star on stage but when it comes to classical music the interest is just not there he rues pandit satish vyas of gunidas sangeet sammelan agrees those who have money move toward sponsoring bollywood events as such events draw the crowds but classical music traditionally catered to a niche crowd it was never quite a mass thing there was a time when corporate houses used to consider such kind of sponsorships a part of their corporate social responsibility but the mba guys who run corporate houses today first think about what theyll get in return for sponsoring an event this has diluted things they take complimentary passes and give those to people who are not even interested in classical music the front rows thus remain vacant these days while the real music lovers wait outside for a pass to enter the venue vyas feels the media has a big role to play in introducing the masses to the stalwarts of classical music there is very little coverage for classical music events in most newspapers of the country he complains today there are also very few people in the media who can write with authority on classical music so it is natural that a fiveyearold boy would know a sachin tendulkar but not a legendary maestro when ustad ali akbar khan passed away there was no news in mumbai it was the same when ustad vilayat khan died can you imagine that they were like gods in the music industry how would todays sponsors come to know about great masters or budding talents if the media do not come forward to introduce them robin has a similar observation its difficult to get renowned artists on stage as there is no one to sponsor us we are running on donations some newspapers only write about some particular artists there has been a fast and steady decline of general media coverage of classical music and musicians he says indranath pal joint secretary of uttarpara sangeet chakra which completed its 59th annual soiree on the outskirts this year said they were also struggling to make ends meet our music festival was once as popular in the city and the suburbs as the dover lane music conference but we are increasingly finding it difficult to sustain ourselves in the absence of sponsorship and media coverage the two things that helped dover lane survive healthily it is all the more difficult to find a sponsor in a mofussil town such as uttarpara he says indranath also points to another very interesting aspect of the difficulty the organizers face in getting sponsors most products available in the market are meant for young consumers but most of those who come to attend a classical music concert are aged 50 and above it is obvious that corporate houses are not interested in sponsoring events for this age group he says an event manager who did not want to be named says gone are the days of corporate social