Diamond Jubilee Year – July 2012 – June 2013

22 Dec 2012 – Inauguration of Permanent Exhibition of 'Stamp on Music'
                            and Musicians & 13th Sri Shanmukhananda
                            National Eminence Award – click here for Slideshow

7 July 2012 – Suprabhatam & Ganapathi Homam

14 July 2012 – 60 Nadaswarams & Thavils Concert – click here for video

15 July 2012 – 60 Violins Concert - click here for video

17 July 2012 – Inaugural Function presided by Dr. APJ Kalam,
                            former President of India
                            - click here for video
                            - click here for Photos

All of us are indeed happy that the Sabha is stepping into its 60th year and will
be celebrating its Diamond Jubilee Year from July 2012 till June 2013. It will
also be the Golden Jubilee of the Auditorium.

60 years of Service in the cause of Fine Arts

As the Sabha celebrates its Diamond Jubilee, coincidentally, it is also the
commencent of the Golden Jubilee year of the Sabha’s Auditorium. During this half a century, this largest Auditorium in the country has witnessed over
15000 performances depicting life at its very best, its colours, fragrance and
its undiminished beauty.

Sound when stretched is music, body when stretched is dance.
Mind when stretched is meditation, life when stretched is celebration.

It is this celebration of life which draws its origin from music that we are celebrating, as we reach this milestone. There can be no better start to our functions than to honour outstanding Indians who by dint of devotion to duty and exceptional commitment to the field of their pursuit have added to the reservoir of goodness of our ancient land. Their life is one of ‘Celebration’.
We celebrate their lives and times and draw inspiration from their work.

The Diamond Award (carrying a cash prize of Rs. 2.5 lakhs, a huge ornamental
lamp, a citation, a trophy and Sabha’s icon) was conferred in the following fields of human endeavor:

1. Nation Building
2. Folk Art
3. Healthy Mind, Body and Longevity
4. Honesty and Probity of Unseen Order
5. Environment
6. Dignity to Human Body
7. Peace and Progress

These are the core areas of ‘Life’ itself and the values that are harnessed from ‘Living’. We celebrate their lives.

Dr. E. Sreedharan (New Delhi) - Nation Building
Former Chairman of Delhi Metro Corporation
During the 56 years of his Government service, Dr. Sreedharan earned the
distinction of one capable of taking and succeeding in difficult and daunting
projects. Be it the Pamban Bridge in Dhanuskhodi rebuilt in a record time of 45 days in 1963, the first commercial ship ‘Rani Padmini’ built in 1981, the 760 km long Konkan railway completed in 7 years which reduced travel time from 38 hours to 22 hours or the prestigious Delhi Metro; all speak volumes
of this ‘Vishweshwarayya’ of our times. Despite having been entrusted with several thousand crores of taxpayer’s money for implementing all these national projects, Sreedharan stands tall, with no allegation of corruption, scams or scandals on him. He has redefined public service.

Shri Nemi Bhagat Baba(Bharatpur, Rajasthan) – Folk Art
At 108 years, Nemi Baba is the oldest active Rajasthani Folk Musician. He plays the Algoza, a wind instrument that resembles a pair of wooden flutes, There is something deeply spiritual about Nemi Baba’s attitude to life.
He barely smiles but laughs a lot, pounding his chest as if to show that the wrestler in him is still live. At the age of 45, he started the parikrama of ‘Braj Chaurasi Kos’ from Deeg. This circular journey of 260 kms covers the birth place of Krishna, Mathura and Govardhan. This musician who comes from the Jat stronghold of Bedham in Bharatpur gave up his family and all his worldly possessions at the age of 55. He carved the Algoza from the trunk of the andava plant (a hollow plant like the bamboo) and has been playing it for about 9 decades now. Age has not weathered him nor time has staled. He is an undiminished reservoir of energy and inspiration.

