Buskers to liven up Chennai with their soulful renditions

This used to be that time of the year when Chennai was filled with the notes of

music

. But the pandemic forced all

Margazhi

concerts to be moved online. With sabhas remaining closed, the rasikas are a disappointed lot. However, the members of On

The Streets of Chennai

, a community of musicians, have decided not to skip their annual Awe50me weekend concerts. This year, too, the

buskers

will be surprising Chennaiites with their live performances from several places of the city on December 26 and 27.

An additional feature to the buskers this year is that they have added The Little Boy to the team. And the Little Boy is nothing but a hand-painted van. The vibrantly coloured van will cruise the city ferrying the musicians spreading the message of happiness and positivity. The van will also act as a perfect backdrop
for the musicians’ performances.

Senthil Raj, co-founder of On The Streets of Chennai, says that the van was hand-painted by Durga Devi and Krutika Raju, artists of Kannagi Nagar St+art group. “The band members would travel by the van by taking turns with their musical instruments and speakers to different locations in the city,” he informs.

Ask him about the performance locations, and Senthil says, “We have kept the locations and timings a secret to avoid crowd. While the shows will be streamed live on our social media handles, we will also put up live on-ground shows in some of the popular spots like, parks and street corners.” He adds, “Even with the on-ground show, we will ensure social distancing among the listeners.” Besides, except the vocalist, all their musicians will be wearing masks and following standard protocols, including sanitising the mikes, the team informs.

The music community was formed to forge real-time connections. But has the pandemic upset their plans? “It’s true that the pandemic forced us to move online. But it has helped us meet a large number of musicians online and in that way, it has been a plus point,” says Senthil.

Krishna, a core member of the team, says, “The year has been a challenging one for everybody. We want to spread cheer and bring smiles through our music and we hope the 50 concerts in the weekend will help us to close this year on a positive note. Our ultimate aim is to make namma Chennai the street music capital of India.”