The sixth edition of Margazhi Matram 2025 was presented by Ranjini Kaushik of SciArtsRUs in collaboration with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, with a focus on the theme of hearing and listening. The festival examined the idea of listening beyond sound and explored how music can be perceived and experienced in different ways, including through assistive tools. The programme underscored the importance of making musical experiences inclusive and accessible to all.

A key presentation of the festival, Mouna Ragam – Sounds of Silence, was held on 7 December 2025, at Mylapore Fine Arts. The presentation featured an inclusive sign language choir comprising over 200 students and youth of varied abilities. Hearing-impaired students from the Clarke School for the Deaf led the choir, joined by students with and without disabilities.

The presentation included three curated songs (Tamizh Thai Vazhthu, Bharathiyar’s Manadil Urudi Vendum and the national anthem) performed through a combination of singing and sign language, offering audiences an insight into how rhythm, emotion, and musical expression are experienced without sound. Singer Archana Murali led the choir. The audience was also encouraged to participate, making the event a shared and interactive experience.

Margazhi Matram 2025 also highlighted the role of assistive technologies in expanding musical perception, demonstrating how concerts can be designed as multi-sensory experiences that extend beyond conventional listening. 

Concert of Possibilities

Vidwan S.R. Krishnamurthy, an octogenarian vocalist with disabilities and more than 50 years of experience, was honoured with the Rani Maganty Lifetime Achievement Award at the Margazhi Matram event. He also gave a musical performance later that evening.

What does it mean for someone like me, who is so used to listening to typical Carnatic concerts, to listen to an elderly, disabled vocalist? For starters, the rigid structures and techniques from my musical training that I usually use to gauge a concert quietly take a backseat.

Krishnamurthy does not have limbs, and he is seated on stage with the help of an assistant. A small podium in front of him helps him keep kaalapramanam (rhythm) and signal to the accompanying artists when the singing and playing are out of sync. Beyond that, the team relied entirely on the singer’s (and composition’s) internal rhythm to keep the performance in unison. It was endearing to watch how this sync got stronger as the concert progressed. He was accompanied by B.V. Raghavendra Rao on the violin, Melakaveri Balaji on the mridangam and Rajaraman on the ghatam.

He sang Tyagaraja’s Samajavara Gamana set in raga Hindolam as a main item, and also one of his own compositions on Lord Ayyappa set in raga Arabhi, among other kritis. My personal favourite was listening to Kurai Ondrum Illai in his voice and for once, literally feeling the meaning of those words come alive in my mind.

Although higher notes presented a challenge, his sonorous voice, old-world techniques and immersed singing reminded me of listening to my own grandfather sing to himself in the wee hours of morning.

A shoutout to Ranjini Kaushik of Margazhi Matram, not only for honouring such lifetime achievers with an award, but also creating an opportunity for us to listen and appreciate their music.

By

VID DEV

(a teacher and student of Carnatic Music)

With inputs from Sukanya Sankar