The big concert at The Academy will be on New Year’s morn ( 9.45 a.m.).

T M Krishna is listed and the Academy says this is not a free concert though it is in the morning. and so it has asked all its patrons and members to bring their cards along to gain access.

The box-office will be open at 7.30am. for tickets to the balcony area but these are limited too.

You may recall that Krishna had limited his concerts this season and said he’d like to enjoy listening to as many as he could.

December is a torrid time for managers of sabhas who do not own halls.

Sri Kapali Fine Arts has been around for many decades and its managers managed the ‘season’ with hired halls.

Like many others, they relied on Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Recent upstarts have got in faster and so sabhas like Kapali are on a runaround.

The BVB hall is a prized venue because of its location in the heart of Mylapore. But recent trends show that Mylaporeans who enjoy the best shows the year round free of cost skip the BVB and head for the mada veedhis!

There was no space for latecomers at the lec-dem of vidwan Nedunuri Krishnamurthy who spoke on ‘ Raga - Concept, scope and establishment on Dec.30 morning at the Music Academy.

Nedunuri always has a huge attendance and many hung on to him even after his session.

The lec-dems close on January 1 with an Open House for an hour from 8.35 a.m. Nedunuri gives a lec-dem on Jan 1, 2011 for Mudhra in T. Nagar.

A sabha may want to recognize Jaya TV for some thoughtful programming.

A private producer, Maximum Media canned a set of concerts by top-end artistes staged at Chettinad Vidyashram auditorium weeks ago, got a fairly large audience in ( free admission) and are now telecasting the series on Jaya TV.

The show is viewed by a large audience especially seniors who cannot do the sabha-hopping circuit. Now, Jaya TV is hosting a fest of Upanyasam and Namasankeerthanams from Dec.29 at the same venue.

It runs till Dec.31, every evening and features people like Vittaldas Maharaj, Sudha Seshayyan and O. S. Arun.

There were gasps and awes in the foyer of the Music Academy on Sunday as columns of people thronged the place to get in for Aruna Sairam’s concert that evening.

Most were headed for the top floors and since the lift could manage only that many, altercations broke out when rasikas realized that Aruna had begun her concert and they would have to bide their time.

The top gallery has not been full through most of this season.

A little bird says most senior members are keeping away because of the cold weather.

The Christmas morning concert at The Music Academy is always presented by T. N. Krishnan. This time, his son and daughter accompanied him. This was a full house recital.

Krishnan is among the few who always makes it a point to greet people on this occasion.

And he does not forget to play Jingle Bells the Carnatic music style.

Later that evening, Alarmel Valli, performing at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan also greeted people, a large number who seemed to be her fans.

Having presented what was a rather melancholic item she had created based on Sangam literature she ended with a vibrant piece, telling her audience that it would not be proper to let melancholy be on the minds of people on Christmas day.

At the opening session of the Natya Kala Conference, convenor Shanta Dhananjayan also greeted the audience with her Christmas greetings.

We were at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha on Monday evening. For the ‘Kannappar Kuravanji’ dance drama of Kalakshetra Dance Company. The audience was small. Behind us, a threesome caught our attention. On either side of this little boy were his grandma and his ma. From the moment the curtain went up and the musicians launched into their recital, the little boy sat enamoured.

His gradma filled him with the simple details of the scenes, his ma acknowledged the exchange.

Often, the boy jumped up in glee and laughed at scenes that tickled him. All along, the grandma kept briefing him as the story unfolded.

And you wished that there were dozens of children and their wards in this hall that evening. Seated in the front rows.

Are there windows in the ‘season’ that can get children closer to the classical arts?

At the ‘Universe of Sound’ lec-dems and recitals held last week at Sivagami Petachi auditorium where pianist Anil Srinivasan was the impresario and emcee rolled in one, Anil taught and encouraged the children in the audience to do the rainbow clap to acknowledge the performances.

He got children of Calibre Academy to present the opening song. He also had many of them inside the auditorium for the concerts. As kids do, some slipped out and enjoyed themselves on the playground. How do we create windows in the ‘season’ that can get children closer to the classical arts?

What is a bureaucrat from Karnataka doing in the city sabhas?

Seen on Sunday at The Music Academy was a senior IAS officer, Jayaraj who now holds the Addl. Secretary rank.

He was pow-wowing with the mighty of the Academy and making plesantaries with artistes and arts managers.

Jayaraj is also in the top team that manages the Gayana Samaj in Bangalore.

As he had his breakfast here, he was told how the Govt, of Kerala had begun to sponsor and host all its music college students for events here during the season and how Karnataka could follow this example.

Jayaraj nodded.

But a wag later said - you cannot expect much from a BJP-led government.

Really?

Food is an essential part of the 'season'.

The canteens at sabhas are an extension of the halls.

Even hotels and restaurants have begun to create special menus.

Sri Krishna Sweets has mini counters at many halls.

Now, young entrepreneur Rakesh Raghunathan is bringing his 'Vegetarian Only' PetaWrap outlet to Sankara Hall (outside AVM Sound Zone) on TTK Road in Alwarpet.

Open from 3 p.m. the menu has Masala Channa Wrap, Vada Pav Wrap, Paneer masala wrap and Mumbai Vada Pav and Desi Scoops and salsa (more like the nachos and salsa) A pit stop after you have bought music CDs and stuff at the mega sale ay Sankara Hall.

Select and limited number of season tickets for concerts at The Music Academy were sold out hours after the box office opened last weekend. Rasikas who came in later in the day had to return home disappointed.

A majority of the tickets are set aside for the Academy's members.

However, tickets will be sold every morning in the lobby from the day the fest begins for the main concerts that are ticketed. These will be limited in number.

A new hall has been opened in Luz and its promoter decided to host a Carnatic music festival in keeping with the start of the famed December season. Arkay Convention Centre was opened on November 26 and it is above Jainsons store, next to Bombay Halwa Hose on Royapettah High Road, Mylapore.

The air-conditioned hall can accommodate 100 people and is ideal for corporate meetings, training sections, seminars, music concerts and lec-dems.

It also equipped with a modern audio system and has special stands for video and photo coverage.

Promoter Ramakrishnan who is a stock broker says he build this hall to create a space for small corporate meetings. "We offer the best facilities for such meets," he says. But he also accommodates kutcheris.

Carnatica is now hosting concerts here and rasikas seem to like the ambience. (Photo shows O S Thiagarajan in concert at the hall )

The address - 'Oms Lakshana', No. 146/3, Royapettah High Road, Mylapore. For booking call 2498 5192 / 93810 36836

The past few years, suburban sabhas in Greater Chennai have begun to host their own arts festivals.

Places like Tambaram and Nanganallur, Virugambakkam and K K Nagar and Villivakkam now have kutcheris that local rasikas can enjoy.

Tapas Academy for Classical Arts plans to host its annual music fest and classical music contests for children in Valasarawakkam, in the far western side of the city.

The fest will be on from Dec.21 to 26 and features all the top artistes in the classical arts world. The venue is a wedding hall in Radhakrishnan Salai, Alwarthirunagar.