World Music Day: Moving from halls to homes, classical music finds new audiences

New Delhi: To steal away from the mad rush of an overstimulated life into the comfort of a living room where time flows in a trickle and the air is filled with classical ragas is like stepping into a postcard from times gone by. It’s a bouquet of music made for the gods.

Baithaks, those intimate gatherings of Indian classical music lovers and the “music curious”, are slowly getting back, reshaping an age-old tradition that largely limited itself to the practitioners of the craft and a few learned patrons.

Music, as it was envisioned by pioneers like Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, is finding newer audiences - one living room at a time.

So, far away from the impersonality of an auditorium, independent groups and music connoisseurs are creating new performing arts spaces -- either in their living rooms or those of their hosts -- and crucially offering steady employment for aspiring artistes. At the centre of it all is the idea of introducing the magic of music to those whose ears have never heard it and those who have long yearned for it.

EduTech and strategic consultant Sukanya Banerjee and fitness educator Tejas Jaishankar were among those who set the ball rolling in 2018 when they opened their south Delhi home to people ready to pay to listen to an aspiring artiste in a small gathering of some 25.

What started with Rs 200 a ticket as ‘Evening Raag’ in 2018 has transformed into a Rs 2,000 fare as ‘Upstairs With Us’ five years down the line. The aim is to create an audience that appreciates music enough to pay for it and offer a respectable compensation to the artiste.

“We recognised a bunch of barriers in Indian classical music. Firstly, people are accustomed to government organised events that are free and as a result artistes effectively don’t get paid for anything that’s not a big concert,” Jaishankar told PTI.

The performing spaces, he added, were also “very insular”. The same people would show up to listen to the same artistes, making the money circulate among a restricted group.

“The fact that so much was happening every weekend but nobody outside that particular group knew about it was also a problem,” said the 34-year-old trained classical vocalist.

According to him, in the traditional setup of Indian classical music, the cultural exposure and development of young artistes happens through invite-only home concerts.

At Upstairs, the couple aims to remove all these barriers and “create a space where you won’t be made uncomfortable”.

With a ticket of Rs 2,000 for a gathering of about 30 listeners, Banerjee and Jaishankar have managed to pay a decent sum of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 to the artistes, along with a delectable home cooked dinner for all.

Tabla player Zuheb Ahmed Khan, a regular performer at Upstairs, said such places create a culture of listening even among those who are not classically trained.

“You like what you keep listening to. You don’t have to know all the small details about that genre or type of music. I tell people aap bhale Tansen na banein, kaansen ban jayein to bhi kaafi hai (You may not become Tansen, but becoming someone who can appreciate music is also enough),” Khan said.

He added that earning Rs 10,000-15,000 is “a good amount in today’s time when most artistes are paid Rs 5,000-6,000 for a performance”.

“More than money, it’s important for an artiste to be respected and appreciated. And when I go to such baithaks and four people tell me they enjoyed my music, I can live with that,” the 32-year-old said.

At the heart of Old Delhi, in Sitaram Bazaar’s Gali Khatikan, stands Kathika Cultural Centre that opened in 2023 with a “deep desire to revive the living cultural traditions of Shahjahanabad”.

“The baithaks were envisioned as intimate gatherings, inspired by the mehfil tradition, where audiences connect closely with artists, scholars, historians and communities through shared cultural experiences,” said Atul Khanna, founder of Kathika.

The centre has struck a chord with audiences across generations and backgrounds.

“Our audiences are wonderfully diverse from students, scholars, historians, art connoisseurs to artists, travellers and long-time residents of Old Delhi,” Khanna said.

He added that the audience, especially younger generations, is seeking experiences that “feel personal, authentic, and culturally enriching”.

“Unlike large-scale concerts, intimate gatherings allow for a deeper connection with the art, the artist, and the space itself,” he said.

Kathika has hosted performances seasoned as well as emerging artistes like Nischal Zaveri and Rene Singh.

“At Kathika, the selection of artists is guided more by the depth and authenticity of their craft than by commercial popularity alone,” Khanna said.

A ticket to a Kathika Baithak is priced onwards of Rs 500.

There are several other individuals and groups offering the baithak experience in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai.

While Upstairs and Kathika invite “rasikas” to their spaces, Once Upon India carries the baithak to people if one is ready to host them.

Started by the trio of Shiva Sureka, Malini Arora, and Arpita Sharma in 2023, Once Upon India has hosted 40 baithaks and five mehfils with a strong element of storytelling.

“We don’t just perform a song or a piece; we decode it, we add context, we bring in emotional and cultural nuances that help the audience connect more meaningfully,” Sharma said.

In the last two years they have hosted young Manganiyar artistes from Barmer as well as a Sufi ensemble from AR Rahman’s team.

The aim remains the same - “opening the door a little wider”.

“There's a large and growing community of people, especially younger audiences, who are curious, respectful, and deeply interested in such intimate, meaningful gatherings. They just never had access before,” Sharma added.

“Culture shouldn't stay confined. It should be shared, and we’re just creating a space where that can happen beautifully, without losing its essence.”

Once the music experience with an artiste is curated, Once Upon India announces it on their Instagram and invites people to open their homes to host it.

Artiste coordination, seating, sound, decor, and high-tea - the group takes care of it all for a ticket price starting from Rs 4,000 with no cost to the host.

With gatherings that go from 300 to 50, Ibtida - Ek Mehfil started in 2019. Tanvi Singh Bhatia and Anubhav Jain wanted to bring back old world nostalgia by providing an intimate space for artist and audience and “celebrate all things India”.

“The core essence was to have an audience and artist interact with each other and move away from the concerts and gigs which ruled for a very long time,” Bhatia said.

The duo has hosted the likes of Hariharan, Kavita Seth, Rekha Bhardwaj, Usha Utthup, Manjari Chaturvedi, and Papon.

The tickets for Ibtida - Ek Mehfil’s upcoming event in Mumbai on July 9, featuring Tech Panda and Kenzani and Hindustani classical Hindustani vocalists and dancers, start at Rs 3,500.