The Rough Guide to Sabha Hopping

The name can be a little misleading. Banish any illusions about courtly chambers graced by blue-blooded noblemen. Let’s turn our attention, instead, to stinking loos, rats scurrying about (I’d include some rasikas in this category), malodorous manifestations of dysfunctional digestive systems (what do you expect with all those paruppu vadas consumed in the canteen ;-), air-conditioners operating in the “Siberia” mode… I could go on and on…but before you log out of the Season, let me assure you that the music is well worth all those assaults on your senses and more (making allowance for the occasional concert in which that term is applicable to the music itself!). Here, then, is the round up:

The Big Four

The Music Academy – The venue for carnatic music, period. There are complaints galore of which, the atrocious ergonomics of balcony seats tops the list but things have improved since Murali of the Hindu took over in 2006. Besides, for the sheer sense of occasion, the Academy simply can’t be beaten. Parking is plentiful in St Ebba’s grounds across the road, the Bose sound system is top drawer, loos are almost sparkling by sabha standards and while the caterer changes on a yearly basis, the food is consistent in its ability to pull rasikas out of concerts for a few minutes (especially during the tani!). Book your tickets well in advance for evening concerts and try not to miss the lec dems in the morning. Nothing like watching those mamas have a go at each other even if you can’t understand a word of the debate!

Narada Gana Sabha – The parking’s almost nonexistent, the loos stink to the high heavens and the audio system is as ancient as the music it plays! If you’re wondering why the Sabha’s is ranks next only to the Academy, recall that old pearl of retailing wisdom – location, location, location! That, and a certain gastronomic phenomenon that goes by the name of Gnanambika. Jayaraman, at the helm of affairs, is a wizard at sevais and vazhappoo vadais – alas, the dining experience would be even more enjoyable if you didn’t have a Q forming behind your chair even before you move on to rasam. I’ve actually heard some mamas shout in frustration when their “target” delays their endless wait by asking for an extra helping of rice! Use the washroom in your hotel before you start out for the Sabha. If you must bring your car, park it along the side streets of Alwarpet or CIT Colony.

Krishna Gana Sabha – Easily the most aesthetically designed sabha and an audio system to match, KGS would give the Academy a good run for its money were it not for its relatively isolated location and usurious prices. The limited menu at the canteen does not help matters and driving down will almost certainly cost you the varnam and the Ganesha sthuthi, unless you show up an hour in advance. Nevertheless, judged strictly on musical parameters, the sabha puts up a good show. The dais seats are a bargain if you can hold the lotus position for 2.5 hours. The venue is also among the most prestigious for dance.

Mylapore Fine Arts Centre – The MFAC brings up the big 4’s rear, faring dismally on almost all counts – no parking, get-me-outta-here loos, an Ahuja speaker system handed down from the Quit India movement…oh, and if you’re wondering why everyone’s walking around like they have something stuffed up their backsides, try sitting on those chairs for a minute or two. What props up this relic of a Sabha is the patronage of perhaps the most musically erudite audience in the world (yes, it beats the Academy hands down – not too many Kanjeevarams and kadukkans flashed around here) and the delectable offerings at the canteen. Concerts start at 6 and usually spill over beyond the official closing time of 9 - a welcome change from 2-2.5 hour norm at most other venues. Try not to miss TN Seshagopalan’s magnum opus and the New year feast.

Other Sabhas in the Mylapore Area

Brahma Gana Sabha – My favorite after the big 4. The auditorium at Sivagami Pettachi is cozy, the seats are comfortable, the loos acceptable and the acoustics, spot on. You just might be able to squeeze in your car into the parking lot if you show up 10 minutes ahead. The food is nothing to write home about but you could always drop into MFAC or NGS next door.

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan – Another fine second tier venue, charmingly located amidst the bustle of the Kapali temple. Except for the loo and limitations of parking, there isn‘t much to complain about. There’s no canteen either but you have enough options around the temple including Saravana Bhavan and the delightful Karpagambal Mess. Early season concerts have a great ambience with packed halls and artistes eager to put their best foot forward.

Raga Sudha Hall, started by the late Shri SV Krishnan, is set in a shaded lane abutting the Nageshwara Rao park. This no-nonsense sabha is known for its knowledgeable audiences, emphasis on high musical values and excellent audio arrangements. No parking but there’s ample space outside, a solitary urinal and plastic chairs. No catering

The Shastri Hall, located next to the Mylapore Club, hosts a number of sabhas during the course of the season and boasts of a hoary tradition. As above, expect highly cultured audiences and no frills. A public latrine abutting the compound wall is the only option for answering calls of nature. There’s no parking and trying to find one in the busy Luz area can be dis”concerting” in more ways than one!

