One T M Krishna concert; Dec.29

December 28 evening is the date for all T M Krishna fans to mark out - for this vocalist will perform, the only concert of the Season.

This show is for Nalandaway, a NGO which works with children. The show is at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Hall, Chetpet.

Tickets are on www.bookmyshow.com

Some years ago, Krishna decided not to perform at sabhas during the Season for multiple reasons. One reason was that his shows should be made free to admission which most sabhas found difficult to accept.

No sign of rain . . .

Cyclone Gaja has left a massive trail of destruction in a few south Tamil Nadu districts. It brought rain to Chennai but this was scanty.

The Met Department predicts more rain in early December the Season may well be spared of it.

Though on December 1, the day Kartik Fine Arts sabha launches its fest, it rains and often heavily.

in 2015, that December 1 evening saw the start of the rains that caused the biggest flood of Chennai, that left the city marooned for days.

Rasikas still recall that night when, returning home they witnessed the streets and roads getting flooded and were woken up to the disaster that sunk many.

Vice president of India is in town

National-level VIPs have always been guests at the Season.

Early this December, the festival and the golden jubilee celebrations of Brahma Gana Sabha is to be  inaugurated by the vice president of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu.

The event is on December 2 evening at the Sivagami Pethachi Hall, Luz Church Road, Alwarpet, Chennai.

The event starts at 6 p.m. and guests have to carry their invite cards and be seated early, says a note from the sabha.

Avoid plastic at sabha halls; T M Krishna's new campaign

You cannot escape the T. M. Krishna tweet or sound byte.
On the eve of the December Season, the artiste is promoting a 'no plastics please' campaign.

He has asked sabhas to ask rasikas not to dump plastic waste around or buy water in plastic bottles. And he has asked rasikas to bring water in flasks or PET bottles instead of buying bottles and leaving them behind.

And yes, TMK will not perform at any sabha this Season - as is his new norm since past years.

The big challenge though is for ushers to get rasikas to stop opening snacks packs and chomping on them at the morning and noon concerts!

Heritage Walk: sthalams along Akhanda Cauvery that Muthuswami Dikshitar composed songs on

Historian and writer on classical music, V. Sriram runs Past Forward - a small outfit which hosts heritage tours - 66 done in Madras that is Chennai, this far and a few outside the city.

Past Forward's next tour, featuring his commentary and Vivek Sadasivam’s music, is of the famed three sthalams along the Akhanda Cauvery that Muthuswami Dikshitar composed songs on. 

This paid tour is on Dec 1 and 2, 2018.

Here are all the details - https://sriramv.wordpress.com/2018/08/10/along-akhanda-cauvery-with-muthuswami-dikshitar/

Ranjani-Gayatri's concert gets full house

This was the first big concert of this Season.
Some 1000 people must have attended it on Sunday evening.

Ranjani and Gayatri, vocalists performed for the diamond jubilee year festival of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mylpore.

The auditorium and the balcony filled up fast, so did the stage. Finally, after rasikas had been accommodated in the lobby, watching the concert on a TV screen, the rest had to find a place in the walkway.

Bhavan's fest opens the Season informally and since many big artistes are scheduled here, rasikas make the best of the concerts which are also free to admission.

And the rains have gone; the chill has set in.

Subscribe now; if you need concerts schedule daily in your mailbox

This is a reminder to all those who will be attending concerts this Season. 

If you wish to get the day's concerts schedule at all major sabhas / venues in your mailbox every morning ( 7 a.m.), KutcheriBuzz has created a service for you. Online.

You just have to subscribe to this and get the schedules daily from Dec. 15 to Jan.1, 2019.

Go to the web link posted on far right top of the website - www.kutcheribuzz.com

Here is a hand for seniors to attend a music fest

Observers will tell you that most rasikas at concerts are seniors. Though at the concerts of a few young artistes - like Abhishek Raghuram -  you get to see younger rasikas.

Many seniors stay at home in December ( when it is a bit chilly at night - as low as 21degrees ) watching the concerts that Thamizh TV channels put out.

These seniors would love to be at the sabhas and soak in the music. But transport is a big issue.

This season, one concert host is making an effort to help seniors - Madrasana's music fest is to be at Satyam cinema theatre in the heart of the city  (http://www.kutcheribuzz.com/december-season-buzz-2018/music-buzz-2018/3869-madrasana-music-fest)

If you are living abroad and have family in Chennai who will be interested in attending this festival and they are senior citizens, there is help.

Madrasana has partnered with Prayojana Golden Years Services Pvt. Ltd. If you want to gift invitations to seniors then use the link to register. A person from Prayojana will reach out to you.

Click to register. http://bit.ly/2KqEMbz

Perhaps, other collaborations - between service providers and sabhas - in Chennai this Season will be timely.

Some more stage space for nadaswaram

Nadaswaram-tavil concerts seem to have been slotted during the 'season' - they are the opening, 'auspicious', preview concerts at all music festivals.

But two arts promoters have been giving these artists a stage of their own.

One is Parivadini which organizes nadaswaram concerts of great talent even outside the Season.

The other is the Sumanasa Foundation promoted by vocalist T. M. Krishna - this Season it is supporting a few nadaswaram concerts at Raga Sudha hall and does so even otherwise.

Sri Krishna Gana Sabha also hosts a nadaswaram fest on the eve of Pongal festival; even that has been clipped a bit in recent times.

