Arkay Convention Center
Sri. A.S. Ramakrishnan says listeners are eagerly awaiting resumption of concerts and that he is ready to begin conducting them. He discusses the modus operandi he would follow and also a different idea, should rules for gathering be very restrictive.
This video is part of the Melodies during Maladies podcast. After almost two full months of worldwide quarantine due to COVID, restrictions gradually began loosening in May 2020. In this podcast, musicians, concert organisers and audience members share their thoughts on getting back to physical concerts.
Arkay Convention Center (ACC) is the home of Madhuradhwani sabha, inaugurated in 2012. ACC is also used by other organisations to conduct their musical and other programs. It hosts ~250 programs a year and over 130 during the music season. ACC began webcasting concerts in 2012 and it is now a regular feature. To date, Arkay Convention Centre has conducted more than 2,500 programs and over 2,000 videos are available on their YouTube Channel.
Sri. A.S. Ramakrishnan, the proprietor of Arkay Convention Center, is a former stock trader. In 2010, he converted his office into a mini auditorium, the Arkay Convention Center. Sri. Ramakrishnan acquired an abiding interest in music from his father, Sri. A. Sivaswamy Bhagavathar, who was a violinist and music teacher in Krishnagiri.
Check out the earlier Quarantunes podcast where several Carnatic and Hindustani musicians shared their thoughts while quarantined.
What else to say. We come across great people like Sri.AS.Ramakrishnan often and we are also enthused by such people to contribute something to society, in preserving the fine Arts like Carnatic music. Thanks Sri.A.S.R sir, for entertaining us musically since 2012. How nicely your erstwhile office got converted into a mini auditorium shows your deep rooted interest in music, fueled by your own father Sri.Sivaswamy. Covid19 has almost halted everything with force, but still the music fills Chennai air, thanks to noble hearts like Sri R.K, and platforms like Madhuvanti . Small is always beautiful and so too ACC. It is heartening to see young kids learning Carnatic music at an young age, and unlike the past, we see new faces regularly taking the stage and showing their talents. The music lovers of Chennai feel more happy amidst the pandemic in hearing the musical plans of Sri.R.K , in giving continuous musical treat to rasigaas, with new attempts like webcast, arranging live kutcheries without rasigaas presence, recording it to be shown later through social media platform. We are sure Covid19 cannot break the flow of music entering homes even under lock down, when people like R.K. have novel ideas.