The PS High School’s auditorium, opposite the Ramakrishna Mission is shared by a few sabhas at various stages of the season. Ample parking is a plus point and the audio system is passable but the wooden benches can cause serious damage to the posterior. No Catering.

Swamy’s Hall is a recent addition to the season and perhaps the only major sabha in Mandaveli. A nice compact auditorium with a sensitive audio system. Carnatica run their season event here which means you can expect highbrow selections including veterans like Parasala Ponammal, RK Srikanthan and Tanjore Sankara Iyer. Plastic chairs, no catering and no parking inside the sabha premises.

Parthsarathi Swami Sabha – The sabha claims to be the oldest in Chennai with a history that purportedly goes back over a 100 years. That, however, does not excuse the shabby arrangements at Vidya Bharathi, near “Yellow Pages”, off Royapettah High Road. While their festival is not exactly a feast for the ears, certain other senses are better catered to – the legendary Arusuvai Natarajan usually runs the canteen and that is reason enough to fit in a cutcheri or two at this venue!

Jaya TV @ Chettinad Vidyasharam (MRC Nagar) – It’s too late for this post to make any difference now – Jaya TV’s annual margazhi festival is into its last couple of days. Just as well, since “free entry” and the television angle lends this series a distinctly kitschy air. The thematic content and an inane Q&A session only make matters worse. Besides you can always catch this on Jaya TV (and on YouTube!) from the 15th onwards.

Sabhas in T Nagar and Around

Vani Mahal – Located at a busy intersection on the GN Chetty Road, the sabha had a makeover a few years ago. While that has resulted in the replacement of crumbling straw chairs with upholstered comfort, improvements to the audio system have been limited to concealing it with wooden paneling! Worse still, the soundman is suspected to suffer from hearing problems which means that things can get a little noisy when TM Krishna unleashes his lightning neravals! The loos are tolerable and a few cars can be accommodated – but considering its location, you are well advised to hail an auto.

Kalarasana – Perched on top the Raja Muthiah complex overlooking the Gemini flyover, Ranee Seethai Hall is located bang in the centre of Chennai. Seats are cramped and the loo is strictly for emergencies but parking is ample and the speakers do a decent job. Best of all, there is a certain electricity in the atmosphere – attendance is usually close to 100% and concerts invariably end with a standing ovation. I’ve heard some of Sanjay’s best concerts at this venue.

Indian Fine Arts – Mr. Srinivasan, who runs the sabha, is one of the characters of the Chennai’s music circle. Egged on by mischievous musicians eager for his patronage, this gent habitually regales the audience with a musical gem or two in the middle of his post concert speech. His magical voice will stand in splendid isolation until genetic engineers figure out how to impregnate crows with donkey-seed. The sabha secretary’s shambolic ritual is reflected in the sabha’s operations. The IFAS’ proximity (located off Habibullah Road, T Nagar) to my residence was the only reason for my venturing into its premises over the last few years. Since that is no longer the case, I propose to give it a wide berth this time.

Bharat Kalachar – Count on YGP Mami to come up with succinct summaries of concerts in her inimitable manner. When you see a musician abruptly abandoning fancy flights of manodharma, you know that Mami’s auto is about to rattle in! The open air ambience works very well for 4 PM concerts with the main piece often benefiting from the magical colors of twilight. Pity, though, about the plastic chairs, constrained views of the stage and urinals designed for 10 year olds! Having said that, the overall experience remains an extremely pleasant one. Do get your car along – parking is available in plenty at the Padma Seshadri’s T Nagar premises

Nungambakkam Cultural Academy – Conduct their festival at the Karnataka school auditorium in Habibullah Road. A bit of an also-ran among the T Nagar Sabhas - gets very little attention from the media. Concerts start at 7.15, tend to be short and often lackadaisical. Don’t forget your shawl - for the sleepy folks at the sabha will definitely forget to turn down the AC. Seats are OK although the speakers can act up. There’s some parking and a functional canteen. Stay away from the loo.

Mudra – An young sabha that looked to be on the right track until it moved its venue to the Ramakrishna Mission School’s “Infosys Hall” which, despite the fancy name, is nothing but a humdrum assembly hall fitted out with plastic chairs and makeshift boom boxes. It is a massive hall and the stage is vertically challenged which means that the sabha experience is strictly aural from the 5th row onwards. The canteen gamely carries on, well after the last concert is over so you don’t have to head back to your room with nothing, except Bhairavi, in your stomach!

