“This concert is dedicated to Muthuswami Dikshitar and will feature only his compositions,” announced T.M. Krishna at the start of his December 25, 2025, performance, drawing a thunderous applause from the packed hall. Smiling, he added, “It’s heartening to see such a response to the composer on his 250th birth anniversary. It’s not just about the composer or his works, it’s the sound of the period that we want to reach out to.” The Music Academy was overflowing, with extra chairs brought in and a television set up in the foyer for rasikas who couldn’t find a seat inside. The scene was a testament to how Carnatic music and its revered composers continue to command a huge following and relevance — even in an age dominated by social media and an array of global musical choices.
The scene was much the same at sabhas across Chennai, echoing what one has witnessed over the years. Rasikas — strangers only moments earlier — exchanged knowing smiles when a familiar raga, kriti, or even a well-loved phrase was sung. And when a lesser-known composition was rendered, they listened in contemplative silence while their minds kept the guessing game on.
Language has played a pivotal role in shaping the classical music landscape, with Tamil songs, in particular, finding renewed fervour among audiences. Sanjay Subrahmanyan’s popular production ‘Tamilzhum Naanum’ stands as a striking example of how the richness of Tamil not only preserves tradition but also deepens the emotional and cultural resonance of Carnatic music.
This also highlights how Chennai’s annual Margazhi festival continues to grow, with an increasing number of youngsters embracing the classical arts. Some concerts this Season witnessed good attendance from young music enthusiasts, underscoring the festival’s widening reach. Concerns voiced by naysayers about exponential growth leading to disorganised, overcrowded venues seem to carry little weight against the evident vibrancy and enthusiasm on display.
Despite ongoing debates about the relevance of the margam — the traditional Bharatanatyam repertoire — often critiqued for its recurring theme of the heroine waiting for her man, lamenting his indifference, or his dalliances with another woman in an age shaped by progressive women, senior dancer Shobana’s performance atKrishna Gana Sabha this Season reaffirmed its enduring appeal. Presenting a classic line-up, she drew a full-house.
Kalakshetra’s staging of the complete Ramayana series, choreographed by Rukmini Devi, brought timeless splendour to the Season and received audience love. These seem to suggest that tradition, when performed with artistry and conviction, works.
Conversations often revolve around reinventing the classical for contemporary audiences and allowing the arts to evolve with changing times. Constant efforts are also being made to deconstruct the ethos of an unfamiliar era and render it accessible. Yet, as we step into 2026 after witnessing Margazhi 2025, the influence of the classical arts is certain to endure — reminding us that while styles may shift and platforms multiply, their essence will inspire and anchor generations within a shared cultural memory.
When the Grammy nominations were announced in early November 2025, they once again spotlighted several Indian classical musicians — the late tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, kanjira virtuoso Selvaganesh, acclaimed violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan, renowned sitarist Anoushka Shankar, and sarod artiste Alam Khan. It underscored the fact that Indian classical music offers musicians the freedom to draw from its depths while simultaneously enriching it with fresh contributions.
Fifty years after the iconic Shakti, founded by Zakir Hussain and legendary guitarist John McLaughlin, demonstrated how classical sounds could be seamlessly woven into Western notes, several soloists and ensembles have followed suit, staging successful collaborations across the world. In recent times, one band that has cracked this fusion code excellently is Agam, the Carnatic-progressive rock-pop band led by vocalist Harish Sivaramakrishnan. The group’s performance on December 21, 2025, at the Shivala Ghat (in Varanasi) at the Mahindra Kabira Festival, proved that classical music can be cool and trendy. When they rendered Purandaradasa’s ‘Chandrachooda shiva shankar’, the crowd erupted in delight. Equally striking was the launch of their latest album, Arrival of the Ethereal (June 2025), featuring five raga-based tracks. The opener, Tyagaraja’s timeless ‘Sita kalyanam vaibhogame’, was reimagined into a vibrant new soundscape — blending nagaswaram, chenda, guitar and Harish’s inimitable vocals.
Concert formats are becoming flexible too. Carnatic vocalist Vignesh Eshwar struck an experimental note this Season when he sang ‘Ik omkar’ (from Guru Granth Sahib) in his concert at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai.
Dancers too are striving to push boundaries. The iconic dancer-choreographer Chandralekha, whose radical movement vocabulary has inspired generations, pioneered this spirit of innovation nearly four decades ago in Madras — then a landscape dominated by rigid, codified constructs of dance.
Today, that spirit of exploration continues through diverse platforms. Organisations such as Natyarangam curate thematic productions, giving dancers the chance to bring their distinct vision to subjects beyond the repertoire. Likewise, sabha dance festivals often encourage choreographic experiments, giving artistes space to reimagine classical sequences.
Coming back to music. How will it sound in 2026? Classical traditions will continue to hold sway, even as hybrid genres gain momentum with the rise of AI-driven creators. Audiences, meanwhile, will engage with music beyond the stage by discovering experiences that blur the performance-technology- imagination boundary.
Published – January 02, 2026 01:12 pm IST
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