CHENNAI’S DECEMBER MUSIC SEASON

The popular December Music Season in Chennai is round the corner when the
city becomes alive with music ringing around every corner, bringing enthusiasm in the air. People from all parts of the country come to experience this musical extravaganza.The month-long festival showcasing the art and talent of famous artists across India is also famously known as the ‘December Season’, particularly amongst the expatriate Indians and scholars, who come from across the globe to attend and witness the stunning moments of the festival.

Celebrated in the month Marghazi month of the Tamil calendar it pays respect in the form of Carnatic Music and various dance forms. It is almost a month long celebration i.e from mid December to mid January. The capital city of Chennai attracts a large number of enthusiastic performers from all corners of the state to showcase their talent in the form of Carnatic Music and the folk dance forms. The festival attracts a large number of national as well as international audience, especially the people who own the expertise in classical music.

The festival is now also a cottage economy with plenty of music shops, canteens
selling South Indian cuisine, technological start-ups showcasing their innovations for the classical arts and with mainstream cinema multiplexes exhibiting
Carnatic music and dance-based media products.

The festival provides a platform for many young musicians to showcase their
talents. The competition among the emerging talents is no less than a rat race.
“If one artiste cancels his program, a dozen others are waiting to grab the slot. It is a rat race. The season will go on as usual and will not stop even for tsunami,” said a regular
observer of Chennai music season.

It has grown to be one of the largest music festival in the world, with a total of
around 1500 individual performances by various renowned and amateur artists
across the span of one and a half months. This season throws light on the fact
that music is not just about pop culture, that many belief to be true. The
tremendous success of this festival shows the undying love for Carnatic music
and how people are tied to their roots by good music.

The performances primarily swivel around the songs of Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages, demonstrating the magic of the instruments like Flute, Veena, Goottuvadyam, Nagaswaram, Thavil, Mridangam, and Ghatam.Countless talents have been discovered in the December music season. However, some of the artist have made a deeper impact. Some of the famous talents that one can witnesss in the season are listed below:

1. Sudha Raghunathan
2. Aruna Sairam
3. Dr. Saroja Vaidyanathan: Ganesh Natyalaya
4. Dr. Shobana Vignesh
5. Bombay Sisters
6. P. Unni Krishnan
7. Bombay Jayashree Ramnath
8. Sanjay Subrahmanyan

The performances during the season are typically organised by sabhās .
A Carnatic sabha is an organisation that helps conduct concerts and bestow titles
and awards to artists to recognise talent. Most sabhas own a hall . Some smaller sabhas rent a hall during the season. These sabhas play the most integral role for proper functioning of the event. Some of these sabhas have been existing for generation. For example, s Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha in Mylapore, Chennai completed 114 years of musical service last year, making it the world’s oldest sabha.

This festival is known is known of great importance as it pays homage to the Carnatic Music because it is considered as the best medium that connects human to God. It provides a platform that brings all the people together. From artists to the festival organizers, all celebrate a blend of melody and divinity. Its strength is derived from the community funding, artist participation and audience vibrancy. Chennai is known to be the hub of culture and therefore this festival is not just a form of entertainment but something that defines the people and their culture.