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Who was the first woman to run a sabha? The honour on
that count should go to Alamelu Jayarama Iyer. A well-known personality
in the classical arts world of the first half of the last century, she
helped run several organisations that supported fine arts. Born in 1893,
Alamelu was married to noted lawyer K.S. Jayarama Iyer. The 1920s and
1930s were when sabhas proliferated in Madras. Mrs. Jayarama Iyer was
among the founding members of the Music Academy. It was however in the
1930s that she came into her own, organising music performances
independently for some sabhas. It was also in the 1930s that she founded
the Muthialpet Sri Venkatesa Bhakta Sabha. Inaugurated in December
1935, it had its offices at the Nataraja Girls School on Thambu Chetty
Street, George Town. (‘Feminine touch to sabha culture,’ V. Sriram, The Hindu, Dec 29, 2016) |
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The Muthialpet Sri Venkatesa Bhakta Sabha had just one objective
–providing a platform for young talent and remunerating them well. It
also had a rather unique business model – it would get senior artists to
perform free and from the sale of tickets for their concerts would
generate funds to pay young artists. While Alamelu was president, she
was actively supported by C.S. Nageswara Iyer as secretary. Between them
they managed to rope in around 180 members within the first month of
the sabha’s inception. Patron members had to pay Re 1 per month while
Special Members were charged 50 paise. Ordinary members paid 25 paise.
The sabha held a concert each month and most of these were at the YMCA
auditorium on NSC Bose (China Bazaar) Road. The press of the day praised
the initiative but it appears that the sabha did not survive beyond
1938. (‘Feminine touch to sabha culture,’ V. Sriram, The Hindu, Dec 29, 2016) |
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Alamelu Jayarama Iyer, who was known as a fine singer in her own right,
was much sought after for her knowledge. She and her husband were known
for their renditions of Jayadeva’s ashtapadis and many including
composer D. Pattammal learnt them from her. It was said that Kalki
Krishnamurthy consulted her regularly when it came to clarifications he
needed while writing his weekly column Aadal Paadal for Ananda Vikatan. (‘Feminine touch to sabha culture,’ V. Sriram, The Hindu, Dec 29, 2016) |
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