The inauguration of a sabha’s festival of the Season tends to be a standard event. Nagaswaran, speeches, awards and a concert.

It was not very different at the Vani Mahal auditorium on December 9 evening when Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana sabha launched its festival of dance, music and drama in its 80th year.

It was a time to recall the circumstances in which this sabha was started. Actor Chittoor Nagaiah once noticed rasikas from places like T. Nagar braving the monsoon rain after concerts they attended in Mylapore and decided that T. Nagar needed a sabha and an auditorium.

The nagaswaram team set the tone for the evening ; only a handful of people were in the hall. Thereafter, guests began to stream in.

It was an evening to recognise five artistes – vidushi and composer Papanasam Rukmini Ramani, violinist H N Bhaskar, mridangam vidwan Thanjavur K. Murugaboopathi, Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher Roja Kannan and theatreperson Dharini Komal.

Swami Satyajnandaji Maharaj of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai was the chief guest and he presented the awards.

Vocalist and scholar Dr Radha Bhaskar was effusive in felicitating all the awardees of the day.

This sabha makes it a point to have the senior zonal executives of various banks who sponsor the festival, attend the launch event and they are also given a place on stage. In times when getting sponsors is a tough task, a few banks have stayed with this sabha as its sponsors.

A dance drama titled ‘Katha Manjari’ choreographed by Radhika Vairavelavan was presented after the launch and awards event.

The sabha president ‘Deccan’ Moorthy and his team took part in the launch event.