Music on the streets of Mylapore: Why Carnatic vocalist Saketharaman is celebrating an age-old tradition

Narada gets off his father’s scooter, and high-fives Andal.

It’s exactly 6 a.m. at Mada Street in Chennai’s Mylapore, and school children dressed as various mythological characters are getting ready to perform. Popular Carnatic vocalist Saketharaman gives them the cue, and the group begins walking along the road, singing ‘Margazhi Thingal’, a verse from the Thiruppavai.

Even as Mylapore wakes up to the sound of temple bells and fluttering pigeons, Carnatic music fills the air. This Margazhi season,  veedhi (street) bhajanais are back, with several music enthusiasts gathering in the morning and singing bhajans and songs. The bhajan tradition itself is said to be more than 500 years old, having been established by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In Mylapore, however, it was reportedly Seshachari, a lawyer, philanthropist and a friend of Annie Besant, who kickstarted this tradition during the end of the 19th century.

Several groups singing bhajans criss-cross each other on these…