Four senior artistes were honoured with awards at the launch of the December Season festival of music and dance jointly hosted by Brahma Gana Sabha and Rasika Ranjani Sabha Foundation on December 11 evening.
They were Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Mannargudi A. Easwaran, Meenakshi Chitharanjan and ‘Mappilai’ Ganesh. The chief guest was T. S. Krishnamurthy, former chief election commissioner of India.
The event was held at R. R. Sabha’s main auditorium.
This the first time that these two sabhas have come together to host a December Season jointly. The men who head both sabhas said this was a sort of cultural ‘kootani’ – a collaboration. And admitted that the changing times when rasikas attendance has fallen, costs risen and sponsorship is tight, this was the way to go.
R R Sabha has not formally run a Season fest the past few years while Brahma Gana Sabha which used to have con certs at the Petachi Auditorium off Luz Church Road had to give up that space when work on Chennai Metro rail line cut off access to those areas.
On Thursday evening, the auditorium filled up well before the awards event got over. People had packed in to listen to the bhajans concert of Sivasri Skandaprasad.
