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Music on a full stomach

Music lovers need to eat too and the menu cards in some sabhas put star hotels to shame, reports Ranjani Govind

MUSIC AND THE MENU At the Music Academy canteen Photo: V. Ganesan

"I missed the four-o-clock session at the sabha today, how was it?" "It was yummy, Mysore bonda and wheat halwa!" an amused Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan said recollecting a conversation he had overheard as he walked out of a packed sabha.

Mridangist Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman says, "We provide food for thought, and canteens provide food for sustenance. However divine it is, can you enjoy music on an empty stomach?" he wonders .

Come December, and music and food become entwined, creating a unique ambience.

Almost all the sabhas start their programmes quite early in the day and the canteens compete to catch up. Their menu cards can put any five-star hotel to shame.

Something for everyone

Traditional vazhayilai meals, pidikozhakottai, a plethora of bondas that includes stuffed tomato, molaga bajji, badam halwa ... Arusuvai Natarajan has everything that the 2,000-odd rasikas walking into the Music Academy daily ask for.

"This year we have introduced noodles, fried rice, chaats, juice counter, paneer and spring rolls for kids," says Sowmya Ramesh, daughter of Natarajan.

Waiters balancing dozens of plates dexterously weave their way through the milling crowd at the Academy's makeshift canteen. The atmosphere evokes memories of a temple festival.

"Andhra pesarattu, keeravadai, Asoka halwa and coffee. These are some items that sell like hot cakes," say Rajan and Revathy Rajan, the couple running Gnanambika Catering Service at Vani Mahal.

"On days when, say, Sudha Ragunathan or T.M. Krishna sings, the crowd at our stall matches the audience inside," says Revathy. ``Gnanambika runs a canteen at Narada Gana Sabha too. Some people attend a string of concerts, from morning till late evening. Our canteen is a boon to them. They come for a quick bite between cutcheries."

"Both raga and rava dosa go together," says Damodaran from Seattle. "Believe me, I come every year both for the food and the music."

"The open-air ambience with music wafting is too tempting to resist," say a few young students, who are learning the mridangam and sabha-hop between Mylapore and T. Nagar. "Coffee and snacks... it is a nice place to relax with friends."

Sabha secretaries agree that it is more or less a deal offered to the rasikas. For the senior citizens it is like a holiday. Armed with season passes of their favourite sabhas, they shift back and forth, enjoying the delicacies. "There are families that come from as far as East Coast Road and Tambaram. Their kitchens are closed on such days," informs a member of the canteen staff. Who will get the catering contract is a major subject of discussion among regulars as the Season approaches. ``This can be called the `Musings of Marghazhi,'" says veena artiste Sarasvathy Vishwanathan who comes here every December with her husband from Palani.

Venus Catering, which functions at Indian Fine Arts, caters for over 1,000 people everyday, says V. M. Sankar, who has been running it for 15 years. ``Chettinad appam and paal paniyaaram are our specialities," says this recipient of `Arusuvai Kala Shikhamani' from Indian Fine Arts last year. Do musicians crave for the delicacies dished out by these canteens?

"Kadri Gopalnath likes our vadai and S.V. Shekhar mentions our sambar in his drama," say the staff at Gnanambika.

"Aruna Sairam and Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan enjoy our food," claims the Arusuvai team at the Music Academy.

At Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha, Arusuvai Natarajan pens poetry on the menu board. Crowds throng to read his stuff on yesteryear musicians' favourite dishes. ``Chembai loved jangri and Ariyakkudi, halwa," says Ganesh, Arusuvai's son. "The young appreciate the varieties of sevai and bondas we serve," he says.

CANTEEN QUIP

We provide food for thought, and canteens provide food for sustenance. However divine it is, can you enjoy music on an empty stomach?
Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman

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