Prominent music sabhas in Chennai have raised the price of tickets in the Margarzhi season after the government hiked electricity tariffs in September.
Narada Gana sabha, founded in 1958, increased the ticket prices 20-25 percent for this year’s Chennai music festival, said Sabha Secretary Ravishankar. During the pandemic, there was a marginal loss, as many people were unable to attend to the concerts, he added.
“The price has gone from ₹200 to ₹1,000 per concert (depending on how close the seat is to the stage) this year compared to ₹100-120 per show pre-pandemic,” said Ravishankar. The season pass of the Narada Gana Sabha this year costs ₹21,000 plus goods and services tax (GST). The increase in electricity bills and property tax was a major reason behind the increase in ticket prices by the sabha, said Ravishankar.
Traditionally, a carnatic sabhaa is an organization in which concerts are conducted and awards are bestowed on artists.
Margazhi Music Festival is the world’s largest arts festival with more than 1200 performances and 600 plus artists. The festival is stretched through the months of December to January. In this month concerts, Hari-Katha – involves narrating a story accompanied by a variety of devotional songs, music lectures with performances, awards and graduation are traditionally performed. The birth of the festival dates back to 1927 when it was first celebrated to rejoice the first anniversary of Madras Music Academy.
Bharat Kalachar has raised the ticket price to ₹2,000 per concert, compared to ₹1,000-1,500 in the pre-pandemic times.
Y.G Mahendra, secretary of Bharat Kalachar and a musician himself, said that there is an increase in season tickets this year as concerts are happening after two years and many other factors like high electricity bills. People want to come out and enjoy the festival like the pre-pandemic time. He added that prominent artists have increased their fees this year and sabhas cannot bring them on stage to perform.
“All signs point to a resurgence after this unavoidable break of 2 years from the in-person festival. Expectations are high on all sides- on our part, of the artists, our members, and enthusiastic listeners,” said N. Murali, President of the Madras Music Academy. Sale of season tickets will commence on December 2, 2022.
Dignitaries like the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin, Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekharan, Consul General, US Consulate General, Chennai, Ms Judith Ravin will attend the events.