‘All the world is a stage’ – We had ‘As You Like It’ for my 10th std English syllabus and these words have always stuck with me. I never thought I would actually get to use the sentiments expressed in a pallavi! ( Ulagame oru medai, athil aadubavar naame – உலகமே ஒரு மேடை, அதில் ஆடுபவர் நாமே) Yesterday was the launch of a new performance space in Alwarpet Chennai – Medai (the world literally translates to Stage) by Charles and his dynamic young team. Of course getting back on stage, singing a concert in front of a live audience was by itself the first step towards a semblance of normalcy in my life.
As we were setting up the audio before the concert, Venkatesh remarked “this feels so much like a concert in Germany or France!” We have performed in similar compact black box type places in Europe. To actually meet you all in person once again with them on a similar performance space was so fulfilling! To be fresh musically during a period like the last 18 months could not have been possible without Varadarajan and Venkatesh. We talked music, met up for banter sessions, recorded digital concerts and played board games. My students Swarnarethas and Rahul Krishna ensure that my manual tambura is my only source of sruti in my concerts.
MT Aditya, my sound guy, probably inspired by that goosebumps inducing GNB/TNK/Pazhani video floating on social media, had put a retro microphone on stage. Bhargavii Mani (who singlehandedly has transformed the way I am approaching my online presence and activity) insisted on bringing her crew in to record the concert on video. It was so refreshing to see all of you spontaneously turning up. It encourages me and my team to work on trying to put a few more concerts in the near future. There is still lack of clarity over the music season this year. However, yesterday has given me the encouragement I need to at-least set the ball rolling.
Thanks for your patience, thanks for your love/likes and thanks so much for your support to all my online activity, especially the Sanjay Sabha membership on my YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/sanjaysub/join) and thanks so much for actually turning up and clapping – it’s been 18 months since I heard the sound of live applause!