New Delhi; The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated “Swami Vivekanand Sabhagar” housed in the Kathak Kendra, one of the constituent units of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) under Ministry of Culture here yesterday. Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture & Tourism (I/C) presided over the function. Shri N.K. Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri Shri Shekhar Sen, Chairman and Smt. Aruna Sairam, Vice Chairperson of SNA were present on the occasion. Sangeet Natak Akademi the National Akademi for Music, Dance & Drama under the Ministry of Culture has been working towards promotion, propagation and preservation of Indian culture and heritage.

Shri Pranab Mukherjee congratulated Dr. Mahesh Sharma and Shri Shekhar Sen for the exemplary leadership displayed in the field of art and culture. He spoke of how the concept of an auditorium or ‘Preksha Grihas’ was found as early as in the Natyashastra, the Sanskrit text for dance, music and drama. He said that the Sangeet Natak Akademi has provided a safe haven to artists and practitioners and a vibrant intellectual space to thinkers and scholars. The President spoke about the extraordinary talent of Swami Vivekanand who was himself an established Pakhawaj player and came from a family of talented musicians. And thus it was only befitting to dedicate this auditorium in the name of Swamiji.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma spoke about the endeavour of the Ministry of Culture to always support the specific needs of young artists and students and also about how in India we trace our heritage back thousands of years and how through the ‘Guru Shishya Parampara’ owing to the unique history of India, layers of evolution were added to these art forms through diverse new innovations, influences and ideologies. The Sabhagar (Auditorium) which has been built keeping the best acoustics and architectural principles in mind will provide the students of Kathak Kendra and the artist community with a world class auditorium, he added.