No filter: City hotel becomes new avenue for Margazhi concerts 

This is the time of the year when people from around the world flock into the city. The locals whip out their best and brightest kachivaram drapes, diamonds the size of pigeon eggs and exclusive sabha season passes that are reserved a year in advance, considering how hard they are to get one’s hands on.

For many years, one had to pull every string possible to get the tickets to listen to some of the greatest Carnatic musicians and dance recitals by the foremost proponents of Bharatnatyam in the hallowed halls ofthese sabhas.

For me, this season brings up memories of my childhood as the only granddaughter who was into the arts, my grandma used to take me along with her. I was enamoured by the music, dance, sarees but my favourite is the time-honoured tradition of sabha food. My ever-so-strict grandmother, who never ate food that wasn’t cooked in her kitchen, would make an exception and let me eat at the sabha canteens and it truly was a highlight. If you have been to a sabha you will see the little kids relaying chits with requests for the performers, who would then indulge their adoring audiences.

This year, Vikram Cotah, the COO of GRT Hotels and Resorts, had the radical idea of having concerts at their hotel. If your jaws are scraping the floor, please pick them up. With an open-for-all, ticketless sabha happening every weekend during the Margazhi season, he is ensuring that his guests who would be disappointed at not getting tickets last minute are getting their fill of the sabha season. For those of you who forgot to reserve your passes, you know where youcan walk in for some incredible food and music.

With a lineup featuring the likes of the great MS Subbulakshmi’s granddaughters, Aishwarya and Saundarya, you know it’s going to get crowded. Along with seasoned performers, Vikram says he believes in promoting up-and-coming artistes in giving them a platform when many traditional sabhas might not have the room in their schedules. Ever the patron of arts, Vikram in his effort to make Grand Gana Sabha an authentic experience, is also bringing in mamis to cook the traditional sabha fare. One of their restaurants also features a specially curated menu, reimagining those ancient recipes. So, if you have been wondering what to do over the weekends you know where to head — whether you are a connoisseur of the arts or are just looking for a lipsmacking meal.