Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts & Sangeetha Sabha, Mumbai celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of its majestic Auditorium on 22nd August 2023. It was on this day in the year 1963, the Auditorium was dedicated to the nation by Dr. Smt. Vijayalakshmi Pandit, the then Governor of Maharashtra. On that wet Thursday, the doyen of Carnatic music Shri. Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar was brought in a ceremonial procession and guided to the stage for the very first classical concert. It was a vintage classic. He was accompanied on the Mridangam by Palghat Mani Iyer and on the violin by Shri. T. N. Krishnan. The inaugural concert was followed by the divine classical of Sembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar and on the next day Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi gave a soul stirring performance. Such was the excitement at the inauguration of the new hall that the membership soured to 5246 nearly double than that of 2870 in the previous year. Infact, further membership had to be stopped.

The Grahapravesham of the Auditorium was performed on 11th July 1963. On 28th April 1963, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was invited to inaugurate the hall. The very next day, at a time when we did not had emails and facsimiles, the Prime Minister replied expressing happiness that a big hall for cultural purposes has been built in Bombay. Previously, he had criticised the city of Bombay for not having that essential convenience. As he had an international engagement on that day, he could not come to inaugurate the Auditorium. The very first year saw Shri. Satyanarayan Sinha, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs inaugurating the Dance, Drama Festival. Shri. K. Kamaraj, the then President of AICC, Shri. M. Bhaktavatchalam, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and Cardinal Gracious, the Archbishop of Bombay graced the Auditorium. In the inaugural year, a public reception was held for Shri. Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar for the golden jubilee of his service to fine arts. The All India Congress Committee held its National Convention in the newly constructed hall. Even when the Air-conditioning was not ready, the AICC decided to hold the convention. The Worthington Centrifugal System for Air-conditioning was not yet commissioned. 4000 delegates were to enjoy an air cool enviro as they listen to Panditji. Bluestar Engineering turned to ice cooling to provide relief. Truck loads of ice blocks were dumped into the water tank every hour to chill the water to 48O F which then cooled the air in the packed auditorium. Never in the history of air conditioning has a building been cooled by ice. The grateful BPCC gave a donation of Rs. 25,000/- to the Sabha. In the first year, the Filmfare awards show also started. 1966 saw the marionette theatre of Australia Puppet Show, the Russian Ballet, the USIS the Cincinati Orchestra of Washington and the folk dances of Yugoslavia. 1967 saw Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar being felicitated by the Sabha for 25 years in the world of music. In 1968, the Sabha and the Mayor of Bombay gave a public reception to Dr. Zakir Hussain, the President of India. The young Zubin Mehta’s Los Angeles Philormena Orchestra made its entry. The Scottish Hypnotist Shri. Max Collie commenced his shows. It was this year we sowed the seeds for an evergreen relationship with the then Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi. That year the Prime Minister inaugurated the conference on Cow Protection. Each year she visited the Auditorium for major events conducted in the main hall. In 1969, when the Sabha observed the solidarity pledge taking day for the members, the Prime Minister flew down to Bombay and presided over that function for the Sabha. In 1976, the Prime Minister wanted the Sabha at a very short notice for a conference on disciplined democracy which she presided. The grateful PM paid rich tributes to the Sabha for organizing the event at such a short notice for the general public. 1969 saw Yehudi Mehunin perform for the first time in the Sabha. The French dance ballet also came. In 1970, the Warsaw Philormenic Orchestra made its debut. From that year, the Times of India had all its events in the Sabha – the Film Fare, The Fashion Show by Femina, the Miss India Contest by Eves Weekly and the Miss Young India Contest by them. Such was the love of Shri. Kishore Kumar to the Auditorium that he performed on 10 occasions during that year after receiving the National Award. The Sabha began its tryst with the Cinematic world. The premiere of Satyakaam was held in the Sabha. During that year, 32 films were launched in the Sabha. 1971 brought the German Film Festival to the Sabha. The Acoustic System was improved to such an extent that people from far off places came descending down to perform in the Sabha. Of mention is the Bengali Drama Troupe “Nandikar Troupe” which staged two Bengali dramas on the 15th and 16th February 1971. They did not use any microphone and yet the Auditorium packed to capacity in the ground, first and second floor did not move even a little. In later years, when Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi performed for the Silver Jubilee of the Chinmaya Mission, when Swami Chinmayananda was present, power supply was disrupted at the beginning itself, yet for 3 full hours, Amma sang and none moved. Not one of the 3000 asked for a refund. In 1972, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting brought the Annual Films Award Function to the Sabha. In the same year “Meera” was screened to raise funds for National Defence. The journey continued smoothly till the 28th February 1990 when an accidental fire that emanated from a candle dance performed by School children for their annual gathering hit the trusses and in no time the entire auditorium was brought to dust. Fortunately not one of the packed auditorium of children was injured. It was indeed divine grace.

On the 1st November 1998, the Grahapravesham of the new Auditorium was performed. After Dr. P. C. Alexander, the then Governor of Maharashtra dedicated the Auditorium to the nation. Prime Minister Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee quickly followed with a visit on 6th November 1998. The majestic Auditorium was rechristened as “Sri Shanmukhananda Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Auditorium” on 27th December 2000 in honour and memory of the Mahaswami of Kanchi. For the last 25 years, the Sabha continues to be vibrant showcasing virtually everyday the best of Indian culture, art and tradition.

Several religious ceremonies were performed in the morning as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The special Shanmukha Shiromani Awards were conferred on two promising youngsters, Master Rahul Vellal for Carnatic and Master Shadaj Iyer of the Agra Atrauli Gharana for Hindustani Music. The several Patrons, Managers and Service providers over the last 60 years were honoured on the occasion. The Sabha also honoured the octogenarian versatile artiste Smt. Revathy Sankaran who has been a part of the Sabha for a long time. She delighted the audience with a session on ‘அறுபதிலும் ஆசைவரும்!

It was the 17517th programme on the Auditorium stage. The stage was rebuilt after a gap of over 8 years from 1990. For two years, at the peak of the pandemic, no programmes were held. When the stage was active ever since it was dedicated, there has been on an average 1 programme per day, a enviable record that cannot be easily surpassed.