While Vani Vilasa Sabha in Kumbakonam and R.R. Sabha in Tiruchi have crossed a hundred years, Thanjavur Thyagabrahma Sabha has touched 75. It is a cliché that Thanjavur was the seat of culture. Yes, indeed it was. And that precisely could be why a sabha arrived there much later than in other places. Tanjoreans could have their pick when it came to kutcheris. Temples in the area were performance spaces for all musicians. Entry was free. The ambience was wonderful. The concept of organising a concert formally, with tickets to be bought must certainly have seemed strange to the people of the area. But with the migration of artistes to Madras, the latter became the new hub of cultural activity.
Thanjavur could no longer take its culture for granted. If Tanjoreans wanted to listen to a kutcheri, they had to bring musicians over to Thanjavur, pay them, and meet the cost through the sale of tickets. Realising this, prominent citizens of Thanjavur met at Marsh Hall on July 3, 1943, and the Thyagabrahma Sabha was born, with Justice M. Anantanarayanan as president, Dewan Bahadur A. Narasimhachariar as vice-president, S. Raghavachariar as secretary, N. Krishnamachari as joint-secretary and V. Krishnamoorthy Iyer as treasurer. The first concert was Ariyakudi’s with Papa Venkataramaiah on the violin and Palghat Mani Iyer on the mridangam.
The sabha initially had 387 members, but within a year the number increased to 500. In 1944, a music school was started by the sabha. The school was run in Sri Sankara Math in West Main Street. O.V. Subramaniam (father of vocalist O.S. Tyagarajan) was the Principal of the school and Rama Iyer was appointed music teacher. Sixty students were trained every year for Government technical examinations in Music (lower and higher). They were taught Tiruppavai and Tiruvembavai verses also, which they presented in religious conferences. They even staged a musical on saint Tyagaraja’s life, and their performance was commended by Prof. Sambamurthy. In 1962, the sabha was awarded a grant by the Madras State Sangeetha Nataka Sangam, for arranging concerts.
Mridangam vidwan T.K. Murthy recalls an interesting incident. Justice Anantanarayanan once walked out during Murthy’s tani avaratanam at the Thyaga Brahma Sabha. The next day, when Anantanarayanan addressed the audience, Murthy walked out. Anantanarayanan said to him later, “I was hurt when you walked out during my speech.” And Murthy replied, “Just as I was hurt when you walked out during my thani.” Realising his mistake, Anantanarayanan organised a cocnert of Madurai Mani Iyer in his house, with Murthy on the mridangam. At the end of the concert, he presented Murthy a silver cup, and told the gathering, “Murthy taught me a lesson at the Thanjavur Thyaga Brahma Sabha, which I will never forget.”
Collecting subscription
“When the sabha was started, monthly subscription was only four annas. This was later raised to a rupee. Treasurer Ayyasamy Iyer would visit members and collect their subscriptions,” says S. Tyagaraja Sarma, former secretary of the sabha.
“In those days, Thanjavur consisted of a few main streets and some by-lanes. One could cycle to all the member’s houses, and finish off all collections by noon. That is no longer possible, with the town extending up to Manambuchavadi and Vallam. Some years ago, we used to wait for the annual day, when all members would turn up, and we would corner defaulters and collect the subscriptions,” laughs V. Gopalan, vice-president of the sabha.
The sabha has never had its own premises. Many of the concerts were held in Sangeetha Mahal, known for its regal façade, elegant interiors and acoustics. No other sabha can boast of such a venue! “When Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer turned 60, we took him in a decorated chariot from Mela Veedhi to Sangeetha Mahal, and honoured him there,” says Sarma.
“We also had concerts in Besant Lodge. Some concerts also took place in Ramanathan Chettiar hall, which is near the old bus stand. There is a hall, called Sudarsana Sabha, now in a dilapidated condition, which belongs to the Co-operative department. Concerts of Thyagabrahma Sabha used to take place at Sudarsana Sabha too, which can easily hold 500 people,” says Sivaramakrishnan, a former vice-president of the sabha. The name of Sudarsana Sabha figures in the list of troupes that staged dramas in Thyagabrahma Sabha, up to 1962. “Sudarsana Sabha was started by someone in Mela Veedhi. No one seems to know the history. My guess is that the hall belonging to the Co-operative department took the name Sudarsana Sabha, because the latter used to stage their plays there,” says Sivaramakrishnan.
Thyagabrahma sabha’s finances were in bad shape, when Subramania Chettiar, proprietor of Lakshmi Seeval, took over as president. But he turned around the fortunes of the sabha, by holding many benefit performances. “The annual function in his time was a big event. The crowd was huge, and the event took place in Peddanna Kalai Arangam,” says Gopalan. That year, Padma Subrahmanyam danced to poet Bharati’s poem ‘Sindhunadhiyin.’ When she got to the verse where the poet talks of the betel leaves grown in the Cauvery region, she did an abhinaya of the betel leaf being folded and popped into the mouth with a flourish. Betel leaf folding is an art that Tanjoreans have perfected. And Padma’s abhinaya captured the heart of every Tanjorean present. The sabha’s fortunes have been cyclic, with days of glory being followed by a plunge to despair. Until a year ago, it didn’t have many members. But the efforts of the office-bearers have paid off, and there has been a revival of interest in the sabha.
“We’ve had concerts every month over the last year. We had programmes in memory of M.S. Subbulakshmi, MLV, Balamuralikrishna, Sirkazhi Govindarajan, music critic Subbudu, and for the 1,000th year of Ramanujacharya,” says S.P. Anthonysamy, president of the sabha. He comes from a family of philanthropists, whose generosity is behind many an institution in Thanjavur like the Medical College, the new bus stand, etc. “My grand uncle Arulanandasami Nadar was one of the founders of the Thyagabrahma sabha and vice-president from 1945 to 1955,” says Anthonysamy. “We don’t have to worry about the venue anymore, because the Theosophical Society lets us use Besant Lodge for our programmes, without payment of any rent,” says Gopalan, on a jubilant note. “We’ve enrolled new members. Older ones have renewed their subscriptions, and we have found sponsors among the businessmen of Thanjavur, who see the sabha as part of this city’s heritage.”
This year, the 75th year celebrations began on February 7 with a five-day programme, at Besant Lodge. In May, the sabha will celebrate DKP’s centenary. Until the Platinum Jubilee in July, there will be special programmes every month.
