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The Founders of IFAS: B.V.Gopalakrishna Rao

For the first five years, beginning with 1927, the Music Season meant only the Music Academy’s Annual Conference. In 1932, members of the Telugu speaking community of Madras city, of whom there was a large number, founded the Indian Fine Arts Society (IFAS).

The founder was B.V. Gopalakrishna Rao, the head clerk of the Council Section of the Madras Corporation. Encouraging him in every way was T. Chowdiah, the eminent violinist. The mercantile community of Komutti and Beri Chettis, most of them residents of George Town, supported the move and the sabha was inaugurated on Pongal day, January 14, 1932, at the Gokhale Hall, Armenian Street, by Sir M. Venkatasubba Rao, Kt and Judge of the Madras High Court. The first president was K.S. Jayarama Iyer, the well-known lawyer.

Like the Music Academy of those years, the IFAS too held monthly concerts and among the earliest to perform there was a young woman from Madurai who had just then arrived in Madras. The concert which happened at the Saundarya Mahal in Govindappa Naicken Street, was a big success and that was how M.S. Subbulakshmi got her start.

In 1933, the IFAS decided to host an Annual Conference on the lines of the Music Academy. This was inaugurated at the Gokhale Hall by Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar and presiding over the conference was W. Doraiswami Iyengar, the manager of the publishing house, Longmans Green. He was a formidable musicologist. The parallel conference of the IFAS raised eyebrows at the Music Academy and even members of the Press were sceptical about its necessity.

The Sangita Abhimani, a magazine of the city roundly criticised this schism in the flock and doubted if the Season had the wherewithal to support two sabhas. But the IFAS persevered and established an identity for itself. Interestingly, the Music Academy and the IFAS held joint annual conferences in 1938 and also from 1940 to 43.

Emberumanar Chetty.

The IFAS had many ambitious plans then and thanks to Gopalakrishna Rao and other office bearers, many of whom held high positions in the Madras Corporation, land was offered at T. Nagar for the setting up of a music school. The Gandharva Vidyalaya was inaugurated in August 1943 and offered training in vocal music, the veena and classical dance. In addition, the plays hosted by the IFAS at the Victoria Public Hall were famous. The Gokulashtami series was also an important feature.

The sabha’s award of ‘Sangita Kala Sikhamani’ appears to have been instituted in 1950 or thereabouts. Papanasam Sivan was one of its earliest recipients, getting it in 1950. Similarly, the sabha was one of the earliest institutions to encourage women artistes with C. Saraswathi Bai receiving the title of ‘Harikatha Prasanga Marga Darsini’ in 1934.

By the time the sabha celebrated its silver jubilee in 1957, it had become a name to reckon with. The celebrations took place in a specially erected pandal outside the Victoria Public Hall and were organised by K.Subrahmanyam, the eminent film director. A financial crisis came shortly afterwards which saw the stepping in of its long standing patron V. Emberumanar Chetty. He, along with active members such as N.Ramachandran, who later became secretary, turned round the sabha. IFAS moved its events from Gokhale Hall to Vani Mahal in 1963 and from there to the Nadigar Sangam in 1981. Later it shifted venue to the Balamandir German Hall.

Financial pressures saw the sale of the land allotted by the Corporation and the closure of the music school and a great reduction in the monthly activities of the IFAS. But it maintained its prestige by remaining above controversies and always extending the greatest of courtesy to musicians and audiences.

The Emberumanar-Ramachandran combine saw to it that musicians considered it an honour to perform for the IFAS. When they both passed away within a short while of each other in 2002, they would have had the satisfaction that the institution had survived and was reasonably secure. The succession was assured with Emberumanar’s brother, V. Sethuram taking over as president and Ramachandran’s brother Srinivasan becoming secretary.

Now, as it steps into its 75th year, the sabha harbours the fond hope that it will be able to build an auditorium for itself. This may remain a pipe dream given the sky-rocketing land prices. But audiences who attend its programmes and musicians who perform for it will all wish devoutly that this may come true, for such is the goodwill that the IFAS enjoys.

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