Renovated RR Sabha rolls out red carpet for Rasikas
The 88-year-old sabha in Mylapore had pulled down its old concert hall in 2006.
Chennai: RR Sabha aka Rasika Ranjani Sabha, one of the oldest sabhas in Chennai, has been restored to its original magnificence with its two large renovated auditoriums opening on Sunday (July 16).
The 88-year-old sabha in Mylapore had pulled down its old concert hall in 2006. “Two state-of-art auditoriums (700 seats and 250 seats) and a multi-purpose hall built at a cost of '16 crore are ready for inauguration,” said R. Nagarajan, secretary, RR Sabha. Besides, the renovated structure has basement parking, he added.
Eminent mridangist Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, who has been residing in Mylapore for over 60 years, recalls with fondness about RR Sabha. “Those days it was called Sundareswarar hall. It was a prestigious venue for all music artistes and they considered it a honour to perform there. During one of my concerts with B. Rajam Iyer there, distinguished musician GNB was in the audience. After the concert, he blessed us. Some kutcheris used to extend even till 1 am. And rasikas will stay till the end. For every kutcheri, rasikas will throng the hall and it will be filled in no time. I wish all success to sabha organizers in their continued yeoman service to promoting carnatic music,” he said.
Interestingly, the hall had been the venue for Music Academy concerts for several years till it got its present building on TTK Road. With the help of cutting-edge technology, the sabha will soon have provision to help rasikas listen and enjoy several thousand kutheris of musicians.
Carnatic vocalist Maharajapuram Ganesh Viswanathan said, “One of my first concerts in Mylapore was at RR Sabha with my father (Maharajapuram Srinivasan) in 2001. I was 12 years old then. The sabha is known to have drawn knowledgeable rasikas who couldn’t be taken for granted. Eminent musicians loved performing there before such best rasikas.”
The hallowed hall of RR Sabha had played host to renowned musicians like Chembai Vaidhyanatha Bhagavathar, Musiri Subramaniya Iyer, Maharjapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Rajarathinam Pillai, G.N. Balasubramaniam, Palghat Mani Iyer, M. Balamuralikrishna, M.S. Subbulakshmi, M.L. Vasantha Kumari, Maharajapuram Santhanam and D.K. Pattammal.
And on Sunday, young artistes from across south India will perform to mark the auspicious beginning of the renovated RR Sabha.