Kamaraj Arangam - This sprawling auditorium on Mount Road has started hosting the "Chennaiyil Thiruvaiyyaru" series which is also aired in one of the TV channels. Dark and dingy, its musty smell in only a slight improvement over the reeking washrooms. Mount Mani Iyer held fort at the canteen last year but the except for the odd driver, no one seemed to take any interest in it.

Let me conclude with a couple of useful links.

Ramkumar (Ram) has put together painstakingly compiled season schedule which can be accessed at: http://ramsabode.wordpress.com/concerts-in-chennai/ Nalli now has serious competition! Ram is also an upcoming mrudangist and is learning from Sangitha Kalanidhi Sri Umayalapuram Sivaraman. His season schedule can also be found on his blog.

R Bharathwaj has put together a very useful map of sabhas in Chennai which you can find here:
http://maps.google.com.au/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=110523945678119131655.00043dc23fe1a497231cf&ll=13.039241,80.260105&spn=0.011351,0.017338&z=16&iwloc=00043dc278b834e4ee34b

Other resources
www.kuctheribuzz.com for season schedules, vambu and more
www.carnatica.net – Run by Sowmya and Shashikiran – also has a schedule
www.chennaionline.com - Fairly good coverage of the season including a schedule
E-paper editions of the Times and the New Indian Express put out daily schedules as does the Hindu - but you need to pay for a subscription

Seasonal Shelter

We’re talking about 5000 performances – and even that’s a very rough, and very conservative, estimate. If your quest for information on the season finds you here, that says a few things about 1) your season IQ and 2) your browsing skills. In other words, you need help! Worry not – you are in safe hands. And hand me that bludgeon, will ya…

Accommodation
If you still haven’t figured out where you are going to stay, the standard recommendation would be to cancel your ticket. However, there is hope this year thanks to the recession and cash-strapped NRIs who’ve decided that they will not collectively descend on the Woodlands after all.

The jury’s still out on the impact of the downturn on the Season – your correspondent, for instance, has found himself wrong footed by the unprecedented demand for the Academy’s season pass. This means, among other things, that he will be spending his mornings sweating it out in long lines instead of munching vadas at the canteen and smirking at the unwashed masses queuing up for a ticket! Notwithstanding the Academy’s fortunes, the word is that hotels around Mylapore have a few rooms to spare. Remember that this is rarer than a sighting of Halley’s comet, and scoot to your nearest travel portal. Before you do, this is what you need to know:

• Rooms don’t come cheaper than at the Woodlands, unless you plan to stretch yourself out on the Marina. For 1K a night you get a fairly clean single room besides varied, if increasingly insipid, fare. It’s also where the buzz is at – you are likely to catch a Kambhoji wafting in from the next room and hear season regulars tearing sundry artistes to pieces at the restaurant. Assuming that, like me, this is your kind of scene, visit http://www.newwoodlands.com/
• Alternatives in a slightly higher budget range include the Marris, which is right opposite the Academy and Nilgiri’s Nest further down RK Salai. Both offer slightly higher levels of comfort (read blankets in place of jamakalams and fewer cockroaches) and the Marris serves the best non-home-cooked meals in Chennai. Arunachala Inn (apparently owned by Thalaivar – thee won and wonly Rajanikanth) on Kodambakkam High Road is a little removed from the centre of action but offers good access to sabhas in T Nagar including Bharat Kalachar (PSBB), Vani Mahal and Indian Fine Arts. Expect to pay about 2-2.5K per night.
• In the 3 star category, the Savera, has the best location right next to the Woodlands. The food is nothing to write home about and the rooms are beginning to show their age but there’s a nice swimming pool and a well quipped health club. Another conveniently located place is Ramada Raj Park on TTK road, sandwiched between the Academy and the Narada Gana Sabha. In case your preferred sabhas happen to be Vani Mahal, Nungambakkam Cultural Academy or Bharat Kalachar, the Quality Inn Shabari and the Benzz Park on Thirumalai Road, T Nagar should save you some auto hire charges…and extend your life by a few years. Other options include GRT Grand Days in T Nagar and the Ambassador Pallava in Egmore both of which are well established but entail commutes of between 3 and 5 Kms to the major sabhas. Hotels in this range will set you back by about 4-6K per night.
• If you are one of those shrewd operators who sold early this year and would like to reward yourself with a five star season, you will be happy to hear that Chennai has an almost obscene variety of choices to offer. The Park Sheraton (Alwarpet) and The Chola (RK Salai) top the location sweepstakes but the latter, once the pride of Chennai, hangs on to its 5 star status by a slender thread. An interesting new option is the Raintree on St Mary’s road whose rooftop restaurant offers a fine view of the city. You can also let your hair down at the Havana although the last time I checked, the DJ didn’t have Akshaya Linga Vibho among his tracks! The Courtyard Marriot, the Accord Metropolitan (or whatever name this chameleon of a hotel presently goes by) and the Park (not to be confused with the Park Sheraton) are lined up on, or just behind, the Mount Road which means they are good options for those wishing to split their time between sabhas in Mylapore and T Nagar. The Taj group’s two properties – the Connemara and the Coromandel - are slightly more distant and need be considered only if other options are unavailable. 5 stars will relieve you of between 5 and 10K per night for standard rooms. And oh, let me know when I can drop in for the latest market buzz…
• Non hotel options are available as well. Keep an eye on the Hindu’s property classifieds for paying guest or short term rental options. You can also check out kutcheribuzz.com which has a few accommodation listings. Rates range from 10-15K per month for an air-conditioned room with TV and attached bath to 30-40K for a furnished 2 BHK but if your trip is shorter than 2 weeks, you might find the process of settling down and making domestic arrangements a little too tiresome. Smaller guest house chains such as Chennai Inn and Good Counsel also have good rooms at reasonable but you would probably need a contact to get across.
• Reservation at most hotels can be done through popular travel portals like yatra.com, makemytrip.com etc.

