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An artistic landmark: The Hindu
Chennai,Dec 08: IT WAS in the 1950s that Maharajapuram Santhanam decided that his locality - T. Nagar - needed a music sabha. The thought crystallised. The Krishna Gana Sabha was born in 1954, at an auditorium in the premises of the Hindi Prachar Sabha, Thyagaraya Nagar, Chennai.
Chennai,Dec 08: IT WAS in the 1950s that Maharajapuram Santhanam decided that his locality — T. Nagar — needed a music sabha. The thought crystallised. The Krishna Gana Sabha was born in 1954, at an auditorium in the premises of the Hindi Prachar Sabha, Thyagaraya Nagar, Chennai.
Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer was its first president and Santhanam its founder secretary. The residents of the area joyfully enrolled in large numbers. One of them was R. Yagnaraman, who was fond of music and dance. Yagnaraman's participation in the sabha's activities must have impressed the Maharajapurams, for, within a short span of approximately three years, Yagnaraman was appointed committee member. In 1957, Yagnaraman was offered the post of joint secretary of the sabha. In 1958, and he rose to become the general secretary, a position he has held ever since.
In 1957, when Yagnaraman took over the responsibility of managing the sabha, he discovered that its finances were in doldrums. Such was Yagnaraman's commitment to the arts that on his personal undertaking, he negotiated a three-ground accommodation for a three-year lease on Nageswara Rao Road and a loan of Rs. 5,000 payable in instalments. A thatched hut (kottagai) with a dais sprung up at the new locale. On Vinayaka Chaturthi, the sabha, in its new location, was inaugurated. The inaugural concert was by G. N. Balasubramaniam, with Lalgudi Jayaraman on the violin and Palani Subramania Pillai and his disciple Tiruchi Sankaran on the mridangam. The Sabha has come a long way since. The auditorium, named Dr. Nalli Gana Vihar, wears a new look after renovation with improved facilities all to make things better for the lovers of art who patronise the institution. Stalwart musicians like Ariyakkudi, Semmangudi, GNB, Alathur Brothers, Madurai Mani, Madurai Somu, DKP, MS, MLV and others, young geniuses of the times like Flute Mali, Lalgudi Jayaraman an so on, dancers of the calibre of Balasaraswati, Kamala, Vyjayanthimala to name a few, dramatists like the TKS brothers, S.V. Sahasranamam and thespian Sivaji Ganesan are but a few of the big names who enthusiastically participated in giving programmes at this venue. The demand for membership at the Sabha soared. Added to this was the fact that the three-year lease was coming to an end. Yagnaraman now took the initiative of locating a new place for the Sabha. In 1961, the new premises of the sabha was inaugurated on Griffith Road. The inaugural concert was by Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and a dance drama based on Jayadeva's Gita Govinda performed by the Kalakshetra troupe. Having provided for the basic infrastructure, Yagnaraman now turned his attention to organising bountiful programmes that were marked by innovation and quality. The Gokulashtami Sangeetha Utsavam concerts took shape. The first year saw five concerts by different artistes Sheik Chinna Moulana (nagaswaram), Chitti Babu (veena), T. R. Mahalingam (flute), M. S. Subbulakshmi and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. The sabha has also hosted music concerts by ustads of the North like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir Khan, Parveen Sultana, Bhimsen Joshi and several others. Today, the Sabha organises three major festivals in a year for music, dance and drama. On these occasions, the respective artistes are honoured with titles that also carry with them a cash award of Rs. 25,000 each and a gold medal.
In the year 2002, the Acharya Choodamani (teacher) award was instituted. The awards are open to excellence in all the systems of classical music and dances of India.
The sabha also promotes young talent and runs a Sangeetha Vidyalaya. With such enviable and noteworthy achievements to its credit, it is not surprising that the Krishna Gana Sabha has been selected by the Tamil Nadu Government as the best run cultural institution and its general secretary has been honoured with the title Kalaimamani, Seva Ratna and many others. Krishna Gana Sabha is today 50 years old and all set to celebrate its golden jubilee.
In 1957, when Yagnaraman took over the responsibility of managing the sabha, he discovered that its finances were in doldrums. Such was Yagnaraman's commitment to the arts that on his personal undertaking, he negotiated a three-ground accommodation for a three-year lease on Nageswara Rao Road and a loan of Rs. 5,000 payable in instalments. A thatched hut (kottagai) with a dais sprung up at the new locale. On Vinayaka Chaturthi, the sabha, in its new location, was inaugurated. The inaugural concert was by G. N. Balasubramaniam, with Lalgudi Jayaraman on the violin and Palani Subramania Pillai and his disciple Tiruchi Sankaran on the mridangam. The Sabha has come a long way since. The auditorium, named Dr. Nalli Gana Vihar, wears a new look after renovation with improved facilities all to make things better for the lovers of art who patronise the institution. Stalwart musicians like Ariyakkudi, Semmangudi, GNB, Alathur Brothers, Madurai Mani, Madurai Somu, DKP, MS, MLV and others, young geniuses of the times like Flute Mali, Lalgudi Jayaraman an so on, dancers of the calibre of Balasaraswati, Kamala, Vyjayanthimala to name a few, dramatists like the TKS brothers, S.V. Sahasranamam and thespian Sivaji Ganesan are but a few of the big names who enthusiastically participated in giving programmes at this venue. The demand for membership at the Sabha soared. Added to this was the fact that the three-year lease was coming to an end. Yagnaraman now took the initiative of locating a new place for the Sabha. In 1961, the new premises of the sabha was inaugurated on Griffith Road. The inaugural concert was by Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and a dance drama based on Jayadeva's Gita Govinda performed by the Kalakshetra troupe. Having provided for the basic infrastructure, Yagnaraman now turned his attention to organising bountiful programmes that were marked by innovation and quality. The Gokulashtami Sangeetha Utsavam concerts took shape. The first year saw five concerts by different artistes Sheik Chinna Moulana (nagaswaram), Chitti Babu (veena), T. R. Mahalingam (flute), M. S. Subbulakshmi and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. The sabha has also hosted music concerts by ustads of the North like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir Khan, Parveen Sultana, Bhimsen Joshi and several others. Today, the Sabha organises three major festivals in a year for music, dance and drama. On these occasions, the respective artistes are honoured with titles that also carry with them a cash award of Rs. 25,000 each and a gold medal.
In the year 2002, the Acharya Choodamani (teacher) award was instituted. The awards are open to excellence in all the systems of classical music and dances of India.
The sabha also promotes young talent and runs a Sangeetha Vidyalaya. With such enviable and noteworthy achievements to its credit, it is not surprising that the Krishna Gana Sabha has been selected by the Tamil Nadu Government as the best run cultural institution and its general secretary has been honoured with the title Kalaimamani, Seva Ratna and many others. Krishna Gana Sabha is today 50 years old and all set to celebrate its golden jubilee.