Nothing can capture the razzmatazz of the city better than the December Music Festival or the Margazhi festival, as we fondly like to call it. A cultural showcase that brings together the artistic spirit of the city in an overwhelming burst of old and new talent, the festival has its proponents and patrons gearing up months in advance. Well, that’s no surprise, as the festival sees a participation of more than 2000 artistes in over 300 concerts! This year is even more special, as the Music Academy celebrates the 85th year of the annual cultural extravaganza.

“All arrangements are in fullswing,” says the president of the Music Academy, N.Murali. “The biggest feather in our cap this year is the renovation of the mini auditorium by heritage architect P.T.Krishna, making the 250seater auditorium the best one of its size in the city.” The mini auditorium that previously lacked proper acoustics has been transformed into a hall with state-of-the-art facilities for this year’s festival.

“Our endeavour has always been to honour people from different fields and walks of life by inviting them to participate. This year too, S. R.Nathan, the former president of Singapore and Dr Y. V.Reddy, the former governor of RBI, will be special guests,” says the president of the cultural stronghold.

With the sabhas in full gear, the artistes can’t be far behind. Carnatic vocalist Nithyasree Mahadevan says that this is her favourite time of the year. “I have around 20 concerts of pure classical music lined up. I look forward to this season all through the year. While I don’t take out extra time to prepare for the December festival, the concerts I do during the year and my regular practice keeps me good for marghazi.“ Nityasree likes to perform spontaneously at most of her concerts for the festival. certs for the festival.

However, she does have a special line-up for her performance at the Music Academy. Musician Anil Srinivasan, who likes to call himself the outsider but also an insider, has three different performances lined up for this season. “I've called my performance, the festival of parallels. I'll be teaming up with UnniKrishnan and Lalgudi Krishnan for separate performances. It promises to be different,“ he says.

And what about our Bharatanatyam beauties, you ask? Danseuse Saraswathi is working on a new concept.
“My performance will not be a traditional Bharatanatyam presentation. It has some theatrical elements with drama and mono acting and aims to be a tribute to women from all walks of life.“ So, is the dancer ready with her piece?
“Kind of,“ she laughs. “I've been working on this for nearly a month now. I've completed a few sets and now only one remains.“ We're sure that you'll be ready and set to go by December, Saraswathi.

And, we look forward to it!

-dc chn