TV channels here have come to acknowledge the December Season. They never gave it a second thought some years ago.

Today, they do not push away the idea.

With a growing community of senior rasikas who cannot always make it to the sabhas in Chennai, enjoying a concert on TV is a great option. And with satelite footprints growing bigger, the reach is wider.

Subashri and Maximum Media who have worked with Jaya TV channel have made an early start and established the trend.

Today, their concerts, held at the large auditorium in the Chettinad school campus at the far end of Raja Annamalaipuram draws big crowds. And the best and big names in the music world perform. They are open to all and free.

The concerts are held early in December so that they can be telecast later this month.

Other channels also have their own music programming and since sponsors who want good TRP ratings see this as a nice window, music concerts are getting better play on TV.

Season tickets for concerts at The Music Academy were sold out just hours after the box office on its campus opened on December 2.

Tickets were priced at Rs.1,000, Rs.3,000, Rs.8,000 and Rs.10,000.

The box office opened at about 9 a.m. but rasikas had queued up early and the lucky ones went home happy.

Daily tickets for the main concerts in the evening will be sold at the counter early afternoon but subject to availability of seats, the Academy said.

Top-ranking vocalist T M Krishna has announced on his web site that three key concerts of his during the December Season will be web cast 'live'.

This facility will give rasikas outside Chennai the opportunity to enjoy his concerts. This is to be a paid facility - rasikas who wish to enjoy the concert online have to pay a fee.

Each concert will be available for viewing 24 hrs after it is web streamed, so those who cannot sit at a laptop or computer desk when Krishna performs here in Chennai can do so when they are free later that day.

Emilija Kercan is Co-founder of Gopuram, Institute for Vedic Culture in Ljubljana, Slovenia. And she makes it a point to be in Chennai for the December Season. In this short piece, she tells us why she enjoys being in the city in December.

My love for Carnatic music took shape some five years ago, which was a natural extension of my decade long interest in Indian spirituality.

What started off as simple bhajan singing, became a passion for this spiritually deep musical heritage of South India.

I started to train earnestly in Carnatic vocal with Chitravina Ravikiran two years ago. Conducive to my learning, I try to visit Chennai two times a year, of which one visit should be during the December season.

As there are no teachers, students nor musicians of Carnatic music in my country (Slovenia, EU), I come for the season to listen to the best of musicians live and experience the musical atmosphere.

Although my stay in Chennai is always too short, my schedule is fully packed, attending some three concerts a day and if possible taking classes with my guru in between, to make the most of it. Like every devoted music student I am looking forward to paying my homage to Saint Thyagaraja by visiting the Thyagaraja Aradhana in Thiruvayaru in January.

My passion for Carnatic music together with my brother's love for the Vedas prompted us to establish a non-profit organization called Gopuram, Institute for Vedic Culture, dedicated to promoting Vedic heritage and Carnatic music in our country.