More to follow…

Season's Greetings

It’s here again - that brief window when Chennai takes a break from its duties as an equatorial industrial powerhouse - wipes off the sweat and grime and sits back to enjoy a well deserved shower of the classical arts. This will also be my first Season as a tourist after a while (the first was in 1999) which augurs well for the safety of my existing concert record (49, clocked last Season).

I hope not to turn this into another platitudinous compilation of overused facts, figures and anecdotes. That can be found here:
http://vijaysarma.blogspot.com/2006/05/seasonal-melodies-chennais-margazhi.html
And here: http://vijaysarma.blogspot.com/2008/01/seasoned-tourist.html

This “curtain raiser”, if you will, is my summary of trends and talking points. The calendar of South Indian arts can be broadly split into two somewhat unequal phases – 30 days in December, and the rest of the year - which leaves us with the beginning and the end of the Season as the natural stock taking points. Accountants may find that less than satisfactory but then accounting and music have little in common, Sanjay Subrahmanyan notwithstanding. What follows, then, is fodder that has sustained rasikas over the hungry part of the year and which, in all likelihood, will determine the flavours of Season 2008. For reasons entirely related to the limitations of my knowledge, the emphasis will be on music rather than dance.

The media revolution - Oh dear! Did I just break my promise not to sound hackneyed? It’s true, if trite, that the media’s been sniffing around the heels of Carnatic music for quite a while. The internet, in particular, has been a happy hunting ground for those, like me, who can’t walk..err sing/play…the talk. www.rasikas.org, into whose treasures I will be frequently dipping during this post, is one such greenhouse of ideas and opinions. But why does the media deserve special attention in 2008? For two reasons – this: http://sanjaysub.blogspot.com/ and this: http://margazhiraagam.com/ Enough said.

Coming out of the closet – No, we’re not talking about the homosexual musician although I wouldn’t entirely rule out that possibility considering how “straight” carnatic music appears to be, in a world where the Arts attract a disproportionate representation of queer people. The skeletons tumbling out have more to do with spiritual questions and the place of Bhakti in carnatic music. At least two prominent musicians, TM Krishna and Bombay Jayashree, have voiced their ambivalence on the subject this year, while stopping short of confessing their own religious leanings. A flavor of the angst this has generated amongst the rasika community, which is still very conservative, and still predominantly grey haired (oops… that would now include me!) can be gauged from this discussion:
http://rasikas.org/topic/7472/tm-krishnas-preposterous-response-at-nov-fest/

Dance, of course, has always been a little naughtier and while Rukmini Devi Arundale’s cleanliness drive swept the Devadasis away, it was not long before Chandralekhas and Mallika Sarabhais fondled the Art back towards its original Kamasutra-friendly shape. With articulate convent-educated dancers taking over the stage along with their middle class sensibilities, Bharatanatyam’s hide and seek with sex continues. These cycles of prurience and prudishness are, however, united in distancing themselves from religion which in the present context is , at best, of peripheral interest to the secular-liberal ethos of the ruling dance divas. Religious compositions are gradually giving way to secular choreography woven around topics that have more currency. Thus, we have little dance-skits on issues such as women’s empowerment, world peace and the environment once the technical rigors of the Varnam etc. have been negotiated.

