Three Carnatic concerts lined up for the next few weeks. For 26-year-old P Akshaya, it is like winning a jackpot. After making her debut at the December Music Season with Marghazhi Matram — a fest for differently-abled musicians organised by non-profit SciArtsRUs — where she gave a vocal recital, Akshaya is looking forward to her violin performances at Narada Gana Sabha, Brahma Gana Sabha and RK Convention Centre.
A performance in the “season” can be a calling card for many aspiring musicians; and for visually-challenged upcoming artistes like Akshaya it is a big step towards inclusion.
Akshaya, who has a post-graduate degree in music, has been knocking the doors of various music organisations in Chennai for more than a year. “In July, I performed at the Narada Gana Sabha but getting a slot during Marghazhi was my main aim,” says Akshaya, who has little vision in the right eye and earns a living taking music classes.
For the Chennai Music Season to become inclusive, we need more sabhas to come forward to offer differently-abled artistes a prime slot and invest in disabled-friendly infrastructure, both inside and outside the auditorium.
“We also need organisers to bring some parity in pay between differently-abled and able-bodied musicians,” says Sridhar Ramakrishnan, chairman, Parallel Music Fest, a platform promoted by Rotary Club of Madras Coromandel for disabled classical musicians.
For most differently-abled musicians, payment is secondary when they are struggling to find space to show that they are no less talented than others.
“What I am now looking for is visibility and an opportunity to showcase my talent first,” says Akshaya.
Platforms like Marghazhi Matram and Parallel Music Fest are going the extra mile to give differently-abled artistes a launchpad but agree a lot more needs to be done.
Marghazhi Matram, for instance, spends an average of ₹ 10,000 to ₹ 12,000 on an artiste. But if one were to discount the travel and food expense an artiste coming from a different city had to incur then it is only a small sum that they get to take home.
Ranjini Kaushik, founder, ScieArtsRUs and a biochemist and molecular biologist based in California, says to encourage more differently-abled artistes to come to the limelight more sabhas must work together. She says they must earmark slots to feature them during the season. They must also play an important role in getting people to attend their concerts.
“Without sufficient sponsors, it is a challenge to pay the musicians an honorarium,” says Ranjini.
Currently, SciArtsRUs has more than a dozen individuals from the United States sponsoring the event. “If this has to sustain then we need more Indian corporates coming forward to sponsor the fest,” says Ranjini.
The music festival has been bringing artistes from various cities to perform during Marghazhi. This year, Marghazhi Matram also travelled to Madurai. “We need to figure out which model works better for the artiste – bringing them to Chennai or organising a fest in various cities,” says Ranjini, adding that there is no dearth of talent in the music field.
There is some layer of inclusivity being added by organisers. Sridhar says the list of differently-abled artistes recognised by the Parallel Music Fest is given to the sabhas. “The Music Academy, for instance, has invited some of these artistes for their endowment concerts,” he says. When the Club organised the event for the first time in 2005 they had no sponsors. “Members of the Club pooled in money to host the event,” says Sridhar.
He says the Club is working towards bringing a book featuring the 16-year journey of the Parallel Music Fest with information and contact details of the differently-abled artistes with them. We plan to release it during our annual Charter Night and circulate it so that the artiste gets picked for gig jobs,” says Sridhar.
