Margazzi Music Without Modern Trapping

It is a pleasant Margazhi morning. As you stroll down Sundareswar street in Mylapore, the lively stream of Tyagaraja’s ‘Sarsa Sama Dhan’ fills the air. As you approach Raghavendra Swamy Temple, near RR Sabha, you come to know that the raga is coming from RK Sriramkumar’s violin. Curious, I enter the temple and find the senior musician performing in the hot glow of earthen lamps. The atmosphere is serene and the setting intimate. Melakaveri Balaji’s mridangam strokes and BS Purushottam’s kanjira reverberate in the wooden ceiling hall where the performance is taking place.

Margazhi has changed; Had to do this. The hall is abandoned, only to slowly begin to see the audience hesitating to catch some live music. The change has allowed violinist and curator Murari Vadakkancheri to expand on her pet project – Ekantha Sangeeta Sevai.

“I started the festival in a small way in 2019 with the Swagatham music series that I used to organize at this temple. The concerts for the welcome, however, were in the afternoon and evening,” says Murari, son of violinist VV Subramaniam.

Murari conceptualized the solitary Sangeeta Sevai, hoping to counter the chaos of the extended season by his own dual schedule of both performing and organizing concerts. “I wanted something more intimate, where performers and audiences alike could enjoy the music and feel the divine vibrations,” he says.

While Rasiks have previously experienced concerts organized by Ramanathan Iyer’s Artery at Musiri House, which were lit only by lamps, Margazhi’s morning is the first to have the idea of ​​such an event. Says Murari, “This series is very different. “It takes advantage of the vibrations felt during brahma muhurtam (Before sunrise). This is a time that was originally meant for meditation and prayer. What better time to perform and listen to music?”

During the month-long secluded Sangeet Sevai festival, Murari along with his family and students reaches the temple at 5.30 am. The temple is cleaned, diyas are lit and a makeshift stage is set up. Some have wondered whether Murari’s Kerala roots inspired him to perform concerts in this environment similar to the Navaratri Mandapam Kacharis in Kerala, but he says, “That atmosphere is completely different, as the concerts are held in the palace complex. When I envisioned it, I thought we focused so much on the auditorium, sound quality and lighting, but I wanted something that celebrated organic music, something that sounded natural, without filters or amplification. Celebrate. ,

He chose the Raghavendra Swamy temple because it is close to his heart and his family is also a frequent visitor.

It is an atmosphere that Sriramkumar describes as “inexplicable”. As a performer, he says, “performing in such a venue makes one forget about the stuff of mechanical sound adjustment and it feels closer to the music rather than the outside elements.” Young artists JA Jayant and Sandeep Narayan have also echoed this sentiment, both of whom also performed at the festival this year. For Sandeep, it was a first time, but he says he will always look forward to this unique experience. “The time of day creates an environment where performers can enter a state of calm. The music flows naturally rather than rehearsed.”

Jayant finds the ideal place for the flute. “I practice in the puja room, just performing for the sake of God. It allows me to create the kind of music that lets the purity of the sound shine through.”

For Sriramkumar, the mic-less performances are extremely enjoyable, while Sandeep describes it as a “joy to sing for himself rather than trying to reach a wider audience”. Jayant agrees and thinks it is a good way to revive the live concerts in temples, which seems to have disappeared over the years in Chennai.

The attraction, as Murari says, is in preparing the concert for the temple courtyards, without being filtered, without amplifying, and with its melodic purity. But the series was born out of a very simple desire, Murari says. It was a way of giving back to the arts community that raised him and continues to support him year after year. “The series has received great response from musicians and actors alike, and are looking forward to joining next year, when the city hopes to get a full Margazzi again.”

Ekanta Sangeet Sevai Utsav is going on at Raghavendra Swamy Temple, Mylapore from 16th January (6 PM to 7.30 PM).

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