ENCORE
The inauguration of Vani Mahal
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Veteran comedian Nagesh made his debut here and Waheeda Rehman presented her maiden dance performance.
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The landmark Vani Mahal in T. Nagar, owned by the Tyaga Brahma Gana Sabha, one of the oldest sabhas in the city, was renovated three years ago and made into one of the best auditoriums in Chennai. This story looks at the origins of the Sabha and the hall.
FOR THE LOCAL CONNOISSEURS: Born 60 years ago on this day, Vani Mahal has been renovated. Photo: S. R. Raghunathan.
In 1944, Chittoor V. Nagaiah, film star, noticing a group of people sheltering from rain at a bus stop got off his car to enquire. On receiving the response that they travelled each day from T. Nagar to Mylapore to listen to music, he decided that a sabha ought to come up in T. Nagar. Banding together with others such as Lady Andal Venkatasubba Rao, V. Rama Iyengar, S. Soundararajan of Tamilnadu Talkies, S. Ramaswami Naidu (later Mayor of Madras) and Dr. P. B. Annangarachariar, leading doctor, owner of Vani Pharmacy and municipal councillor, he instituted the Tyaga Brahma Gana Sabha. The first concert was by Ariyakkudi Ramanuja Iyengar, accompanied by Papa K. S. Venkataramaiah and Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer. The Sabha held its initial programmes at the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha before acquiring 10 grounds of space, belonging to T. A. Rangachari, advocate.
The building, constructed by V. Ganapathy Iyer, was named Vani Mahal and was declared open by Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, then Dewan of Travancore, on November 18, 1945, in the presence of N. Chandrashekhara Iyer, Justice of the Madras High Court and president of the Sabha. The Hindu reported the event in great detail on November 19. The column, titled "Revival of Indian Drama, Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar's address" stated that in his welcome speech Justice Chandrashekhara Iyer said "that the hall had been built with the help of donations from a few residents of Thyagarayanagar... for the benefit of the public, not only in connection with musical performances of the Sabha but also for holding public meetings." V. Rama Iyengar, in his speech, noted that the membership of the Sabha had risen to a 1,000 within a very short while.
Passion for theatre
Chittoor V. Nagaiah
Sir C.P., who was a passionate lover of theatre, having acted in the plays of Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar at the Suguna Vilasa Sabha, chose to dwell on the `educational value of drama' in his speech before going on to speak on the `ideals of Indian music.' He stated that the "faculty of either earning or enjoying leisure" was fast being lost and with the fast pace of life, "there was no possible education equal to and comparable to the education that could be furnished by a properly evolved dramaturgy." He therefore congratulated the organisers on "having decided to use the hall for dramas and music performances."
On Indian music, Sir C.P. said that the "Indian artist, especially a musician, knew full well that that human mind was such that it could not be irritated into a sudden response (and) therefore our music gradually developed into a climax (unlike) European music which was in essence a matter of alterations of discordant and harmonious tunes and was intended to arrest the attention of the hearers." He however regretted that our ragas "could not arouse the martial spirit in men as European music could." He "regarded the opening of the hall as a sign of the uprise of the consciousness of the proper development of the arts" and cut the ribbon.
The premiere
C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar
The hall's premiere was not without its hiccups. The chief guest noted in his speech that "a large number of people had to return for want of accommodation." The Hindu noted that "owing to the great rush into the hall and the confusion created by a number of people removing chairs," the dance recital by Gopinath and Thangamani was "cancelled and the large crowd dispersed gradually."
But Vani Mahal went on from strength to strength. Sir C.P.'s advice on drama was never forgotten. Veteran film comedian Nagesh made his debut here in the play "Vakil." Sa.Vi's "Washingtonil Tirumanam" was staged here. Most of R. S. Manohar's grand plays were premiered in this hall.
In dance, Waheeda Rehman gave her maiden performance here long before becoming an actress.
The present Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa too gave one of her earliest dance performances here under the banner of "Oriental Dances." The Sabha is one of the few to sustain the Harikatha tradition even now. Vani Mahal was for long the venue for the Indian Fine Arts Society's December music festivals. However in the 1980s, the Tyaga Brahma Gana Sabha itself became an active participant in the December season.
In a city where public spaces are vanishing and kalyana mandapams with poor acoustics often double up as auditoriums, one must thank the public spirited founders for giving us venues such as Vani Mahal.
SRIRAM VENKATKRISHNAN
(The author can be contacted at sangeetham@sangeetham.com)
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