Margazhi Maha Utsavam, Chennai; the festival of Carnatic Music in India

This is a grand festival of Classical Carnatic music held annually in Chennai during ‘Margazhi’ in Tamil month (mid December to mid January) of the year. Eminent Carnatic musicians take part in this festival and render ‘Keerthanams’ diligently for the much anticipating audience. Margazhi month is the season that hosts a relay of Carnatic music concerts in Chennai. Music lovers from all parts of the world make it to attend this soulful festival ‘Margazhi Maha Utsavam’ as it gives some precious moments of music for them to cherish during the entire course of their life.

In Margazhi Maha Utsavam, top maestros of Carnatic music present a marvelous concert in a chosen theme. The audience gets shaken by their scholarly renditions that enliven the minds.

This big event is organized by Jaya TV for encouraging and for spreading out this traditional Indian art form of Carnatic music. About 15-20 artists perform their vocal concerts in consecutive days starting from the day of inauguration. The series of concerts are thematic and the artistes interact with the audience through a brief questions & answers session in the end. The themes that singers choose to present their finest talent have great impact on the success of the show.Popular singers such as T V Sankaranarayanan, T.M.Krishna, Vijay Siva, O.S. Arun, Nithyasree Mahadevan, Sanjay Subrahmaniam, Visakha Hari all really regale the audience with their exclusively chosen songs in their own style. Jaya TV telecasts the condensed form of these concerts in a later period that many music lovers look forward for. I love watching this show as the artists as well as the accompaniments really exalt me to a world of spiritual contentment.Instrumental concerts also take place in this Margazhi Maha Utsavam. Violin maestros Ganesh & Kumaresh and Nadaswaram experts also present their performances lively and dynamically.

I happened to read about this festival in a newspaper article last year. While the author of the article was on a flight journey to Chennai, he met with a man who was doing software business in U.S. During their conversation, the business man told the author that he had taken leave for a month from his busy schedules. When the author asked him the reason, he replied that he was going to attend Margazhi Maha Utsavam in Chennai. The author was surprised to hear such a reply. When he asked him about losing earnings from his business because of the long absence, the business man's reply was an awesome song of Sri Thyagaraja, "Nidhichala..Sukhama."

The literal meaning of the song is:

What gives pleasure? To be in the presence of wealth or to be in the presence of God?

Sri Thyagaraja asked this question to Lord Rama through this classic keerthanam ~ Nidhichala Sukhama.