Shanmukhananda Fine Arts & Sangeetha Sabha

The Devastating Fire

With the migration of the South Indian population to the suburbs in the eighties, several cultural organisations, big and small came up to cater to their needs and as a result the membership of Shanmukhananda came down
considerably. The ;tragic fire in 1990 that gutted the stage and much of the inside of the auditorium was the
beginning of a decade long struggle to garner funds for rebuilding it. The help and funds that came pouring in
from the Central and State governments as well as the public served to prove how much the Sabha had become a part and parcel of Mumbai and reflected the esteem it enjoyed not only among artists but in the nation itself.

The never-say-die spirit of those at the helm of the Sabha's affairs ensured that, undeterred by the calamity, its service to fine arts continued. It was back to pandal performances at the nearby Indian Gymkhana. Click here to read more ...

N Patabhiraman - memorial

He travelled that. From early days, ,\:e. to New. !ork In a car~o would exchange small gifts boat, saIling from Cochin what we could afford with (now Kochi). Even at our small pocket money -that time he was keen (starting
with four annas- that I should follow 25 paise). Often it was an suit. Many were the exchange of the same letters he wrote to me thing, something that we pressing this advice. needed, like a screw pencil or a father when World War II brought But my circumstances dictated pencil clip. Last year (2002) ~ 'evacuation' to Madras. otherwise missed out.

I returned to Chennai in 1946. Pat tab hi got a doctorate in New Pat tab hi was a first cousin to me, Both Pattabhi and I were in the York. There followed a period when born on 24 October 1932, ten days same school, though he had gone he did many things- working for after me. Our childhood years were one standard ahead, having skipped an Indian newspaper, writing i spent in different places, as I kept First Form. Click here to read more ...