CHENNAI: With the Margazhi mahotsav set to begin on December 8, could there be a better time to launch an app to help us monitor the cultural events in the city? Music of Madras is a digital platform specific to music, dance, drama and stand-up events throughout the year. It was conceived and founded by K Kalyanasundaram, a chartered accountant, who has combined his interests in music and technology to come up with a solution to make it easy for rasikas.
The popular Android app, Music of Madras, originally launched in November 2017, has now been upgraded. A ticketing facility has been added where users can not only learn about upcoming events, but also buy their tickets through the app itself. “In the initial version, we started off with an SMS option where people could send a message to get tickets. One of the staff members would go to sabhas and get the tickets. So far, 1,500 people have used the app, of which around 700 are active users. Earlier, people used to go ticket-hunting to the sabhas early morning on the day of the show. There was no guarantee of getting one. Again, after buying the tickets they need to attend the programme in the evening. The app helps save time,” said Kalyanasundaram.
For sabhas with only manual ticketing, users can use the ‘SMS for ticket’ option through the app and the tickets will be delivered to the user. Organisers conducting live events can benefit from the app’s reach and ticketing facility to sell tickets for their events throughout the year. Organisers can also e-mail the details of their upcoming events for a free listing on the app. “We’ve tied up with six organisers so far and are expecting a few more to join. Alongside usual filters like date, artists performing and sabhas, people can book their shows based on accompanists and instrumentalists. I believe, this too is an important feature,” he said.
The upgraded app was launched on Monday by ‘Kalaimamani’ OS Arun, who is also the brand ambassador of the app, and ‘Nrithya Choodamani’ ‘Kalaimamani’ Priyadarshini Govind, former director of Kalakshetra. Users already using the app need to uninstall and download the latest version afresh from Google PlayStore and AppStore. The iOS version is expected to be launched soon.
For details, mail musicofmadras@gmail.com