Venue for decades
Sir, — I read with much interest the write-up, `Venue with a great past' (Friday Review, February 23).
The Indian Fine Arts Society stepping into the 75th year conducted their annual music festivals and conferences at the Gokhale Hall till 1962, and due to parking problems and limited accommodation at the hall, moved to Vani Mahal in 1963, and later to Nadigar Sangam Hall and now conducts the festivals at the Bala Mandir German Hall, T. Nagar.
As per our records, C. Saraswathi Bai, harikatha exponent, was conferred the title, `Sangeetha Kalasikhamani' by the Indian Fine Arts Society in 1954 by Rajaji at its 22nd South Indian Music Conference and festival at Gokhale Hall.
Those days the concerts used to begin by 4.25 p.m. on Sundays and concluded by 9 p.m., and the accommodation was only on the floor, with blankets spread over, and the charge was only eight annas (50 paise)!
Dance recitals were held mostly at the Gokhale Hall under the banner IFAS and the Bharatanatyam exponents Kamala, Gopinath-Thangamani (ballets also), Lalitha-Padmini-Ragini (oriental dances) and Vyjayanthimala performed at the Gokhale Hall, and all of them glittered on the silver screen later. N.C.Vasanthakokilam was one of the first to perform on the inaugural days till she breathed her last and then MLV was assigned this pleasant responsibility.
Our institution was inaugurated on January 17, 1932, at Gokhale Hall.
This popularised the Hall where, later on, many sabhas in George Town (Kachaleeswaran Sabha, Sri Kala Niketan, Bharath Fine Arts and so on) conducted their monthly programmes. We also have the glory of having conducted our programmes at Gokhale Hall for more than three decades!
N. Srinivasan,
(Hony. Secretary, The Indian Fine Arts Society),Chennai.
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