As a reader I can understand how tortured you must be seeing endless Margazhi-based articles. On how the artiste’s rendition of the Mukhari raga was at a glacial pace or how he executed an arresting Todi at a different concert. I can only imagine an irritated you reciting a famous dialogue from Thillu Mullu . (Search for ‘Thillu Mullu atana ragam’, and watch the video that appears.)
Before you dismiss this as yet another Margazhi piece that will only fill up the Internet as part of search results, let me clarify. While some people stress on watching the FDFS of a Rajini movie, I say attending a kutcheri is a must. Because that is where you get to observe this species in its natural habitat — the Fanus Carnaticus.
Two years ago, when I attended a concert for the umpteenth time, I came across a rough sample. First, I sat next to a silk, veshti-clad maama who steadfastly kept me involved in his family business woes and his son, while furiously slapping his thighs with the wrong taalam. To my left, there were four maamis who had rapidly formed a clique and were judging others for their attire (I was a clear F). In front of me were two girls my age who were eagerly pronouncing Margazhi as “Margazee”, like Benghazi. During the thani avarthanam, harried audience members escaped to the canteen/bathroom, as the mridangam player openly expressed his displeasure. Expats opened sleek iPads to take down notes and swipe right and left for no reason. Were they using Tinder, perhaps?
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Thanks to all this, I decided not to attend any concerts last year. But if I had to slot myself into a subspecies, it’d perhaps be “visits sabhas to sample bonda-rava kesari-coffee”.