Biting cold makes audience choosier this concert season
Times of India | 19 January 2026
Kolkata: Dec and Jan have long been favoured months for Kolkata's music community; this year, however, the drop in temperature has introduced a new measure of discernment. For the first time, the winter chill is being treated as an index of performance quality: audiences continue to brave open-air concerts, but only when the programme justifies the ticket price, making the season itself a marker of value and excellence.
Sandipan Banerjee, secretary of the Behala Classical Festival, said this was the first year in which winter conditions became a benchmark for assessing quality of recitals. The four-day festival was held from Jan 11 to 14. A pandal was erected, and the Calcutta Blind School ground was carpeted. "Even so, it was bitterly cold at 10 pm when Pt Ajoy Chakraborty was on stage. Connoisseurs, wrapped in woollens, stayed on to listen. We received a similar response for concerts by Rahul Sharma, Rakesh Chaurasia and Purbayan Chatterjee. But, if a recital was not engaging, audiences did not remain merely to show support for Indian classical music," Banerjee said.
Pt Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, who will be accompanied on tabla by Ustad Sukhvinder Singh Pinky for his concert on Jan 26 at the Dover Lane Music Conference, said winter conditions can intensify performance anxiety among musicians. "Nazrul Manch is covered, but a gust of cold air enters whenever a door is opened. In such weather, only discerning listeners remain after midnight. As the final performer this year, I will take the stage after 2 am. The concluding item must be engaging to ensure the auditorium remains full," he said.
Tabla player Anubrata Chatterjee, who has two concerts at Dover Lane, said the mercury drop does not affect performers. "I perspire on stage even in winter because the energy level is high. The chill has become a convenient pretext for audiences to avoid concerts they do not think will be worthwhile. Networkers, friends and family members of artists, and connoisseurs are the three categories of people who remain for concerts when the weather is unfavourable." He added that transportation was once difficult, which led many to stay until dawn to catch the first bus home.