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The
Chennai Music and
Dance festival celebrated during the latter half of December and early
part of January is a cultural extravaganza that has no parallel anywhere
in the world. A unique feature of this art festival is the fact that
upcoming artistes also get a chance to exhibit their talents to this city
of music and dance lovers at large along with the well-established
artistes. Art lovers from various parts of the world visit the city during
this season and in nearly all of them there is always a rush for tickets.
It's a celebration of the classical music and dance of South India, with
songs in all the main languages - Tamil,
Telugu, and Kannada. At each venue there's usually a lecture and
demonstration in the morning, followed by several concerts, each lasting
around three hours, in the afternoon and evening.
The Concerts
Most of the concerts start with a "Varnam", an up tempo
introduction. Then there are several songs, the Kirtanas performed, before
the main number. The 'Raga' is the basis of Carnatic music, five to seven
notes arranged in ascending or descending scales. There are 72 main ragas
and several hundred variations of each, all organized into a complex
classification.
The main instruments used are the Violin, Wooden Flute, 'Veena' (a large
string instrument) 'Goottuvadyam' (similar to Veena but without frets),
'Nagaswaram' (pipe), 'Thavil' (percussion instrument), 'Mridangam' (drum),
and even 'Ghatam' (a mud pot).
Performances Not Be Missed!
Performers to look out for include Vocalists K.V. Narayanaswami, M.S.
Subbulakshmi, T. Brinda, Balamurali Krishna, T.N. Seshagopalan, T.K.
Pattammal and Semmangudi Srinivasiyer, Violinists T.N. Krishnan, V.V.
Subramanina, M.S. Gopalakrishnan, Lalgudi Jayaraman and G.L.R. Krishnan,
Veena Players Gayatri and Chitti Babu, Flutists N. Ramani, T. Viswanathan
and Sikkil Sisters, Gottuvadyam Player N. Ravi Kiran Nagaswaram players
Shaik Chinna Moulana Sahib and Namagiripettai, and Mridangam players T.K.
Murthy, Palghat Raghu, Vellore Ramabhadran, Umayalpuram Sivaram and T.V.
Gopalakrishnan.
From mid-December to mid-January, Chennai comes alive with the annual
classical music and dance festival. If one is in Chennai, one should make
it a point and watch a performance. Programs are advertised in the
newspapers, but still it's also worth asking the tourist office for a list
of venues. 
Air: Chennai
has an airport with both domestic and international terminals. Regular
flights connect Chennai with the major cities within the country and also
with countries like USA, Singapore, U.K etc.
Rail: Chennai
is well connected by rail with the important towns and cities within and
beyond the state.
Road: State transport buses and private buses connect
Chennai with the
major towns and cities within the country. For local transportation local
trains, city buses, auto rickshaws and taxis are available.
Varied accommodation options are available for the tourists at the hotels in Chennai.