Musician P. Unnikrishnan and Kathak exponent Pandit Rajendra Gangani were honoured with the titles ‘Sangeetha Choodamani’ and ‘Nritya Choodamani’, respectively, at the 64th Margazhi Mela of Krishna Gana Sabha held on Friday.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit said Chennai’s pride was the contribution of its patrons of art. “That there are nearly 150 sabhas in Chennai, which host about 2,500 music concerts, dance recitals, lecture demonstrations, dramas and bhajans — all in December, go a long way to prove the worth of the city and its citizens,” he said.
Chennai, that is nearly 350-years-old, has been listed in UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network. “Only two other Indian cities — Banaras and Jaipur — are found in the list. Among them, Chennai is the most recent, having been founded only in the 17th century. This is ample testimony to the mix of tradition and modernity. Here is a city where sabhas and software, and puttu and popcorn co-exist, to hold aloft music and culture,” he said. Musician Unnikrishnan recollected how he performed nearly 27 years ago with his guru S. Ramanathan at the Krishna Gana Sabha.
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President of Krishna Gana Sabha Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti spoke.