T he Metrozone, Anna Nagar, looms thuggishly over its low-rise neighbours, and is hard to miss. Quite an unlikely venue for a Margazhi performance, one would think. But the faint sound of the popular devotional song ‘Brahmam Okate’ in the air confirms it, even as I manoeuvre the car into the second basement of the parking lot, akin to those in malls.
Somewhere in between a maze of towers, a narrow lane broadens into a full-fledged park, dotted with wooden benches and lined with a walking path. Further down is a capacious open theatre, lit by tall lamps and LED lights strung on trees. This is where adults and kids watch renowned Kuchipudi dancer ‘Kalaimamani’ Madhavapeddi Murthy and team (one of the dancers is a resident of The Metrozone) perform.
It’s the first day of ‘Margazhi — A Festival of Performing Arts’, at the plush housing complex, and the 300-strong audience, a mix of residents and non-residents, is visibly stoked. For some, it is the first-ever exposure to a classical performance.
“I have always lived in places such as K.K. Nagar and Mambalam, close to the sabhas that host Carnatic music and dance performances during the season. Once I moved in here in June 2015, I was upset that Anna Nagar, which probably has every other amenity around the corner, did not have the magic of Margazhi music,” says Vasudevan Kothandaraman, energy and hydrocarbon consultant, and an avid sabha hopper.
Vasudevan, along with K.P. Rajeev (who came up with the idea) and a team of eight other music buffs, floated the idea of bringing Margazhi to the premises, to the cultural committee of The Metrozone, during the second week of December.
While, initially, the plan was to give an opportunity to in-house talent and budding artistes who do not get a chance to perform in sabhas, the proposed event took an entirely new shape with the affluent residents pitching contacts of renowned artistes who would be willing to perform.
In less than a month’s time, the schedule for a full-blown Margazhi festival was set, along with the arrangement of having a canteen, reminiscent of those in the sabhas, complete with keeravadai, vazhapoo vadai and dosa. Among the artistes, besides Murthy (who generally refuses to perform as part of Margazhi, but readily agreed for the one at The Metrozone), the line-up included popular Hindustani vocalist Shruti Jauhari, who performed on the fourth day of the festival. What this event has done, according to Vasudevan, is broken the stereotype that Carnatic music is an elitist concept and restricted to senior citizens.
A look at the audience enveloping the circular stage confirms it. While the first few seats have senior citizens keeping thaalam, the rest of the crowd includes youngsters soaking in the music under the moonlight, and kids sitting in clusters with plates of hot bondas on their laps. “Events such as this expose the children to classical art, which is in the DNA of Chennai,” says Rajeev, who is the co-founder of UniMity Solutions.
It also ensured that students who are busy with academics got the time to unwind listening to some music, without having to brave traffic snarls to reach the sabhas on the other side of the city.
For Rajeev, who was among the first wave of residents to move into The Metrozone, which offers 2, 3 and 4 BHK apartments starting from Rs. 13,990 per sq ft, besides penthouses, swimming pools and a clubhouse, the event has been an eye opener. “There were only 20 families here three years ago, and even back then we celebrated every festival — be it Deepavali, New Year or Pongal. This is the first time we’ve brought in professionals from outside,” he says.
Now, there are 400 families, and the count is expected to increase further. “So, going forward, we might turn the Margazhi festival into a 10-day event, given that it is the popular demand of residents here,” he says.