Shri Monohar Aich(Kolkata) - Healthy Mind, Body and Longevity
The bulge in his biceps even at this ripe age of 100 is the envy of men several
decades younger to him. Aich was born in a remote village of Dhamti in
Camilla district in Bengal. He was crowned Mr. Universe in 1952. He is a
three-time Asian Games Gold Medallist in body-building. The super-fit
centenarian runs an Akhara and a Wellness Centre. Despite being dogged
by poverty and the pressures of bringing up four children, Aich remained
happy at all times. The secret of his health is a simple diet of milk, fruits and
vegetables alongwith rice, lentils and fish. He does not smoke and never
touches alcohol. Aich is a living example of simple living, healthy living.

Shri M. C. Suresh (Trissur, Kerala) - Honesty and Probity
There is a Malayalam proverb which says that ‘Even hawks won’t fly above
money’. We belong to an age where values are at a premium and honesty is
a last virtue. Ayyappan used to buy lottery tickets from Suresh’s paan shop.
He brought the Karunya Lottery of the Kerala Government in January 2012.
He did not take the ticket as he had not brought money for it. He asked
Suresh to reserve the selected ticket for him. Next day, the selected ticket
won the prize money of Rs. 1crore. Content with only the commission on the
lottery ticket cost of Rs. 250, Suresh handed over the winning ticket to
Ayyappan. Suresh barely manages a living. He lives in Lakshmaveedyu
allotted to him as per the houses for the poor. How often we look for mirages
in the desert of time and then one day, a real impression surfaces. Suresh
is indeed the best that India can claim in its depleting reservoir of
honest citizens.

Shri Jadav Payeng(Assam) - Environment
Can you believe an illiterate Assamese has created a 1360 acres forest all by
himself ? It all started in 1979 when floods washed a large number of snakes
ashore on the sand bar. After the water receded, Payeng only 16 years old
then, found the place dotted with dead reptiles. That was the turning point of
his life. Since then he has been planting bamboo and other trees. As part of
making the land fertile, Payeng depended on many rustic methods like
growing red ants and small creatures. As of now this single man forest has at
least 5 tigers, a few hundred elephants and many other wild creatures. Local
people refer to the forest as Molai Kathoni after Payeng's nickname ‘Molai’.
A lonely cowherd, who spent lazy afternoons along the banks of the
Brahmaputra, is today the Forest Man of Assam… nay, India.

Shri Mahadeva(Bengaluru) - Dignity to Human Body
Mahadeva could have lived life inBengaluru in bitterness and crime, but has,
by his mission, walked into Bengaluru’s soul. Here, if a corpse is unclaimed,
Mahadeva will give it a decent burial. The burial ground is his Karma Bhoomi.
Over a lakh people, whom no one claimed as their own, became his and he
gave them a decent burial. When Ammu, his loving horse, was around, he
carted over 42000 bodies. Today, having cremated her, he still goes about his
work with unremitting devotion. A Kaliyuga Trivikrama, he is today supported
by his son, Praveen, in this noble deed. He continues to live in poverty, yet has
not commercialized ‘Anaatha Pretha Samskaaram’. A public undertaker, he is
a living inspiration for what life holds, even in adversity.

Horizon Group(Pune) - Peace and Progress
Horizon is the first NGO in the field of post-conflict environment management.
Accredited by United Nations for demining, its vision for a softer world has
taken it to different parts of the globe, ravaged by war. About 100.39 sq. kms
of area has been released of land mines. It is currently engaged in a
demining project in Jordan with Norwegian People's Aid and 3 demining
projects in Sri Lanka, funded by the Government of India. Horizon has built a
reservoir of Indian Ex-Servicemen who with their perseverance, patience,
dedication and simplicity, excel. Its resettlement and economic activities are
marked by compassion. These fearless, former soldiers of India are freeing
the world of deadly landmines. There are 135 million landmines and
unexploded ordnances spread over 70 countries. There are 2,50,000
amputees - victims of landmines requiring $750 million to get all of them
prosthetic limbs. This speaks of the nobility of Horizon’s mission. Havaldar
Rama Rao (retd.) receives the award, on behalf of Horizon Group, alongwith
its Vice-Chairman, Brig. Anil Apte (retd.).