14 years of ‘mikeless’ concerts in Nageswara Rao Park

The monthly ‘mike less’ Kutcheri in the Park series organised by Sundaram Finance has completed 14 years with the concert held on Sunday, January 12 which was part of the annual Mylapore Festival.

To mark the occasion, 15 students of Madura Ganalaya presented a lively one-hour kutcheri in the Nageswara Rao Park.

T. T. Srinivasaraghavan, MD, Sundaram Finance said, “When we launched the Kutcheri in the Park 14 years ago, our idea was to make this a stepping stone for budding musical talent and to help young ‘unsung’ children aged below 15 years shed the initial inhibition that we normally associate with stage performances by giving them a platform to showcase their talent in an informal environment. Many have gone on to the next level in their musical career. That for us is very heartening.”

Besides talented children of Chennai, youngsters from the USA, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Pune and Bangalore have also presented concerts in this park.

The ‘Kutcheri in the Park has also been featured in the Limca Book of Records as the longest-running, open-air mikeless kutcheri series for children. Neither mikes nor amplification of any kind is employed in these concerts. This allows the music to float around this end of the park which is hugely patronised by residents of the neighbourhood – to exercise and walk early in the morning.

The concerts are held once a month, on the first Sunday. Four concerts are held during the Mylapore Festival.