Smart marketing of Ra-Ga albums

Vocalists and sisters, Ranjani and Gayatri are marketing their Season concerts on their website.

The annual release is themed 'Vaibhavam' and on the eve of Season 2018, Vaibhavam 2018 is out - it will be a set of four of 'our best concerts from December music season 2017'. 

"We're releasing the four concerts one by one, and the first release is the Brahma Gana Sabha concert. The Brahma Gana Sabha remains the only concert in the season where we can sing without worry of time constraints- a full three hours and then some!"

The albums are 'open priced' - the latest album is priced at a minimum of Rs400 but shoppers may pay what they feel is a great price!

All details at www.ranjanigayatri.in

Monsoon arrives late, nights could be chill

The monsoon has arrived late here in Chennai. On the back of Cyclone Gaja which has devastated many districts in south Tamil Nadu.

It has been raining since Tuesday ( Nov.20) and this discouraged rasikas who are enjoying concerts at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's music fest.

Tuesday evening had vocalist S. Sowmya on stage and the auditorium was 70% full, mostly Mylaporeans who can hop into this venue.

Rain is predicted through this week and could affect attendance here.

Meanwhile, the nights are chill and you will have seniors pulling out their mufflers and ear-plus this Season.

Photo shot outside Bhavans, Mylapore on Nov.20

Fests in the suburban zones; Chromepet, Thuraipakkam

Over the past few years, the spirit of the Season has spread across the fringes of this metro - where large residential colonies are located.

On the IT Corridor ( Rajiv Gandhi Salai), in Chrompet and Naganallur and in Perambur.

This year, the Chromepet Cultural Academy, (a 50 year old institution), is celebrating its 8th Marghazi Mahothsavam Music Festival from 29th December 2018 to 3rd January 2019.

12 concerts have been lined up, says G. Nagarajan, its joint secretary in a e-mail. (WhatsApp: 9444690174)

Elsewhere, in Thuraipakkam on the IT Corridor, a arts body called Lasya ( its space has a seating capacity of 1000 ) also e-mailed its concerts schedule.

The music fest is from Dec 21 to 30, with artistes like Gayathri Girish, O. S. Arun and T. V. Sankararanarayan.

Backed by the Ramaniyam group which is into real estate development, Lasya has been active for some years now and will target rasikas in colonies where people who work in the IT companies here.

Scheduling for the Season is like it happens in Indian movies business

"Sir, when will be get your season's schedule? It's is November 18," we ask a sabha secretary.

"Soon"

"You are just a few weeks away from your festival"

"Some final fixtures," says the secretary.

"Of what?"

"Our lec-dems.."

"Whats the problem?", we ask.

"We have Sudha Ragunathan and Umayalpuram Sivaraman…"

"So…"

"Their dates are fixed but they have to fix their themes," says the man.

"Goodness"

"Its like our movies. We have the actors signed up but title not decided!"

We can only laugh, as he too does.

That is how the 'season' works. But it works somehow.

The 'season' starts in November but free concerts see walk-ins, walk-outs

If there is a truly 'Season for Mylapore' kind of festival, then it is the one hosted by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

It started early - this year on Nov.18, Sunday morning with violin guru Prof T N Krishnan and daughter Viji performing and Sudha Ragunathan singing that evening.

It also has some of the well known artistes featured.

And it is free.

And it often gets a full house.

So rasikas who reside in the heart of Mylapore don't miss this festival - often, the overflow for a well known artiste's concert forces Bhavans to telecast it in its lobby and place chairs here.

The only 'nuisance' at the fest is of people who stroll in and stroll out midway through concerts, a kind of stopover between visits to the temple and the street market!

Can you book sabha tickets online?

Can rasikas book tickets online?

People have been asking us this for some years. We received some queries this week too.

The answer is - no.

Hardly any sabha offers online box office booking and nobody seems to have a answer to the question - why not?

Every sabha seems to have some kind of ad hoc system here. At one sabha, the regulars who fly in for concerts seem to have a way to reserve their seats.

At another, people are asked to visit the office and book tickets.

The Music Academy has its own system - queuing, getting tokens and bagging season tickets in early December. For its daily concerts, you can book only on day of concert, not in advance. That too in the morning - which means you make two trips to the Academy that day!

Welcome to December Season 2018

Readers of our website KutcheriBuzz.com nudge us to the December Season even before we get into the act!

That lets us know that rasikas value what we do here - cover the Season closely year after year, now for some 17 years!

Since advertising supports our work, we do ping our clients in October but this year, the Puja/Navaratri and Deepavali season rolled in back to back and our clients had little time for us.

We are knocking twice on their doors now.

It costs a bit to cover the Season as closely as we do - hop to various sabhas to get the buzz, the news, get the photographer to cover key events across the Mylapore-Mambalam-Adyar zone where the action happens, and post stories online.

And then we have the Season's Daily, our news sheet that circulates at sabhas for 16/17 days from mid-December.

The arts does not get too much attention and funding. So we have to work hard to explain the Season to advertising clients and connect their business to the festival.

The attention that readers/ rasikas give to all that KutcheriBuzz does helps to get support that is crucial to our work.

As Season 2018 begins to take shape and we roll out our coverage, please mail us ideas and feedback from now on. To - kutcheribuzz@gmail.com

Tell us how best to report the Season.