In the late afternoon, I arrived at the Music Academy only to find a queue that stretched out of the venue and well into the parking lot. As I positioned myself to be the last person in the line, I immediately realized that there was no way I would be able to get a ticket, as this was the longest line I had seen to date. I began talking with the person behind me, a fellow named Ajay, who was around my age, and he said that there was no way we would be able to get tickets. Sure enough, within a matter of seconds, a staff member of the Music Academy informed everyone that no more tickets were available.
Ajay was raised in Chennai, but now works for Dell in Bangalore. After a brief conversation, Ajay and I walked over to the Sathguru Gnanada Hall, another venue on TTK Road.
Ajay told me about his experiences growing up in Chennai and attending the annual music festival. For the people of Chennai, he asserted, “The festival is like a religion.” I learned that there are there are thirty-four venues throughout the city. According to Ajay, “In December, in a twenty kilometer radius, there are 5,000 performances.” (The math checks out; each venue has about five performances per day).
Without a doubt, the Music Academy Madras, as it is formally known, is the top venue in Chennai. Ajay referred to the Music Academy as the “Mecca” of concert halls in Chennai; he said all artists strive to perform there, as it is the most storied venue, this being its 81st year of hosting concerts.
Although we were unable to see a performance at the Music Academy, it was very refreshing to see a performance in a new venue. I must admit that aside from attending one concert at the Mylapore Fine Arts Club, I have limited myself solely to the Music Academy.
The Sathguru Gnanada Hall itself is much older than the Music Academy; it almost felt like a high school auditorium – it opened in 1958, and probably hasn’t changed much since then. (The Music Academy is an older institution, but has been renovated recently). Although the Sathguru Gnanada Hall is much more basic than the Music Academy, I actually liked it a lot. The stage has a really interesting backdrop, and on each side of the stage are some pretty neat paintings.
We saw a traditional Carnatic performance that included a female vocalist, a violinist, a mridangam player, a tambourine player and two tanpura (drone) players. There were many people sitting on the stage; I would assume most were family or disciples of the musicians.
Towards the end of the concert, there was a percussion duet, between the tambourine and mridangam players – a true showcase of rhythm. At the end of the fifteen-minute duet, the other instrumentalists join back in to play just a few bars of the original composition (that had initially segued into the duet), and the piece ended with two more bars of the duet. Not surprisingly, for me, this was the highlight of the concert. It saddens me to note that during the percussion duet many people left. Even in India, drummers get little respect! (Below are a few videos of the duet).
After the show was over, we ate a delicious dinner at the venue: almost every concertgoer congregated around the outdoor buffet. It was probably the best meal I’ve had here in Chennai…and, even though it was “street food,” I didn’t get sick!
To cap off a really great evening, Ajay and I went to a nearby record store – although, it was more of just a very large room with a lot of CDs and DVDs spread on many tables, rather than an actual record store. Ajay recommended seven different records of famous mridangam and tabla players; I must admit I would have been very lost as to what exactly purchase without him there to help!
When I reflect on the evening, it makes me appreciate how our meeting was entirely serendipitous: it is just neat how, sometimes, things can unfold so perfectly.
The tambourine player in white looks very sad.
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