A Carnatic kutcheri in Chennai usually runs about two and a half hours and moves from a brisk opening piece to one long, improvised centrepiece, then to lighter songs at the end. At the Music Academy’s 100th season, which opens on 15 December 2026, the main evening concerts are timed 4 pm to 6.30 pm and 6.45 pm to 9.15 pm, and three daytime slots are free, the Academy’s schedule shows.
If you are going to your first concert this Margazhi, knowing the shape of the evening makes it far easier to follow. This is a listener’s guide to what happens on stage, in roughly the order it happens, and how to behave in the hall.
Two ideas to hold on to
Carnatic music rests on raga, the melodic framework, and tala, the repeating rhythmic cycle, as Britannica puts it. Every piece is set in one raga and one tala. Much of what you hear is composed, chiefly kritis, devotional songs by composers such as the trinity of Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri. A large part is improvised on the spot within the raga’s rules. A concert is a balance of the two.
Who is on stage
- The main artist, a vocalist or instrumentalist, sits at the centre.
- The violinist, usually to the main artist’s right, shadows the melody and answers improvised passages.
- The mridangam player, on the other side, leads the rhythm. A ghatam, kanjira or morsing may join.
- The tambura or an electronic drone at the back holds the base note throughout.
The order of a typical concert
1. The opening
Many concerts begin with a varnam, a composed piece that warms up the voice and the ensemble, often sung at two speeds. Others start with a short, lively kriti.
2. Kritis, short and medium
Next come several kritis in different ragas. Some are sung plain; before others the artist sings a brief alapana, a free-flowing exploration of the raga with no words and no beat, to set the mood.
3. Improvisation inside a song
Two forms of improvisation recur. In niraval, the singer takes one line of the song and varies it again and again, keeping the words. In kalpanaswaram, the singer improvises strings of sol-fa syllables (sa, ri, ga, ma) that land back on a chosen point in the line. The violinist often trades passages with the singer here.
4. The main piece
Around the middle of the concert comes the main item: a long alapana, often followed by the violinist’s own alapana, then a substantial kriti with niraval and swaras. In a longer concert the centrepiece may instead be a ragam-tanam-pallavi, which adds tanam (rhythmic phrases without a beat cycle) and a single line, the pallavi, elaborated at length.
5. The tani avartanam
At the end of the main piece the melody stops and the percussionists play a solo, the tani. It is a showcase, not a break, though some listeners do slip out. It ends with a pattern repeated three times, after which the main artist sings the line once more to close the piece.
6. Lighter pieces and the close
The last part brings shorter songs: padams and javalis, devotional songs, a thillana with brisk rhythmic syllables. The concert ends with the mangalam, a short closing benediction.
Etiquette in Chennai halls
- Arrive before the start, or enter between pieces rather than during an alapana.
- Silence your phone and do not take calls. Audiences are more conscious now about phones and walking out mid-song, a long-time listener told DT Next last December, but there is still room to improve.
- Applause comes at the end of a piece and after a striking passage. Many rasikas quietly keep the tala on their palm and fingers; watch them to learn the beat.
- Do not photograph or record unless the organiser allows it.
Making the most of the season
- Start with the free daytime slots. At the Music Academy the 9 am, 11.45 am and 1.30 pm slots are non-ticketed.
- One ticket covers both evening concerts at the Academy. Daily tickets go on sale two days before; season tickets are sold online until 10 December.
- Attend a morning lecture-demonstration. The Academy’s academic sessions run 8 am to 10 am from 16 December. These sessions explain ragas and composers in depth, and many are now held year-round, DT Next reported.
- On the opening day, come at 4 pm for the nadaswaram performance before the inauguration.
The Academy itself, at 168 TTK Road, was inaugurated in 1928 after the music conference held alongside the 1927 Congress session in Madras, its history page says. For ticket help, call 044 2811 2231.
Quick answers
How long is a Carnatic concert?
Main evening concerts in the December season usually last about two and a half hours.
What is the tani avartanam?
The percussion solo that follows the main piece, played by the mridangam and other percussionists.
Are there free Carnatic concerts in Chennai?
Yes. Daytime slots at the Music Academy are free, and many sabhas have free morning and afternoon concerts during the season.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- 100th Annual Concerts 2026 (The Music Academy, Madras)
- History (The Music Academy, Madras)
- The Music Academy, Madras: home page and ticket FAQ
- Karnatak music (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- Margazhi special: Chennai’s season of rasikas, ragas and shared joy (DT Next)
- Margazhi lec-dems draw a thoughtful crowd (DT Next)
