Harmonizing silence and sound: Deaf students perform in sign language choir; Unique events highlight music’s power in bridging communities | Chennai News

Sing it, sign itAs part of Margazhi Matram, an inclusive sign language choir led by hearing impaired students of the Clarke School for the deaf, alongside those with other disabilities, perform through sign language. For a change, the audience will also participate. The event will be held on Dec 7. “They will perform three songs, Tamil Taiwazhta and the national anthem. The lyrics of each will be flashed on screen, and every body will just do the signing with no sound, so they can understand what life means to a deaf person and what music means to them in their silent world,” says Ranjini Kaushik, founder.Raga shotsConcerts in intimate spaces have been gaining popularity in recent years and more cafes are opening up their spaces to this trend this year, including Vinyl and Brew, Alwarpet, which is holding a ‘Kaapi Ragam series’. A series of seven concerts – A Carnatic Shot – will also be held at Beachville Coffee Roasters curated by Aalaap, among which is one which gives a glimpse of a music classroom, by Carnatic musician Rithvik Raja and his students. “Paattu class invites the audience to sit in, listen, question and witness the unfiltered process behind learning and making music,” says curator Akhila Krishnamurthy.14-year dance dramaKalakshetra’s famed dance dramas return this season with a presentation of all six parts of the Ramayana between Dec 19 and Dec 28 at the Bharata Kalakshetra auditorium. But what makes this edition special is that the choreography itself unfolded over 14 years, mirroring the epic’s 14-year arc. Mysore Vasudevacharya created the first three parts — Sita Swayamvaram, Ramavanagamanam and Paduka Pattabhishekam — but passed away before he could complete the rest. S Rajaram completed the remaining segments, Sabari Moksham, Choodamani Pradhanam and Maha Pattabhishekam.Remembering a legend2025 marks the 250th birth anniversary of Muthuswami Dikshitar. “A special year for us,” says vocalist G Ravi Kiran, who has led the ‘gurugruhamratha’ movement for 16 years to spread awareness about the legendary composer. To mark the occasion, they’re hosting a day-long celebration on Dec 14 at Ragasudha Hall, Mylapore, featuring only Dikshitar compositions. US-based veena exponent Nirmala Rajasekhar will be performing as well. “Dikshitar was a celebrated veena artist and his compositions sound amazing on the veena. The idea is to immerse themselves in his legacy the entire day.”Space for the youngAt some sabhas, the young are taking centre stage this season. Ticketing platform MDnD is hosting a 15-25 age-only concert series at its intimate Mylapore hall. “It’s a closed, chamber music kind of space,” says co-founder Vijaya Kalyan. What began as a weeklong idea turned into a 16-day run from Dec 13 to Dec 28 after young musicians flooded them with requests. Performers will receive a small honorarium, and every concert will stream live on the MDnD website.Instruments, reimaginedPeople are now more open towards music involving unusual instruments, says Tharun Sekhar and Siva of the band Uru Panaar. The group is performing as part of ‘Kutty Kutchery festival’, on Dec 15. “The band is made up of various ancient instruments such as yazh, kudamuzha, thudumbu, urumi, udakkai, kuzhal, kombu and kokkarai,” says Tharun. “The performance ‘Thol’ is based on the ancient Tholkappiyam.” Since they had no references to how these instruments should be played, they recreated the songscape themselves, but in a contemporary manner, says Siva. Raga, Roots and Jazz-also part of ‘A Carnatic Shot’ on Dec 25 features a ‘Navtar’, a self-designed nine-string instrument designed by Vishnu Ramprasad, which bridges classical depth and modern texture, accompanied by Muthu Kumar on the Tabla.It was during his stint as a research scholar in New York in the early 2000s that musician Ganesh Kumar came across the news that killing of monitor lizards for their skin was banned. Ganesh set on a quest to find an alternative to the monitor lizard skin. In a few years, he succeeded in creating a synthetic version made of plastic and cloth, which were more popular in Europe and the US than in India, as they were more expensive than the original. “Many drum companies in Europe manufacture the Kanjira now and it is played in many jazz, fusion and other music concerts,” says Ganesh Kumar. “I hope Carnatic musicians in the south switch to this cruelty-free kanjira eventually.”