by Kartik Fine Arts.
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| Vishaka Hari's mesmerising discourse |
Vishaka Hari’s
mellifluous voice and her ability to engage the audience is well known. Her
topic for the day was on the ‘Panchabootha Sthalas’ and her rendering was a
wonderful experience. Abhishek Raghuram is exceptional. No other word can
describe his brilliance. His research, the way he improvises, the range, the
voice and the mastery over the ragas all make him a favourite with the audience,
who, time and again, give him a standing ovation. This made my day.
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| Abhishek Raghuram in concert |
My
disappointment with the audience on the second day was more than made up for by
the almost houseful audience for Vishaka Hari and Abhishek Raghuram.
Having had the opportunity to
personally experience the thrill of the Margazhi Music Season, albeit for a
very short span, I leave Chennai with reluctance as there is so much more in
store for music connoisseurs. But I am happy that the platform provided by
Margazhi music season for Carnatic music is not getting trapped in stagnation
and still going strong, thanks to the young and exceptionally talented artists.
#Music #CarnaticMusic #Margazhi #musicseason #Chennai #AbhishekRaghuram, #KunnakudiBalamuralikrishna #SidSriram #VishakaHari #Sheshank
