For over 9 decades, the unique concept of presenting music, dance, lectures, discourses, namasankeerthanam etc, was limited to a handful of major sabhas till 1970s. Today there is rapid growth with several cultural organisations joining the fray as organisers to promote festivals in December.
The ecosystem for fine arts is nurtured through quality presentations by artistes with the support of corporate sponsors, art patrons and extensive media coverage, giving a fillip to the mega season. For the statistically interested, more than 80+ organisations present 2000+ programmes in about 45 days.
Facing Challenges
Post covid the membership for many sabhas has come down, possibly due to easy access through the digital mode which is free of cost and can be enjoyed at leisure in the comfort of homes. Added hurdle is the traffic/parking woes across the city due to metro rail work, which puts off senior citizens. Another dimension to this reduced turnout is that too many organisations feature too many events in the same area. We have seen halls with a capacity of 50+ joining this craze for presenting events. While emerging artistes need a platform to showcase their talent, what purpose does it serve to have a single-digit audience?
Spotlight on Young Generations
It’s time for organisations to come together and present at least young artistes jointly and restrict the number of events. While the sabhas have been taking the responsibility to foster young talent, the need of the hour is also to create a new generation of rasikas to keep this tradition alive. While efforts are being made to get students of music to attend live programmes, there is a need for curated events that can help reach out to gen next. Popular artistes must join hands with sabhas and school / college managements with crisp presentations for creating interest in our art forms. The attention span for audiences has come down and a few changes in the structure of music and dance will bring in more crowd. Art promoters and artistes should prioritise recorded subscriptions over live telecasts to preserve value and audience engagement keeping in mind the important aspect of connecting with live audiences.
Top artistes syndrome
Celebrity artistes drawing houseful crowds has become history. Another aspect that has posed a problem is that some organisations feature many top-notch artistes with admission free and this affects the sabhas that feature the same artistes with pricey entry fees. The art forms are a livelihood and it would augur well for the future of these artistes if the public pays for the entertainment. There are other people involved as support systems who earn their income through these events. In this difficult environment, only canteens in most venues during the season attract huge crowds and are expanding as a profitable proposition for caterers.
The current scenario
The December season used to be a tourist attraction with NRIs from all over the world coming to soak in the music. In the last two years, this too has come down significantly for various reasons including high ticket cost to uncertainties for Indians from the USA with daily tantrums! In the current scenario lack of sponsorship support for traditional arts and for sabhas, which have worked hard and sustained for many decades, puts added pressure for promoting culture. Although some fly-by-night operators emerge in December with corporate support and offer a variety of programmes, they don’t do sustained work. In the context of CSR funding, it should follow a criterion of supporting our traditional forms, which are being nurtured by sabhas that have put in a reasonable period of service with sound professional management.
There is scope for improvement to make this vibrant music season relevant to our times. This ecosystem has flourished for over 100 years and, with a few right decisions can continue to inspire for many generations.
The author is the Secretary, Hamsadhwani, and Treasurer, The Federation of City Sabhas.