Gen Next waits forever – The nineties were uncertain times for carnatic music. The greats from the 50s and 60s were either dead and gone, or well past their prime. TV had, by then, become a staple feature in middle class homes and the cable further strengthened the nation’s collective bondage to the medium.

100 bucks for a month. 100 bucks for a 2 hour concert. Make your choice. Who’s singing? Huh? That crusty old fool who can’t hold a note, or keep his veshti up, for half a second?…Shhh…Saas Bahu are here… Oh, and I hear certain whispers coming in through the ether – the internet they are calling it….

It’s this dismal backdrop that makes carnatic music’s comeback so remarkable. From the jam packed Academy that greeted the debuts of Sudha Raghunathan and Bombay Jayashree, circa 1990, to TM Krishna’s high fives after his cracker of a concert at the same venue in 2000, by the turn of the century Gen X had hijacked carnatic music. The turning point was almost certainly grand show put up by the Youth Association of Carnatic Music, on the eve of the new century – the baton had finally passed.

But that’s where it’s been stuck for a while. Ranjani Gayathri and the Malladis have graduated to the evening slot at the Academy – that great herald of an artiste’s “arrival” - but that’s pretty much it. Schedules are chock full of artistes in their thirties and early forties, few of whom look like exiting in the near future.

It will take more than the inevitability of age for fledgling artistes to find a foothold and the wait is likely to prove too long for most. Youngsters need to be good - damn good - to have any hope of making it to the top. However, Season 08 promises to one in which the juniors sound a warning bell or two in the general direction of the established pecking order. Sikkil Gurucharan, who’s gamely fought it out in the sub-senior slot for 5 years, is one such. The there is Prasanna Venkataraman, whose quicksilver progress is likely to make short work of his tenure in the B-list. TNS Krishna, Balamurali Jr., Abhishek Raghuram, Amrutha Murali, Amritha Venkatesh – afternoons at the Academy this year will be flowing over with talent that is not far removed from the top of the heap.

Unlike 99-2000, 2008 won’t be a watershed year – but it will be one in which the boys play with the men.

Ariyakudi takes a shower – The Ariyakudi format is often credited with moving Carnatic Music out of the stuffiness of royal palaces and into backyards of the unwashed masses. The classic 2.5 hour cutchery starting with a varnam, 2 main pieces, sundry fillers and tukkadas, perfected by the undisputed king of carnatic consumer behavior - Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar - has been the staple diet of rasikas for close to a century now. Much like the fare on offer at Sabha Canteens, the menu is beginning to go beyond beyond idlis and vadas.

At one end of the spectrum, the tukkadas are pecking away at weightier compositions – women artistes, in particular, are threatening to question the very meaning of the term - on occasion, the tukkada section actually eclipses the preceding items in terms of airtime!

At the other end, artistes are re-inventing the concert format, breathing life into increasingly rare pieces such as Ragam Tanam Pallavis and experimenting with 4 hour concerts. A good part of Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s much written about tour of the US (http://rasikas.org/topic/6748/sanjay-at-south-india-fine-arts-san-francisco-bay-area/ for example) , was spent transcribing the beauty of Hindustani ragas into the carnatic idiom, extending his already well established reputation for handling rare ragas. TM Krishna is another artiste who does not shy away from standing convention on its head – often kicking off with a heavy piece in a major raga and plonking down a varnam in the middle, with an alaapana and swaras added for good measure!

Others are busy building bridges between the classical and the popular. Charulatha Mani’s concerts on film songs set to carnatic ragas are a massive rage with mamas and mamis who’s jumped on to the carnatic bandwagon in the evening of their lives while Anil Srinivasan and Sikkil Gurucharan’s joint venture is a more intellectual one that seeks to fuse western harmonics with Indian melodies.

I will look forward to more of the unexpected in Season 08 and try not to yawn when I hear yet another old-timer bemoan the demise of Ariyakudi’s beleaguered format.

I was hoping to throw in some tips for Season tourists in the unlikely hope that some of them have landed up on my blog for guidance but I think I will save that for another post.