There was a delay due to a technical glitch. But, the audience at the Eliot’s beach waited with cheerful patience. After all, it is not often that one gets a chance to listen to unfettered Carnatic music on the beach. The performer, TM Krishna, was in an unconventional avatar; in indigo cotton pants, a T-shirt and a black-and-white scarf.
The performer was gearing up for the fourth edition of the annual Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha (UOKV). His beach concert has become almost a tradition now; something which many look forward to this time of year.
The crowd was eclectic: students, musicians and academicians. A few IIT students rushed in late. “I never knew about this vizha; has it been around for some time?” one asked. Another said, “This is my first time listening to Carnatic music by the beach. I never knew that something like this could happen.”
“Hey, we are not able to see the vocalist,” an elderly lady, well into her 70s, mumbled to her friend as she dragged her chair to the front. At the back, there were a row of familiar faces including academics such as Shiv Viswanathan, Sadanand Menon and AR Venkatachalapathy.
Young volunteers were busy shooting live Instagram and Facebook videos, while others shopped for the Kalamkari printed, vizha-themed jholas and T-shirts. The tee sported by Krishna and Nityanand Jayaraman, city-based environmental activist and vizha volunteer, was themed on the UNESCO Creative City logo. It carries images iconic to Chennai like the Chennai Central Railway Station, as well as music, dance and coastal life.
Finally, the concert began. Krishna asked the audience to move closer to the stage. No VIP reserved seats. No tickets. No security checks. It was a pleasure to listen to Carnatic music like this for a change, seated right beside the singer. People from Urur kuppam slowly joined the audience. Then, a lady, selling bajjis with two of her kids, also sat down to listen.
Krishna delivered slow, immersive pieces such as ‘Nee Mattume’, a love poem written by Perumal Murugan and composed by mridangist, K Arun Prakash.
There was a raw energy with which Krishna sang this song, unlike a regular kriti. Akkarai S Subhalakshmi's violin strings blended with his unconstrained voice.
Carnatic loyalists were happy when Krishna launched into a peppy, fast-paced ‘Sarasa Samagana’ and rounded off the concert with the breezy ‘Kamalasana Vandita’. The music cut across people from different cultural backgrounds.
A group of students from abroad swayed their heads in time to the music. Some almost head-banged to some numbers.
But, what really excited the crowd was the ‘Chennai Poromboke Paadal’ that went viral last year. It de-constructed the use of ‘Poromboke’ as a word of abuse in popular cultural discourse. “You are free to sing along,” Krishna said.
By the final song, at least 400 people had turned up. After the last song, there was an outcry for an encore.
As Krishna himself said, “There are different kinds of profound experiences.” Listening to classical music in an inclusive, free space, sharing space with scholars, writers, artistes, fishermen and balloon sellers, was definitely one such.