Chennai, a city of sweat, air conditioners, ice-cold water, and soaring temperatures for most of the year, turns cool and pleasant for a few weeks — easily countable by fingers. It is during these weeks that Margazhi, the ninth month of the Tamil calendar dedicated to dance and music, arrives. Over the years, the celebration of the performing arts during Margazhi has evolved, making the season and the art forms synonymous with each other.
The origins of the season can be traced back to the 1920s. In 1927, the Indian National Congress (INC) held its All-India Conference in Madras, during which party leader and freedom fighter S Satyamurti decided on a music concert as part of the proceedings. History records that around this time, citizens came together to institutionalise the practice, leading to the establishment of The Music Academy in 1928. From the following year, the sabha has been conducting an annual music festival. Articles and documents hint that other functioning sabhas in the city caught on in the 1980s, laying the foundation for what would become Chennai’s famed Margazhi music season. For almost four decades, it has been rooted in sabha or temple structures. “The performing artistes reached places that were once distant. The music performed in these spaces is associated with a certain kind of person. And that’s how it’s been for the longest time. The ground reality is that a lot of people don’t have access to or don’t have the inclination to go and experience the world of Carnatic music,” explains Damodharan K, a member of Iktaraa, a one-stop shop for everything within music.
While this is the point in case for most art forms, in Carnatic music particularly, “there has been a bit of gatekeeping,” he admits. To break away from “the ties of those shackles” and for a novice to get the same experience that any veteran would, city-based organisations and individuals steer clear of sabha walls and host dance and music events in cafés, hotels, open-air theatres, boutiques, and other unconventional spaces.
Emerging musical stages
Damodharan shares his experience. “Going to a sabha makes me feel a little nervous because I don’t feel like I belong. There are a lot of things that you don’t know — the culture, the songs there.” Hence, the start-up navigated towards creating a space, “that’s a lot more accessible, a little bit more democratised in terms of people can just be themselves, and access music,” he points out.
Their initiative Kaapi Ragam, named after a ragam in Carnatic music, “makes it easy for people who are coming into Carnatic music to understand the music and connect with the art and the artiste,” he notes. After all, it is the experience that defines the grandeur of the season.
Echoing the thought, Vikram Cotah, CEO of GRT Hotels, adds, “At Grand Chennai, we believe hospitality is about more than just a stay — it’s about providing an immersive cultural experience. We wanted to bring the ‘essence of Margazhi’ directly to our guests.” The hotel holds the Grand Gaana Sabha, a month-long cultural festival, where renowned and upcoming artistes find their stage equally.
Joining the evolving soundscape, Palam Silks has opened its doors to a cultural space called Thoughtloom. Founder Jeyasree Ravi, says, “Chennai is known as a musical hub, especially during the Margazhi season. In tune with that, we envisioned Thoughtloom as a space to promote and celebrate all forms of culture.”
Art finding its audience
Beyond these organisations, Chennaiites are finding newer ways to make waves during Margazhi, and these additional spaces, as Damodharan says, are merely an addition to the experience in the Margazhi season. “One more way to listen to music. It is just that the environment is different,” he adds.
This inclusion bridges a gap and acts as an opening to people who are interested in exploring, who want to try but have not found the right space, and who just want something different. Damodharan shares, “People who appear to fill that gap come into these spaces to support the art and the artiste. It is a handshake between the artiste and the audience.” Vikram adds, “Every season, we see a significant number of expats and out-of-city guests whose first exposure to the beauty of Carnatic music happens right here in our lobbies, turning a hotel stay into a meaningful cultural introduction to Chennai’s heritage.”
Tradition reimagined
While the goal runs deep to make Margazhi a festival beyond sabhas, these new and coming spaces are also evolving the character of performances. Vikram says, “These venues offer a different kind of prestige — one that is about proximity and storytelling. The ‘unconventional’ setting of a hotel lobby gives artistes the freedom to interact more closely with the audience, often leading to a more spontaneous and emotive performance.”
On the other hand, Iktaraa is rewriting the tradition. Damodharan notes, “In a space, within Kaapi Ragam, artistes can explore new compositions, even the ones that are outside of the traditional devotional side of Carnatic music. That’s absolutely possible and encouraged.” He adds, “This is not going to change the surface of Margazhi season. We hope that certain positive aspects of this are taken and implemented, which also includes the openness and the access to everyone.”
Iktaraa’s Kaapi Ragam is going to be conducted for a year and beyond, so that artistes always have a place to perform even after the music season ends. And this vision has gathered the attention of citizens from other cities. “People from different cities who’ve seen the videos, the content, wish to do something like this,” says Damodharan. Within Chennai, the team would like to take it to different cafés and spots. “So that it’s not limited to one location,” he adds.
Welcoming this as a trendy ritual, Jeyasree adds, “It is nice to see how, in different ways, it is touching people’s lives. I think that’s the beauty of all our cultural events. That’s the beauty of India itself. We have so much to share.”
Vikram summarises the trend and this inclusion perfectly. “It shows that Chennai is a city that respects its roots but isn’t afraid to innovate. Our cultural spaces are no longer confined to specific buildings; they are moving into the heart of our lifestyle,” he concludes.