Music for the Chennai masses amid Margazhi season

CHENNAI: Over decades, the Margazhi season in the city has been considered synonymous with classical music and other motifs associated with the upper class and upper caste groups, often leaving the practitioners of native art forms in the margins. The scene, slowly but surely, changing, says rapper- lyricist Arivu, ahead of Neelam Cultural Center’s Margazhiyil Makkal Isai.

The eightday festival hopes to bring the rich arts, lives and struggles of folk and independent artistes to the spotlight through songs, music, poetry and dance. “‘All our literature and art are for the masses of the people’, said communist revolutionary Mao Tse-Tung. It is this ideology that we at the Neelam Cultural Center have been striving to achieve —take the arts to the people and not one definite class or caste,” shares the indie artist, known for a body of work embedded with themes of social justice and equality.

With the pandemic muting the voices of several native artistes, the Makkal Isai programme will be a platform to enable them to bounce back and end a glum year on a rather high note. “Starting from December 24, the programme will showcase different kinds of people’s music, including oppari, nattupuram, gaana, themmangu, hip hop and rap. We will have 100 plus artistes from across Tamil Nadu,” details the artiste, who, along with other volunteers, has been giving shape to the event.

“Since we are amid a pandemic, social distancing, sanitisation of the venue and other protocols will be followed. We are trying to hit the perfect balance between giving importance to the arts while ensuring the safety of everyone. The event hopes to boost practitioners of these art forms and make people aware of its cultural history,” he tells. The event, which will conclude on New Year’s Eve with The Casteless Collective’s performance, will also feature important names in the nattupuram genre.

Arivu calls this an opportunity to give back to those who inspired a generation of young artistes like him. “Listening to one song by Dalit Subbiah is equal to reading a volume of Ambedkar. It’s very informative. For me, someone who has grown up following his works, to be able to curate an event that features him is like giving back to people from his ilk — the ones who educated us to understand the plight of the oppressed, the methods of the oppressor and to challenge the socio-political norms in our society,” says Arivu, touching upon Neelam’s tenets — to educate, organise and agitate.

The programmes will be hosted at major venues like Vani Mahal, Mylapore Fine Arts and Raja Annamalai Hall. Ask Arivu what he thinks about this change — where traditional spaces are opening their doors to performances that are beyond the classical genre, he tells, “This is a step towards a larger change in the society. When native artistes get space in such mainstream stages, they will be able to build a livelihood and a market for themselves.

For the audience to buy a ticket for an oppari performance is, perhaps, the beginning of social equality among indielive music itself. The bigger picture is to bring out the voices of these artistes and in the course, preserve them and their roots. The recognition that hip hop gets, should also be given to oppari, nattupuram and gaana,” he concludes.

Vani Mahal, T Nagar

December 24: Folk show performed by VM Mahalingam and Adhimelam Parai Isai Kuzhu. Sundharam from Salem

December 25: Natupuram show performed by Dalit Subbiah, Roja Aditiya, Kalai Nan Mani MSP Thangavel Dingukkal parai Isai Kuzhu.

December 26: Gaana show performed by singers from Chennai, Thudumbattam and Newton Kuzhuvinar

Mylapore Fine Arts

December 27: Hip Hop show performed by Vedan, Black Boys, Mc Devesh, VJ Vijay, Kalki, Shanthini and Indie by Siennor

December 28: Oppari show performed by Pesu JK Team - Satti parai Oppari

Raja Annamalai Hall

December 29: Arivoli show performed by Anthakudi Ilaiyaraja, Tha Mu Ek Ka Sa — Arivoli, Pambaiyattam, Sakthi, Salem

December 30: Themmangu show performed by Sithan Jeyamurthy, Karyapatti sekar Kootisai Nayyandi,Virudhunagar

December 31: Performance by the Casteless Collective and Pappampatti Jamba Periya Melam, Munusamy, Thiruvannamalai

Tickets are priced from Rs 100 onwards. For details, visit Neelam Cultural Centre’s Facebook/Instagram page