Skip to main content

Rasika Ranjani Sabha, Mylapore

GEMS of Mylapore. RR Sabha.

 Mylapore, Chennai is well-known for its cultural, bhakti, historical background. Even today the one place everyone wishes to visit Mylapore for its cultural brilliance. There is that world-famous temple of Sri Karpagambal sametha Sri Kapaleeswara. Around this temple are its four Maada Veethis (streets) - East, West, South, and North Maada Veethis.

The East Maada veethi is the location for many cultural centres like Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Rasika Ranjani Sabha (RR Sabha). The RR Sabha is the oldest Sabha in the whole of Chennai, it was founded in 1929. It is located in Sundareshwarar Street at the southern end of the East Maada street near Lady Sivaswami Iyer School (more about this famous school later). Carnatic music concerts were held monthly twice then, dramas were staged, and music classes were also conducted there.

It was renovated in 1958 and Smt MS amma was the first to perform in the new auditorium. Yearly membership was just 20.00 then, and one can watch dramas by TKS brothers (Raja Raja Chozhan, Avvaiyar) It was said that TK Shanmugam broke his spine/back by constantly bending for playing the character Avvaiyar !! RS Manohar, and Cho Ramaswami were the other popular drama artistes.
Katha Kalakshebams (Story telling with music) by Sri Anantharama Dikshitar, Embar Vijayaraghava chariyar, and Balakrishna Sastrigal on "Ramayana", "Mahabharata" which used to play for 30 days or more continuously.

Carnatic Music stalwarts like GNB, MLV, MS amma, Alathur brothers were usual performers here in RR Sabha. Harikatha discourses by Madurai Vijayalakshmi was also popular. In a nutshell, almost every evening there was a cultural program / event at RR Sabha.

The sabha was closed for the past 8 or 9 years for renovation. Fifteen days ago on 16th July 2017, the Sabha was re-opened fully renovayed and refurbished. With the state-of-the-art acoustics, modern LED lighting, and scores of other advanced features and facilities, the oldest GEM is now glowing majestically like a teen-aged bride with all the beauty.

Let me wish all the best to this Rasika Ranjani Sabha in the years to come.


Rajappa
01-08-2017
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anna Centenary Library, Kotturpuram

ANNA CENTENARY LIBARARY (அண்ணா நூற்றாண்டு நூலகம்) is a newly established State Library of Tamilnadu. It was declared open on 15th Sept 2010. Located in Kotturpuram, Chennai. This last Sunday, 1st May 2011, we hit upon the idea - we will go and see this library. No serious reason, but a sudden whiff of fancy. Vijaya, her old classmate and friend Mrs Prema, and I left house at 3-30PM. A bus upto Madhya Kailash, and an auto thereon, left us at the gates of this huge, beautiful building at 4 PM. From the outside, it was immensely impressive and imposing - maybe of 9 or 10 floors, exquisitely constructed. As we walked the lawns to reach the Main Entrance, the interest in us was bubbling. (Caution: Handbags, Cameras are strictly prohibited. Even waterbottles are not allowed inside the halls.) There is a 5-feet bronze statue of Mr CN Annadurai, in whose name and honour this library is built. This is the Tamilnadu Chief minister Mr M Karunanidhi's pet project and he, as usual, has ov...
6 comments
Read more

Dr. MUTHULAKSHMI REDDY

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy The road from Adyar Signal to Thiruvanmiyur signal (in Chennai) is called Lattice Bridge Road (LB Road); this English name was re-christened as Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy Road long back, but the old English name only prevails now. Who is this Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy? In the princely state of Pudukkottai there lived Narayanaswami Iyer who married a devadasi by name Chandramma - this marriage created a sensation that time. To this couple, eight children were born out of whom four died as infants. Muthulakshmi was one that survived (born: 30 July 1886). M's sister Nallamuthu, learned English, went on to study in UK, became a Professor in QMC, Chennai, and later its Principal - the first Indian principal of QMC. Muthulakshmi went to a school in Pudukottai till the age of 13; later she studied at home tutored by teachers. She passed matriculation in the year 1902. She started dreaming about becoming a graduate. Bur her father, with meagre pension could not send her ...
5 comments
Read more

U Ve Swaminatha Iyer - A Tribute

U Ve Swaminatha Iyer A TRIBUTE to The Patriarch of Tamil. This morning, let me talk about the TAMIZH THATHA, Sri UV Swaminatha Iyer. A tribute, on his 150th birth anniversary. The original texts of a number of literary works of the Sangam period (1st and 2nd Century AD) came to public notice only towards the end of the 19th century, when they appeared in print form. Until then, works such as Aymperum Kaappiyangal (the five great epics) – Silappathikaram, Manimekalai, Kundalakesi, Jeevaka Chintamani, and Valaiyapathi were in the form of palm leaf manuscripts in the possession of scores of families living across Tamilnadu and outside. They didn’t have the skill to read the manuscripts, and, therefore, did not realize the literary worth. The palm leafs were allowed to rot. The need to hunt for the missing palm leaf manuscripts and bring to light the hidden treasure of Tamil literature was deeply felt. Foremost among those who undertook this formidable task was Mahamahopadhyaya Uttamadhana...
3 comments
Read more