Chennai Music Festival - Cribs

I had been to Chennai for this year's music festival from the 1st of December till the 13th of December. I came back with a mixed feeling of joy and sad. Joy because so many people get platforms to display their artistic talents, sad because of our inability to make it into a world class event...

Quality of the programs:
There is no yard stick to determine if a particular artist has attain a certain proficiency level to perform in a concert. The selection of the artists, I guess, goes by the word of mouth, the influence you have with the sabha organizers, the money power and so on. The main performer does not get an opportunity to select his accompaniments. This results in a complete mismatch of talents thereby bringing down the entire quality of the performance. It would be ideal (can it be practical?) to have some standards set for the performer and all artists should be made to clear that level. Something on the line of SEI or ISO certifications done on the industries.

Respect for the artists (especially the juniors):
There is hardly any attendees for almost all the junior artists at all sabhas. This is very true for the odd hour concerts (10 AM, 2PM...) In some cases, the number of people on the stage are more than the number on the audience!! If a popular artists happen to perform at the next slot, then there is an inflow of people towards the end of the program of the junior artist, disturbing the artists. The payments given to the artists is nothing short of an insult. I have seen some of them getting as low as two hundred rupees which may not even cover the transport expenses!!

Sabha infrastructure:
In most of the sabhas the sound system is in a pathetic state and is handled by a set of people who have no formal training or a good experience or an ear for sound. Either it is too loud or the balance is not proper etc. After the first few minutes, the sound technician (if you may call him that) vanishes and the performer and the audience have to put up with whatever is available. The air condition system seem to function with no temperature control. It is freezing cold in most of the sabhas. There is no provision to get a glass of water even when you attend the morning concerts. The canteen is not opened nor there is a water dispenser anywhere. The status of the toilets are in a sad state in most of the sabhas. Most of the organizers can be polite and nice to the visitors than behaving in an arrogant and autocratic manner.

Chennai infrastructure:
Chennai faces the same infrastructure issues as any other Indian states. But one can not escape the harsh treatment of the auto rickshaw guys especially when its late night (read after 8pm) or when you are with an elderly person or when you have to go to some far away places. Its sheer robbery. The public bus service is a good state during day time. But that too trickles down to a very few at night. The noise level in general is extremely high in chennai. Every transport vehicle (public buses, private buses, water tankers, trucks etc.) is fitted with an air-horn which is used indiscreetly. There is absolutely no respect for hospitals, schools, temples... To add to this is the noise created by the loud speaker menace at the road-side religious setups, at functions like marriages, ear-piercing ceremony etc... The condition of the sidewalks are not at all conducive to those who prefer to walk. After the change of government, it is seen that mountains are garbage are seen at all places. One wonders how the city is surviving without the attack of any major plagues.

So much for the cribbing.

I only wish and pray that the Tamil nadu government realizes the potential of this December music season and gives enough attention and focus to improve the facilities available and make the city more visitor friendly.

This certainly deserves the rank of any other major festivals across the globe. There are ample opportunities for the artists at all levels. They get an excellent exposure to perform and make their talents known to the world. There are varieties for the audience - music, lecture demonstrations, dances of all forms, theater, interaction with the artists, talks etc.

No doubt there are improvements every year...but we have a long way to go if this has to be made at par with other global events.