Chennai Sangamam

srikarkav

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H i Guys,

Yesterday i ahd been to the Grand Finale of Chennai Sangamam at The Besant Nagar Beach, Chennai. First for those who are not familiar with this festival, here is a brief story about it.


Welcome To Chennai Sangamam | Open Festival | Tamil Maiyam

This is the essence of the above link....

'We knew that some day the Festival would become big receiving popular acclaim and embrace. But when it rolled out on February 21, 2008 we realized people of Chennai had long been waiting for such a festival that brought arts closer to their homes and lives. Above all a festival that brought them together as a community. For many it also brought nostalgic memories of their old village festivals. For the younger generation the sheer energy of the folk rhythms and intensity of the presentation and colors were electrifying and enthralling.'

This festival has become a huge hit here. It is a prolonged holiday period during the Pongal Festival here in Chennai.And it has become a colorful experience for the Chennaites.Folk artistes from all over the state converge at Chennai and perform at parks, streets and beaches.(yes we do have more than one:))Most Chennai people have never been exposed to the folk arts of their own state.For a guy like me who had the benefit of both the rural and city life the Sangamam brings very sweet memories of my childhood.Nostalgic as the link mentions. But for those who never had a taste of it, this has been an awesome experience.

Not only folk, but all form arts are performed thro the few days the festival happens.Carnatic, western and what not.Carnatic music is being exposed to people who have never attended a concert.Top artistes enthrall the public with a smile on their faces.

Yesterday at Besant Nagar it was a sea of humanity watching the Grand Finale on the beach stage.Folk artistes even from Karnataka and Andhra performed, to the thunderous applause of the crowd.

It is not only a art festival but a food festival too. You get all sort of preparations even from the deep south parts of the state.So people can come on to the streets, parks and beaches and have the pick of their food and watch the performances unfold on the stage. We had Karaikudi Kozhi Briyani and Dindugal parotta and Bombay Fruit Ice cream.:) It was delicious.

At the end all the artistes who performed yesterday came on to the stage to the crescendo of noise of joy and delight from the crowd.

Then there was a amazing display of Fire works to the delight of the massive crowd.

I could hear people speaking in all sort of languages,Tamil,Telugu, Kannda,Hindi and some, in the crowd. There were lot of foreigners too. At the end of it one of the artistes held aloft our National Flag. I stood still for a moment and marvelled at the Unity in Diversity nature of our great country.


Invite to the Mmbers form other states

Guys make it to Chennai during the Pongal Holidays with your family and enjoy this inclusive festival. Come and have a taste of our State's cultue, arts and food.

cheers,
sri
 
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I have been there yesterday also just for the last one week, since my office is just on the beach road...Really wonderful performance by all the artistes/musicians showing real performances live.. A good intiative done by the govt. to revive the old traditional performances in villages and keep it alive and also chance to see the same in city.. :)
 
I haven't been to any of the Chennai Sangamam events --- partly because I am up to my ears with music anyway from the December "Season".

I always intend to go and see some of the folk dance events and thus widen my horizons from the classical. Didn't happen this year... maybe next.

It seems a little odd to me that the PR stuff is almost as if there is no other way to see music in Chennai --- when it follows on from what must be one of the world's biggest music festivals. However, from the classical point of view, I think that an event like this may well bring the appeal of classical music to a greater public. Sangamam this year, Sabha next? :)

I don't think that any other city in India has Chennai's almost-constant almost-year-round availability of classical music. A lot of it would not happen without the continued sponsorship of a small number of organisations, so... If you love music, buy your silks from Nalli and your sweets from Krishna! :yahoo:
 
Agree with Thad about year long musical programs.

Sri - I too have long been wanting to attend Sangamam but the whole of last week I was down with a bad case of cold. Could not have enjoyed music anyway. So, maybe next time...

I generally do not like crowded places. Was it easy enough for the whole family to catch a slice of the action at Besant Nagar?
 
Agree with Thad about year long musical programs.

Sri - I too have long been wanting to attend Sangamam but the whole of last week I was down with a bad case of cold. Could not have enjoyed music anyway. So, maybe next time...

I generally do not like crowded places. Was it easy enough for the whole family to catch a slice of the action at Besant Nagar?

Yes Bala, We were at a reasonable distance from the stage.We enjoyed the programmers for sure.The intensity and energy levels of these folk artistes are amazing. I don't know about the other places.But at Besant Nagar the crowd was very disciplined.We really enjoyed the art,food and the atmosphere.

cheers,
sri
 
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