When politics gave birth to an enduring cultural festival

Let us say your city were to hold the annual three-day rally of a national political party. What evening entertainment would the hosts provide for the throng? Would they get the Bollywood stars of the day to rock and swing in a mega-stadium? Not if it were the old Madras Presidency of 1927.

So what did local Congress party leaders S Satyamurthy and C Rajagopalachari and PT Rajan do? Why, they ensured that the day-long clamour for Purna Swaraj culminated in swara storms and rhythm explosions by tufted, dhoti-clad, shawl-draped Carnatic musicians, at a three-day music conference. These performers may not have been party people, but many of them were certainly swaraj-ists, spinning the charkha and hailing Bharat Mata in slogan and song. 

This historic launch of the Madras Music Academy (now the die-hard bastion of Carnatic music) in conjunction with the Congress session also became the starting point for that great annual ritual now known as the Madras Music Festival. Today, Chennai has no fewer than 75 sabhas big and small, old and new, spread across the metropolis, each competing to conduct its own isai vizha (music fest) through December and January. The concerts – well over 3,000 at the last count -- begin at 8am and go on till 10pm in successive time slots. Hundreds of musicians perform with undiminished fervour season after busy season. Accompanying violinists and percussionists dash from one venue to the next, some performing three concerts per day with different artistes. For the Carnatic musician, the number of cutcheris (concerts) bagged during the season determines status and popularity. 

Corporate sponsorship is a recent phenomenon. The Chennai festival -- and indeed the Chennai music and dance scene -- evolved through the concerts conducted by Chennai sabhas, a unique Chennai institution maintained with members’ subscription and patronage. There has been no government support then or now, nor has it been sought. The sabhas also confer a range of awards and honours, triggering harrowing heartaches among the expectant, not least because these plaudits become passports to foreign tours. 

Chennai’s December season attracts a range of visitors from abroad. In the past, music composer Philip Glass, New York painter Francesco Clemente, music collector James Rubin, even pop star Madonna’s choreographer could be spotted in some sabha foyer. Old timers talk of French master sculptor Auguste Rodin or violin maestro Yehudi Menuhin among rapt listeners. NRIs flood the halls today for their annual dose of art and culture, while an NRI series at a local sabha actually showcases Carnatic musicians born and trained in the US of A!

The real draw at every festival is the sabha canteen. Every sabha has its own caterer who vies with competitors in other sabhas to produce mouthwatering delicacies. It is not unknown for listeners to choose their venue and artiste based on the canteen’s menu. Reputations are made and unmade as rasikas analyse what they heard and saw, amicably or acrimoniously, tucking into piping hot vada, masal dosa, Mysore bonda, special Kanjeevaram idli… and kaapi as only the Madrasi can make it.

The strangest thing about the December fest is that the Carnatic music it centre-stages is rooted not in Tamil, the language of the region, but in Telugu, and secondarily, in Sanskrit, which most of the singers (and the majority of listeners) do not know. Tamil has made inroads in the last few years, as have Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi and Kannada. So much for dismissing Carnatic music as an esoteric art. Why, it is as ubiquitous and versatile as idli-sambar!

The author is a playwright, theatre director, musician and journalist, writing on the performing arts, cinema and literature