Public twice lucky
SRIRAM VENKATKRISHNAN
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Both the Music Academy and the Indian Fine Arts Society organised conferences in December.
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PRESTIGIOUS VENUE: The Gokhale Hall (below) the two advertisements which appeared in The Hindu
There was electricity in the air as the December Music Season of 1933 approached. For the first time, there were two Music Conferences — one conducted the Music Academy and the other, by the Indian Fine Arts Society. In many ways, 1933 really marks the beginning of the Music Season as we know it with more than one Sabha holding a music festival. The Music Academy’s series, titled the Madras Music Conference, began two days ahead of the usual Christmas Eve inauguration. At the specially erected pandal in People’s Park behind Ripon Buildings, with “all its approaches beautifully decorated with flags and festoons” (as per The Hindu) the conference began on December 22, duly inaugurated by Sir C.V. Raman and with Vidwan Thanjavur K. Ponniah Pillai in the chair.
On December 24, the Indian Fine Arts Society began its first “South Indian Music Conference” at the Gokhale Hall, Armenian Street, with Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar inaugurating the proceedings.
The Conference was presided over by W. Doraiswami Iyengar, manager of the publishing house, Longman’s Green. He was a great patron of Carnatic music and was a respected musicologist.
Spirit of rivalry
The holding of two conferences no doubt created a spirit of rivalry, but as C.R. Srinivasan, Editor, Swadesamitran put it, “the public had now the opportunity of hearing great Vidwans twice in the course of the week” (The Hindu dated December 24).
The conferences went on, with both venues discussing raga lakshanas, passing resolutions supporting the revival of classical South Indian dance, by then firmly rechristened Bharata Natya, by whom and when remaining a mystery though the Music Academy has always taken the credit for it. The proceedings at both venues were widely reported in The Hindu. Amidst all the columns, two advertisements stand out. Both appeared in The Hindu dated December 27.
The first was released by the Indian Fine Arts Society. It announced what was perhaps the first public concert of M.S. Subbulakshmi in Madras city and it is interesting to see that she sang to the accompaniment of the veena (played by her mother Shanmukhavadivu) and the violin.
The concert, on December 28 was at the Soundarya Mahal on Govindappa Naicken Street, then a famed venue for the fine arts and now no longer in existence. The programme was sponsored by C. Rajam, noted industrialist who is today remembered as the founder of and chief donor to the Madras Institute of Technology.
Why was the concert held at Soundarya Mahal and not Gokhale Hall? Thereby hangs an interesting tale. Annie Besant, builder of the Gokhale Hall, had stipulated that it was available as a venue for performances by all except the women belonging to the traditional community for arts! In fact for long it was necessary for women artists to furnish marriage certificates to enable them to perform at the Gokhale Hall.
M.S. and her mother had arrived the previous year in Madras city and among the first concert opportunities was one at Llanstephan, the residence of the Chinni Yelamanda Chetty family. Members of this clan were patrons of the Indian Fine Arts Society and had arranged for her concert under its auspices.
The second advertisement was by the Music Academy. The upper half dealt with a Hindustani music performance by Pt. Ratanjankar.
It is, however, the second half of the advertisement that merits attention for it is an invitation to “come and enjoy the true idiom of Bharata Natya” on December 28. The performers were Varalakshmi and Saranayaki. This marked the culmination of a year long series of dance performances held by the Music Academy with a view to getting the public to appreciate the art. It is also perhaps the first public announcement of a Bharatanatyam performance, for all earlier communiqués refer to it as classical South Indian dance.
The public interest which had been tepid in the beginning had by December 1933 snowballed into immense curiosity and the performance was very warmly received. It was also one more indication of the Music Academy’s firm resolve in reviving the art.
Not only was the President of that year’s conference, Ponniah Pillai from a family of strong music and dance traditions, the agenda of the conference too had topics of dance dominating.
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