India, Jan. 12 -- It is curtains on another mellifluous Chennai music season, which saw nearly 100 concerts organised by more than 10 sabhas, and a bewildering range of artistes trying to impress a large and demanding audience. Chennai is the home of world renowned music composers like Ilaiyaraaja and AR Rahman. What higher credentials would the city need to feature prominently on the world music map? Chennai is now among the culturally most vibrant cities in the world. Perhaps, next only to Vienna. No wonder it was part of a Unesco Creative Cities Network (UCCN), acknowledging its deep-rooted Carnatic music tradition. The December season also attracts a large number of foreigners, who appreciate the music - vocal and instrumental - performed on various platforms across Chennai. The rise of Carnatic music started nearly five centuries ago with the arrival of Purandara Dasa (1470-1564). The musical trinity, Syama Sastri (1762-1827), Saint Tyagaraja (1767-1847), and Muthuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835), all born in Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, followed him three centuries later to embellish the scene with soulful compositions in Telugu and Sanskrit. Since then, this classical school of music has since flourished in quality if not in quantity. There has been the occasional controversy that has peppered the scene, of course. The first turmoil was in the 1920s when a group of politically strident citizens came out to criticise Carnatic music as too heavily Brahmin-dominated to the detriment of Tamil music. About the same time, the Madras Presidency also saw the emergence of the Justice Party, which questioned the domination of Brahmins in many realms of public life. This led to the formation of a Tamil Isai Sangam in 1943, to which the affluent Chettiar community lent support and resources. Surprisingly, a highly rated vocalist from the Brahmin community, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, who had strong links with the Chettiars (strong patrons of Tamil in music), broke away from them saying that language chauvinism had no place in music and that nobody could compel any musician to sing Tamil compositions. However, gradually Tamil compositions of Arunachala Kavirayar, Marimutha Pillai, Muthu Thandavar, Papanasam Sivan and Gopalakrishna Bharathi became a part of the concert list for many musicians. Today, many singers accommodate Tamil compositions as a matter of course. But non-Tamil songs continue to be taboo at concerts organised by the Tamil Isai Sangam. Interestingly, the maestro Sanjay Subrahmanyan can regale you with Tamil compositions for a whole three-hour concert. And this is quite a draw! Another landmark was the formation of the Madras Music Academy in 1927. Its predominantly Brahmin composition is still an irritant to the non-Brahmin musicians and music lovers. It is in this jungle that a hugely talented TM Krishna spoke about what he considered a huge distortion of one caste having hijacked Carnatic music to the near elimination of all non-Brahmin musicians who were no less talented than their Brahmin counterparts. Even the most ardent Brahmin singer and instrumentalist would grudgingly concede that there is more than a grain of truth in what Krishna says. However, his remarks about MS Subbulakshmi, an icon of Carnatic music, triggered a major controversy and led to many music lovers boycotting his concerts. These days, the December season is driven by a large NRI presence, among performers and in the audience. Many organisations host NRI festivals to showcase the talent among the diaspora and connect them with their roots, bridging geographical gaps through live and virtual platforms. To sum up, from mid-November extending to early January, Chennai resonates with rich tonalities of ragas, the delicate interplay of melody of rhythm and devotional fervour. Organisations such as Music Academy (which is entering its centenary year) and Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha (completing 125 years) lend support to several talented young vocalists and instrumentalists. Senior artistes, including Sudha Ragunathan, the Lalgudi siblings, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, sisters Ranjani-Gayatri, Abhishek Raghuram, Sandeep Narayan, Kunnakudi M Balamuralikrishna, Ramakrishnan Murthy, and Shashank Subramanyam, continue to anchor the season with authoritative and inspiring performances. Rising stars like Sunil R Gargyan, Vivek Sadasivam, Ramana Balachandhran, Anahita, and Apoorva are also greatly talented and assure us that the future of Carnatic music is in safe hands. That said, I would like to see more of the youth in the audience than as mere performers. The audience is increasingly greying while the talent is becoming younger and younger!...