For a few years now, renowned silk seller, philanthropist and music lover, Nalli Kuppuswamy Chetty has been thinking about how to increase the number of youth attending music festivals. “We have to do something, because the halls are full of middle-aged and elderly people. We have to create a new generation of connoisseurs who will appreciate, enjoy and encourage the art,” says the 86-year-old, who still attends five concerts a day during the music season in Chennai when he is called upon to inaugurate the festival at several gatherings.
“We probably have to create a system where young parents can either bring their kids to concerts without fear of being judged when the kids cry, or provide a supervised space for kids so they can get used to the atmosphere of the season,” he says. However, he believes technology is a huge boon, as parents can introduce children to the concert experience at home.
It’s been many years since the Covid pandemic, but Kuppuswami Chetty says its impact is still visible in the music and dance circuit. “So many congregations, which were operating from rented premises, had to close down. How could they survive? Even the congregations that had their own premises had to struggle, because the number of people taking the annual membership had gone down. In one congregation that I am a part of, the number dropped from 600 to 200. When funds became an issue, it took the breath away from the season,” he says. Although things are slowly returning to normal, Kuppuswami Chetty says there is still a long way to go before things get back to pre-pandemic conditions.
Kuppuswami Chetty is looking forward to the day when he will see more houseful boards. Having been in the service of the arts for decades, he has seen everything from Sabha members going door-to-door to collect funds to Sabha secretaries, who wielded great recommendation power when tickets were difficult to get. “Today, can you imagine someone standing in line to be recommended a paid ticket?” He smiles.
On 28 December 2007, Nalli Kuppuswami Chetty conferred the title of Nadha Yogi to RK Srikantan at the Parthasarathy Swami Sabha in Chennai. , Photo Courtesy: KV Srinivasan
If December and January are now considered the art season, Kuppuswamy Chetty remembers how even in old Madras there used to be a dedicated slot of events with lectures and concerts during Rama Navami, as Binny Subba Rao did in the spacious lawn of his home in Coimbatore.
Over the years, Kuppuswamy Chetty has seen today’s leading singers sitting in the audience as children. He has watched her progress from the junior morning slot to the sub-senior evening slot and then to the main daytime slot, and is proud of her growth as an artiste.
“These days, I see very few people coming in the morning apart from family and friends. In those days, when senior singers did not have concerts, they would go to gatherings and listen to young musicians, and even attend each other’s concerts. Once upon a time, there was a whole range of veteran singers in the audience, and the youth on the stage were overwhelmed with gratitude and joy,” says patrons of many gatherings.
Even today, he says, veteran theater artist Kathadi Ramamurthy makes it a point to sit for all the Kucheris at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan when he is free that day. “There is a seat named after him there,” Kuppuswamy Chetty says with a smile. “In fact, sometimes, he would come straight from his game with full makeup on.”
He remembers that then ego never dictated relationships between artists. “Once, Lalgudi Jayaraman had gone to Madurai, and he came back saying that he had heard a young boy who sang very well. He insisted that we give him a place in the evening. We had a little song pandal (tent) to give the young musician a stage, and he performed there. A crowd of people gathered at the tent. That boy was TN Sheshagopalan.
Even after so many years, Kuppuswamy Chetty tries to attend as many concerts as possible. “I still can’t identify all the ragas, but there’s something about Carnatic music. It calms me down, energizes me. That’s what I turn to after a busy day. Do you know, when I’m at a concert, I get completely detached from work. It’s only after Mangalam that I remember my shop and the work left there,” he says, “Revathi is my favorite raga. I love listening to it. Even today, before going to bed. First, I miss listening to Srinivas live on my phone.
published – November 28, 2025 03:12 PM IST