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Homage to a patriot
VETERAN FREEDOM fighter, true Gandhian, ardent devotee of Kanchi
Mahaswamigal and Sri Sathya Sai Baba, sincere follower of Rajaji's
principles, unswerving khadi user, connoisseur of music and arts,
powerful public speaker and communicator, administrator par
excellence, lovable personality of public relations, journalist with
commitment, pioneer in advertising, one who longed to help the needy
in distress and , a loving friend for many — in short an institution
by himself. That was the late T. Sadasivam, ``Dharmatma'' whose
centenary birthday falls on September 4.
Friend, philosopher and guide to his wife M. S.
Subbulakshmi, Sadasivam was one of the founders of the prestigious
Tamil weekly Kalki.
Speaking to Ganshyam Das Birla, Rajaji observed
that Sadasivam was to him what Lakshmana was to Sri Rama.
His admirers and friends, spread across the
country, have come together in a Committee of Hosts (convened by Mr.
Athma and Mr. Murali) to celebrate his birth centenary in a manner
worthy of that stalwart patriot and philanthropist.
The former President of India and a very close
friend of the Sadasivams, R. Venkataraman has consented to be the
Patron of this committee. He will also preside over the public
meeting scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, September 3, 2002
(i.e. on the eve of Sadasivam's 101st birthday) at the Venkata
Auditorium, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Mylapore, Chennai, to pay
homage to Sadasivam and recall his kindness, benevolence and
affection.
The function starts at 5 p.m. with Tala Vadhya
Vrinda by the students of Jaya Ganesa Tala Vadhya Vidyalaya of
``Vikku'' Vinayakram, followed by the chanting of Rig, Yajur and
Saama Veda hymns for 25 minutes from 5. 35 p.m.
Prayer in Tamil will be rendered by Sethalapatti
Balasubramaniam at 6 p.m. followed by Mr. Athma's welcome speech.
Mr. Murali will read the messages received.
After reading the message from the Sri Kanchi
Kamakoti Sri Matam, Mrs. Y. G. Parthasarathy, Dr. N. Veezhinathan,
Mrs. Sumathi, Mr. Neelu, Mr. A. Natarajan, Mrs. Anandhi
Ramachandran, Mr. C. R. Ravichandran (Salem), Mr. S. Krishnamurthy
and Dr (Mrs.) Prema Padmanabhan will all speak briefly paying homage
to Sadasivam. This will be followed by Mr. Venkataraman's
presidential address.
The function will conclude with ``Harikatha'' by
Revathi Sankaran on the Kanchi Mahaswamigal from 8 to 9 p.m.
The Gramophone Company (HMV) has offered to make
available all cassettes/CDs of M. S. Subbulakshmi at concessional
rates as a mark of their reverence to Sadasivam at the meeting venue
on September 3 evening.
Satabdhi Mani Mantapam
It will be pertinent in this context to recall that
the one thought that was uppermost in Sadasivam's mind during his
last days — even on the last evening prior to his passing on the
morning of November 21, 1997 — was to assist in raising the
all-granite marvel called the Satabdhi Mani Mantapam for the
Centenarian Sage of Kanchi, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi
Swamigal in Orirukkai, 5 km from Kanchipuram on the Uttiramerur
road.
The Sri Mahalakshmi Mathrubhutheswarar Trust was
formed even during the lifetime of the Kanchi Mahaswamigal.
The trust has so far collected a little more than
Rs. 2.5 crores from His devotees and adequate land has been
purchased and sculpting work under the guidance of S. M. Ganapathy
Stapathi, is going on in full swing. The excavation preparatory to
the foundation work was inaugurated on August 12 at the Mani
Mantapam site.
In the past few years, Sadasivam and M. S.
Subbulakshmi have contributed a little more than Rs. 35 lakhs to
this noble project through her concerts and recording royalties. So,
one of the best ways to commemorate Sadasivam's birth centenary will
be to raise funds, for the Satabdhi Mani Mantapam through the
munificence of friends and admirers on this solemn occasion and
publicly hand over the collections to Sri Mahalakshmi
Mathrubhutheswarar Trust which has undertaken this project. The
Trust enjoys Sec. 80-G exemption and will issue individual receipts
to the donors.
We appeal to the friends and admirers of both
Sadasivam and M. S. Subbulakshmi to participate whole-heartedly in
this noble project of the unique edifice to the Sage of Kanchi
through their contributions. We are delighted to inform the public
that we have in these past few days, by word of mouth alone,
collected a little more than Rs.10 lakhs and hence our eagerness to
enlist the support of as many devotees of the Sage of Kanchi as we
can in raising funds for the Orirukkai Mani Mantapam project.
More than anything, we request one and all to give
us the pleasure of their company positively at the birthday function
on September 3 evening to pay homage to that noble soul.
ATHMA & MURALI
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