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Feasting on the Season

Last updated at 5.00 pm, Dec 6, 2007

by Murtaza Wardak

CHENNAI: “We want people to come again for all the music festivals organized at the Narada Gana Sabha, and our good food is a form of invitation for them to return,” said the Narada Gana Sabha manager, P. Murali.

“Many people attend the festivals for only one reason: to eat the delicious food served here, so we are always very careful in selecting and organizing the food stalls," said Murali. He explained that the food stalls at the sabhas offer snacks, meals, and beverages. “The stalls are well-decorated with sweets and the variety of food from all over the country makes everyone wonder what to get,” he said. Murali said that Woodlands, the caterers at Narada Gana Sabha, provides snacks, meals and drinks in addition to the stalls. The owner of the Krishna Sweets stall, R. Malini who is in charge of the Krishna Sweets stall at the sabha, said, “We have our food stall at Narada Gana Sabha only for the music season.”

"Every sabha organizes their food stalls differently,” explained the accountant at the Music Academy, S. Jayalakshmi adding, “Some sabhas invite people from outside instead of letting their canteens organize it, so as to provide variety. The canteen of the Music Academy is organizing the food stalls for the season, providing everything from dinner, snacks and sweets, to beverages.” She added that letting the canteen take care of the stalls saved the organizers a lot of time.

However, a member of the Narada Gana Sabha for the last eight years, R. Ramaswamy disagreed about the importance of food stalls, saying, “I have my coffee and dinner at home, before attending the concerts. I come to the music festivals for the performances and not for the food.”