If you are an art connoisseur, then head to Ananya Sabhangana. The organas started with an aim to promote art forms and young artistes who are talented in their respective fields and continues to do so. According to Dr R V Raghavendra, founder of Ananya Sabhangana, art lovers need not know the grammar or the intricacies to enjoy art.
Speaking about the history of Ananya Sabhangana, Raghavendra said, “Though I was interested in music, I had to concentrate on studies. After 15 years of pursuing my career, I wanted to render service to the world of music. It was in 1995 that I started this organisation.”
Today, literary personalities like U R Ananthamurthy, retired DGP Ajay Kumar Singh and painter S G Vasudev are a few of many personalities who are associated with this organisation. “Also, the idea was to cater to the music lovers who return home after their strenuous work. Many senior citizens in the vicinity of Malleswaram could not travel to the other corner of the city to attend the concerts. Hence, this was started.”
Besides the regular programmes, Ananya also brings out a monthly magazine called Ananya Kalasinchana. The magazine was initially started with eight pages in 1997 and is now a 40-page magazine. “This magazine was started to propagate music related material to the younger generation in a appealing way. We also started making calendars which are theme based like yakshagana, swarmala paintings, ragamala paintings, mudras,” he explained.
With respect to the library facility, Ananya Sangraha has over 10,000 books related to music, dance and visual art. The organisation has over 10,000 hours of live recordings which will be digitized soon. Ananya has published books like Abhesha Padmanabha Samputa, Facets of Music, With Masters of Melody and others. He added, “Younger generation are not interested in reading books. Earlier many researchers made use of the library. Today, they prefer digital material.”
Approximately 100 concerts are conducted every year which also includes their annual music and dance festivals.
Besides, Raghavendra has also started Arogya Dhara, catering to the medical needs of musicians who are dependent on music for their livelihood. “When I approached my friends in medical field, they came forward to help the organisation by providing the subsidised rates for surgeries and treatments.”
Ananya today is looking for people who can run the show.