It’s 6 in the evening. Traffic is inching its way through TTK Road leading to Music Academy and Narada Gana Sabha in Chennai. As you enter the gates of the venue, the security guard signals there is no space in the parking lot and tells you to find an abandoned street in the neighbourhood to park your car.
The air at the venue is filled with the smell of jasmine flowers, pattu sarees swaying in the wind, maamas discussing how their grandchildren are performing at the concert, raagas of the day and a dash of gossip about the new artists.
This has been the routine for the last 90 years.
Since 1921, during the months of December and January, the Margazhi music festival is celebrated in Chennai. The 2-month-long festival showcases a range of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam artists and has visitors from all over the world.
Even after all these years, the enthusiasm and energy of the festival has not changed at all – even the Chennai 2015 floods couldn’t dampen the spirits of the festival.
But maybe there is one change.
The veshti-clad maamas and pattu-saree sporting maamis have switched from carrying Keerthanam books and pamphlets listing out the raagas performed that day to IPhones and IPads which list the entire schedule, performers, their background, the meaning of each song and the upcoming events.
So if you are still lost and wait for The Hindu every morning to check the schedule of the season, here is a list of apps that you should check out to make your Margazhi life a little easier.
Music of Madras
From piano programs, dance festivals, fusion concerts, ballet, erotic movement in Bharatanatyam and clarinet – you name it, the app has got it. Click on the calendar and get a list of the events of the day and the itinerary of each sabha.
You don’t have to call up the organisers and look through Book My Show for tickets; with the app you are literally just one click away - hit the SMS link and you can book tickets and even donor passes.
The app was launched just 15 days back and has already seen over 700 downloads, the developers claim.
Zeekh
Want Sudha Ragunathan to sing Endaro Mahanubhavulu or Bombay Jayashree to render Sri Vatapi? Just ask them directly! The app Zeekh has revived the old-time tradition of writing song requests on scraps of paper and handing it over to the organisers at the venue.
And if you don’t know the raagas and thalams but the uncle next to you has been humming throughout and showing off saying, ‘Indha raagam avadhu theriyumo illayo?’ (Do you know at least this raaga?) Worry not. Zeekh to your rescue. The database has over 4,000 songs and within seconds you can outshine your next-seat maama.
Margazhi Sangeetham
For all the sabha-hoppers out there, this is a one-stop app with a list of every concert schedule along with the artist and location details. You can finish your KJ Yesudas concert and rush to Aruna Sairam in Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and then to Bombay Sisters in YGP Auditorium.
And if you still have time to kill before the concert begins and none of your madisar mami friends are there to give you company, you can read the entire collection of Tiruppavai - the 30 stanzas written by Andal, also known as Nachiyar, in praise of the Lord Vishnu.
Kutcheri
A straight-cut simple way to find which sabha is going to be your party club that evening. One click gives you all the details and it is so user-friendly that even your Vichu maama who is getting used to the new RedMi his son has bought, can figure it out in a jiffy.
Twaang
Now, what if you can’t make it to any of the concerts?
You can plug your phone to the speakers, wear your pattu saree and with a hot cup of filter coffee in one hand, download Twaang – a collection of varanams, keerthanams and thillanas which shall transport you to the Madras season.
So get started with the downloads and may you be blessed with a seamless sabha-hopping tech savvy Margazhi festival this season.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)