
Once you’ve spent your mornings in Tamil Nadu in December, peace takes a new meaning. As you step into your courtyard to water the holy basil and welcome the morning, there is a slight breeze in the air that carries the tranquil fragrance of jasmines lining the streets.The sound of morning hymns (bhajanas) floats into the house as you set your tea to be brewed. Kolams are drawn in every household much before the sunrise, along with the chanting of Tirupavvai and Tiruvanbavvai (the holy verses). Across every neighbourhood in the city, you’ll find families making their way to the temple at the crack of dawn, dressed in their finest, prepared to spend the next hour to worship.
Month of Margazhi
This is the Tamil month of Margazhi that begins mid-December and ends in mid-January. The holy star Mrigaseersha (the constellation Orion) combined with the Pournami thithi is the birth of the great Margazhi month. As the weather cools down by Chennai standards, the atmosphere all around is that of quiet contemplation. The month is considered inauspicious to start anything new and must be dedicated to prayer, worship and Carnatic music. The Indian diaspora across the world, who have grown up listening and learning Carnatic music, make the journey across oceans to be a part of that moment in time when the city collectively reflects.
Celebrating Margazhi
Like most religions across the world, the Tamil calendar is defined by the stories that are associated with each month. The month of Margazhi is considered auspicious because in Bhagavat Gita, Lord Krishna says that he will be as the ‘Margazhi’ in that month. While this is the most widely recounted explanation of the divinity associated with the month, there are sects of Vishnu and Shiva followers who have their own beliefs. It is a truly remarkable spectacle to see how followers from such diverse religious beliefs coalesce in the coastal town of Chennai to form a community that is tied together by the belief that observing religious practices during this season is a path to liberation from sin. Vishnu followers do so by fasting for 30 days while the Shiva followers will sing Thiruvempavai, hymns written in praise of Lord Shiva by his devotee Manicka Vasagar.
Margazhi Carnatic music festival in Chennai
The Madras Music Season was launched in 1927 as an adjunct to the All India Music Conference of the Indian National Congress held in Madras (as Chennai was called back then). It was decided to launch a conference that would collect all information regarding music, maintain the library and publish a journal to help the cause of music. The idea was championed and propagated primarily by E. Krishna Iyer who has worked actively towards the revival and acceptance of Bharatanatyam as a respected form of art. Over time, the December concert came to be known as the Margazhi season or Music season within music circles.
Growth of the Margazhi Carnatic music festival
The Music Season has grown over the years, and has been described as one of the world’s largest cultural events. In 2004-2005, there were over 1200 performances by about 600 artists (about 700 vocal, 250 instrumental, 200 dance, 50 drama and others). Today, it is estimated that more than a thousand concerts and dance performances take place during this fest, across a couple of hundred venues. With the blurring of technological, social and geographical boundaries, the music season has expanded to include other formats like Open Mics, Theatre performances and live streaming. In 2013, Parivadini, an organisation for music, art and culture, launched the first Parivadini award and also started streaming live carnatic concerts. for free. Another startup, Carnatic Network, has launched Open Mics to equalise the playing field for Carnatic Music performers and escape the elitism that hounds the Carnatic Music community.
Mahad Ayalur, an Indian living in Chicago who routinely travels to Chennai during Margazhi talks about what motivates him to do the 8000 mile journey across seas for this event. “To me, Margazhi is a treat for all five senses. Touching the morning fog of Chennai, seeing the intricate colorful kolams adorning the small side streets, smelling the pleasant aroma of agarbathis and flowers from the temple, tasting the sumptuous food from Sabha canteens that comes with a side of juicy gossip from the local aunties and best of all – listening to melodious music all day long! You just simply have to be there and take it all in. It is an experience you don’t want to miss.”
Starting in Chennai and travelling across the state through temple towns, coastal cities and spice mansions, one discovers the peace that exists in cultural blanket of Tamil Nadu.
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