"Sandhya Ragam" - Concert Reviews by Sandhya Shankar

The terms ‘BC’ has taken a different meaning from our school days.. it’s not just ‘Before Christ’ but it is ‘Before Corona’. It is a thing of the distant past that .. when you had to look at the clock on the wall to hint that your guest should leave. Today, you just need to terminate the Zoom video call with a click, and then blame it on the internet. How many of us like the fact that the world can gaze upon you only in the way, you frame it in the corners of your video camera ?  Well, Corona has certainly done different things to different people. I always thought, we would do things on our list if only we found time. Initially, many would have thought, that they will benefit from this forced lockdown and they will be able to focus on their personal life. But I am confident that, there are men out there with really long hair not having dared to go out for a haircut fearing this Corona. In the beginning, there were sincere promises of sharing domestic chores but over time only I wa...

  Among the many changes that we are experiencing, most of which is extremely frustrating, this December Music Season( if it happens) may also see plenty of changes, beginning with the sabha canteens(shorter queues, hiked pricing on already highly priced menu, attempting to make up for lost business during lockdown, different seating arrangements(only 50% audience capacity, more soberly dressed women or maybe exquisite ‘pattu’ masks with embroidery matching their shiny sarees which have been lying idle in the cupboards for months. One welcome change, would be sabhas opting for online ticketing, enabling minimal contact, not having to go and wait at the venue at 3am, like you do or rather used to do, for Tirupati darshan only to get a token. And portals such as Music of Madras can facilitate a smoother or should I say healthier procurement of tickets.   In a lighter vein, lot of people are going to be disappointed that they can’t notice who else has come and even worse not be r...