Three years ago, when Hamsadhwani honoured nine Sabhas in Chennai, which had all been actively functioning for more than 50 years, I had made the following observation:
“This spirit of respect for others was characteristic of Hamsadhwani’s founder-secretary, the late R. Ramachandran, who had a very close rapport with many of his peers in the field of cultural organisation. It is good to see that his earnest efforts to set new trends are being continued by the dedicated team which had assisted him, now led by his son, Sundar Ramachandran, who is currently the honorary secretary of the Sabha….” (the hindu.com, Friday Review Chennai, August 13, 2010, “Navaratnas”).
Recently it was the turn of the elders to honour the younger generation of organisers, when the Narada Gana Sabha bestowed the N.V. Subramanian Award on Mr. Sundar, for his outstanding contributions to art and culture. It was also an occasion for a large gathering of elder rasikas to felicitate Mr. N. V. Subramanian, one of the pioneer organisers in Carnatic music, on his attaining the age of 80.
It is noteworthy that both these recipients of the honours are not professional organisers. Mr. Subramanian is a retired senior Railway officer, and Mr. Sundar is a senior executive of ITC. Their fruitful activities as impressive impresarios in the field of our classical music have added value not only to the cultural life of society, but also to the cultural image of their professional organisations.