Margazhi season starts off on a damp note

The flooded roads and traffic snarls, caused by the continuous rains, have resulted in fewer people venturing out, resulting in empty concert halls or shows being cancelled.

Arkay Ramakrishnan of the Arkay Convention Centre, a popular venue for kutcheris, says they had to cancel a few concerts over the past few days. “Since many suburban areas are flooded, people are finding it hard to venture out of their homes. Because of these rains, we had to cancel a few of the kutcheris or reschedule it at a later date. Rescheduling is also becoming tough as we are booked out this entire month. These cancellations also result in a financial loss, apart from logistical issues associated with rescheduling concerts,” he says.

It is not only the organisers but also the artists, who are having a difficult time. Artistes too bear the brunt Carnatic vocalist KN Shashikiran says he had to cancel his concert. “I was supposed to sing two days ago but we had to reschedule because it is difficult for the rasikas to make it to the venue. People are scared to come out of their homes because of heavy rains.

Moreover, many of the accompanying artists, who come from the suburbs, found it difficult to make it, due to flooded roads. It is definitely a financial loss for us as rescheduling is very difficult. Most of the halls are booked and the accompanists too are unavailable, as this is the busiest time of the year. I’m only happy that these rains have happened early during the season, especially as many rasikas come from all parts of the world to listen to kutcheris, which pick up as the month goes by,” he adds.

Divya Shiva Sundar, a Bharatanatyam dancer and a regular performer during the season, says, “Getting across the city has become difficult. I had to cancel rehearsals as most of my co-artists were unable to arrive for the sessions. I really hope the rains don’t go on for too long and that we can enjoy the season as always.”

Vocalist Rithvik Raja too hopes the weather will clear soon. “Though it is still early in the season, many organisations have started hosting events early on, due to cramped space availability.

There are a number of concerts every day and unfortunately, because of the weather, they have been cancelled or postponed. These are extremely unavoidable situations. We can only hope that the weather gets better soon,” he concludes.